This novel needs to come with a health warning: “Will make you ravenously hungry.”

Butter by Asakao Yuzuki, and translated by Polly Barton, is a novel of multitudes. Part mystery thriller, part food blog and part feminist manifesto, this Japanese best seller based on a true story delivers on all of these disparate parts.

Manako Kajii is a gourmet cook and convicted serial killer. Now held at the Tokyo Detention Centre, everyone wants to hear her story, but she has adamantly refused to speak to the press. Until enterprising journalist Rika Machida asks for her beef stew recipe—the dish she allegedly made for her final victim—and a cat-and-mouse game between them begins.

Kajii has strong opinions to match her strong personality. She says, “There are two things that I can simply not tolerate: feminists and margarine.” Kajii asks Machida to cook her favourite foods and then describe them to her. Machida, who lives on takeaways and instant noodles, knows nothing about food. As the relationship blossoms, the requests become more elaborate—and more personal.

Running beneath the mystery of Kajii’s killings—did she actually kill the three men or did they commit suicide of their own accord—lies an exploration of the impossible standards women must meet.

The novel excels in its descriptions, whether its a dairy farm on a snowy day or Tokyo in the middle of the night. But where it really shines is in its descriptions of all kinds of food, including Japanese dishes like ramen, but also French dishes like soupe de poisson or an American Thanksgiving turkey.

The first food suggestion that Kajii makes is to put a pat of butter on top of rice with a drop of soy sauce. I was so intrigued with the suggestion that I tried it on my lunch hour. Reader, it was delicious. Just like this book.

An intriguing look into Japan and feminism, but I think my particular viewpoint is too different. I wasn’t aware how in Japan the body expectations regarding women and their weight is a lot more drastic compared to the UK. So when the character starts to put on weight, it just wasn’t that a big of a deal for me.

I wanted to like this book, but it just didn’t quite grip me. It felt too different. I just didn’t care as much about the protagonist and her body, maybe I’m too old to relate to it. Also the recipes weren’t enticing. Putting butter on rice. Thats it! I thought there would be mouth watering recipes but there weren’t. It was very bland. I just felt it could’ve been a shorter book.

This is a very Japanese novel; I always find that I need to prepare myself for the intensity of the inherent quirkiness and then I can settle in and enjoy the writing. There is a flavour. (no intended.) to Japanese fiction that needs to be acquired before you can properly appreciate its manic pixie girl vibe.

This reminded me of another Japanese novel I read where each chapter described the visit of a character to a restaurant in order to experience the nostalgic properties of a particular dish. There is a sense of this in Butter where food becomes almost a character in itself.

I really enjoyed it and recommend to any fans of Japanese literature.

I find it absolutely crazy that this book is based on a true story!
I found the Japanese and foodie settings very interesting and different and added a completely different texture to the book. Although it was interesting I think it could have just been a little shorter than it was as it got a little bit repetitive. Nonetheless I still found it quite fascinating and glad I read it!

Reading this book was a true rollercoaster ride. I was very intrigued by the premise and the story of a female reporter assigned with the task of interviewing a woman who was accused of killing her male partners, and who was also obsessed with food and cooking. I really enjoyed the parts of the book where the two women interacted or where the protagonist was actually investigating and finding out more about the killer, but I was very bored reading the very long-winded descriptions of cooking and food and ingredients. I'm not very fond of cooking myself, and I thought those descriptions went on for too long without actually adding much to the story.

The novel tackles themes of misogyny and female expression and oppression, and I think it would have been a lot more impactful if it had placed those as the focus instead of the cooking passages.

I was glued to the pages, Unforgettable, delicious and dark. I haven't read anything like it before and I won't forget it any time soon. So complex and multilayered. It took my breath away at points. I can't recommend this book enough.

Butter is a deeply sensual exploration of Japanese food and ingredients, and also of the female body, mind and role in society, and how all of those various things intersect.

The main character, Rika, flows between different, often contradictory epiphanies as she opens her mind and tastes to different foods, experiences and ideas throughout the story. Her views of others in her life and her relationships with them are similarly fluid – she dismisses someone, then notices them, appreciates them, is disgusted by them, understands them, loves them, is indifferent again… It is a constantly changing dance of perception and connection.

Thematically, the novel is about the inherent need we have to be see and be seen, hear and be heard, touch and be touched, taste and be tasted… to exist in and of oneself but also to have one’s existence perceived by others. The story has delicate layers of philosophy and psychology layered under heaping piles of butter-sticky rice (with a few drops of soy sauce, of course, for added flavour).

Perhaps it is also about discovering what is “good for us”, how much life is right for our individual tastes, or perhaps it is about how those “good”, “right” quantities and qualities will continue to change, as we do, through life.

Interesting, deep, slow and saturated with food and the sensory experiences of eating, this book made me feel hungry for living life fully in every moment and for savouring every taste it offers.

This was so far out of my comfort zone I really wasn't sure what to expect - I'm not sure it quite fits with how it's advertised and is much more involved than I was expecting.

I enjoyed the mystery and the manipulation throughout this book, where you, as the reader, even feel manipulated and an overwhelming urge to eat butter with everything talked about in the recipes.

Generally, an enjoyable read, but not as pacey as my normal read, and probably not quite for me, having said that - it has a broad appeal and will continue to do well!

Hmm…everyone that I’ve talked to about this book absolutely raves about it, it was also a well known bookstore’s book of the year. For me….it was ok. I almost DNF’d very early on as I found the repetition of the word “butter” annoying, and the phrasing of the food descriptions nauseating, however I did persevere and it seemed to ease off a bit. I never however connected or liked anyone in this story.

For me, this was ok…..I’ve read much better books (in my opinion) this year.

My thanks to Netgalley and 4th Estate/Rachel Quin Marketing for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

An absolutely fantastic novel, beautifully translated and brimming with evocative language. The protagonist is not exactly likeable but she is relatable. The descriptions of midnight buttered noodles stays with me long after reading.

What a RIDE. This was such a uniquely poignant book— at once witty, fun and explorative. It has an experimental and feverish quality that made it thought provoking and impossible to put down!

Unfortunately, this book really wasn't for me. I found the writing to be difficult to engage with. I have to admit that I'm not entirely sure why. Because it's such a popular book, I have tried on multiple occasions to engage with it, but fail miserably.

What a book! Such a great storyline and the characters were so interesting. I found myself gripped until the end. Highly recommend

What an amazing book - I took ages to finish it, this was not a single-sitting-gobble-it-up book, this was not fast food, it had to be savoured, read slowly with pauses to digest. It's also based on a real crime case in Japan that meant falling down some rabbit holes reading up on it after finishing the book. Tokyo journalist Rika Machida takes advice to write to convicted female killer Manako Kajii asking for the recipe for the beef stew she fed to her last victim to get an interview with her. The plan works and they have regular meetings. Manako talks about food, starting with her hatred of margarine and love of butter, she gets Rika to think differently about food, the pleasure it brings and the role it plays in society. At times I was not sure if I was reading a cookbook or a novel and it was amazing (and had me craving good food). One of my top reads of 2024.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Butter is a 'difficult' book to enjoy with it's exploration of desire, obsession and want - both physical and mental. The narrative is rich and all consuming for its entire 450 pages.

The journalistic fervour with which Rika approaches her expose of Manako the convicted serial killer and it's all encompassing nature is realistic and beautifully written. Rika's gradual spiral into self-destruction, manipulated both by her desire to embody the skin of Manako.

Dripping with rich description Butter is a book meant to be savoured, not rushed, taking and deserving of time to consume.

It has taken me months to finish this book, and I'm not sure why I couldn't get into it. Was it a murder mystery? A coming of age (albeit rather late) story? A cookbook? Having finally finished I think for me, it's about expectations of what it is to be a woman, a father, a daughter, a lover, a friend etc whether In Japan or elsewhere. It's also about appetite but most of all about accepting who you are, even if you don't always fit with societies demands.
So while it has not been a book to devour in a sitting, it is one that will keep me thinking for sometime.

Journalist Rika investigates the sensational case of Manako Kajii, imprisoned for murdering several men. Kajii has always refused to speak to the press by Rika starts to form a connection by playing on Kajii;s famous love of food and cooking, allowing the two women to form a complicated connection.

There were parts of this book that I loved, particularly the way it delves into misogyny in Japanese society, both directed against women by men and also internalised in their own perception of themselves and each other. The way Kajii was portrayed in the press and by people who knew her was cleverly subverted by her perception of her own power warring with her condescension towards other women and especially feminists. The impact that these perspectives had on Rika was powerful as she investigates Kajii's case and fins herself reconsidering her own ideas and approach to living in the world as a woman.

The descriptions of food are captivating and so intense that at times they were off-putting! Learning about the food (and wider) culture of Japan was fascinating.

The main issue is that the book is far too long and the narrative overly-convoluted. Kajii and Rika's conversations cover the same ground on several occassions and the same themes are revisited throughout in very similar ways so that it becomes repetitive. Overall the novel has some excellent foundation but some issues with the editing and structure (and possibly some things lost in translation?) mean that it feels bloated and unfocused.

Unpopular opinion: I didn't enjoy it. It's had great reviews, been in all the book shop windows, been anticipated and hit all the book lists and awards... I just felt it was too ramblely about food.

This was an enjoyable but middling read for me. I found the exploration of feminism and societal expectations/body image in Japan was interesting, and Rika’s experience gaining weight and becoming comfortable in her body was genuinely refreshing to read, however the book felt a touch overlong and repetitive in places, often circling the same ideas and reinforcing the same conclusions over and over. The marketing also made the novel sound far splashier than it was - whilst Kajii is an interesting character, we don’t really get a huge amount of insight into her case other than Rika’s speculations, and indeed it’s never actually clear whether she was directly responsible for her victims deaths or not (which I believe is intentional on the part of the author, though a little frustrating).

I found myself enjoying the novel when I picked it up, but didn’t feel super compelled to do so in between reading sessions, and couldn’t quite put my finger on why. There were two occasions when the POV switched to an almost diary like entry from Kaji and Rika’s friend Reiko, which were a much welcomed change of pace - it would have been interesting to have had a bit more of this, as they added some much needed tension. I also found the very last few lines of the novel unbearably cheesy, and wished the writer had chosen to end just a few paragraphs earlier. The food writing here is the real star of the show, luscious and evocative, and I genuinely came away ravenous a few times. Do not read this novel when you’re hungry!

In this intriguing novel, we meet Rika as she prepares to work on a news story about a convicted female serial killer, Manako Kajii. Rika prides herself on being all the things that Manako is not, but when they finally meet, she finds herself increasingly drawn to the intriguing character. This plays out most clearly in Manako’s love of food and cooking and, as Rika begins recreating her recipes, the bond between them morphs into something other than interviewer and subject.

Based on a true story, this was a quirky read which focuses more on topics of feminism, loneliness, and cuisine than on crime. It was, for me, far too long and I did find it getting rather repetitive towards the middle. I would, however, read more by this author, and would recommend it to any fans of feminist literature… but not so much for anyone expecting a criminological telling of this true crime.

My thanks to the author, NetGalley, and the publisher for the arc to review.