Such an intense and bizarre read, this is a totally compelling story about Rika Machida, an aspiring journalist and the experiences she has while chasing an exclusive interview with convicted murderer and gastronome Manako Kajii.

It is a book to savour and to enjoy slowly, offering views about women, their appetites and their place in modern Japanese society, providing fascinating and thought-provoking insights at every turn.

Completely captivating.

A captivating read with an underlying creepy feeling I couldn't quite put my finger on. It was uncomfortable in places, particularly exploring the misogyny that still exists. A fearless novel I appreciated greatly. Not an easy read, but a worthwhile one.

This was a rollercoaster! I was intrigued by the premise, a novel equal parts about cooking/food and a murder case. Rika is a journalist who starts visiting a convicted murderer in prison to gain an exclusive interview. She's been charged with murdering three men, and prior to their deaths, she was essentially being paid to be a housewife, taking care of the men and cooking them luxurious dishes in exchange for financial support. At first, Rika isn't sure whether Kajii is guilty or not, or what her motives are and wants to figure out more about Kaji and what led her to where she is now.

I think some parts dragged on a little, the side characters did get quite a bit of story which in some cases could have been condensed. I did enjoy Shinoi, Rika's source for some of her articles as a journalist. It gets more exciting nearer to the end when Kaji does something unexpected, without giving away any spoilers. I did think this was different to anything else I've read recently. There were also some interesting comments on Japanese society, in terms of how women are expected to be thin and cater to their husbands, and some of the characters agreed with this, whereas others argued against the societal expectations of women in Japanese culture.

★★★☆☆ (3.5)

This was not what I expected, which is my fault, but it made me a bit less inclined towards this than I thought I would be.

This was much more about the misogyny women face in a patriarchal society, and the relationships women have with both men and each other. There is a strong thread on how society views women's roles, and the double standards in comparison with men (such as, women are expected to take care of, and baby, men, but are seen as "letting themselves go" if they gain a little weight, whereas men being incapable of their own basic needs is just a man being a man and poor him because he doesn't have a wife...(gross)).

As a Western reader, there were also some really interesting cultural differences (is it a thing that not all Japanese houses have ovens?), but I had gone into this thinking it was going to be a bit more about murder, intrigue and mystery rather than the above. Not to say the above is bad, just not what I was anticipating.

The chapters are long and pretty slow in my opinion (I'm very much a short chapter girlie) and was relatively introspective versus plot-based so this took me a while longer than I usually read. It's heavily centred around food (duh) which isn't something that necessarily appeals to me, although it was interesting to hear about the different Japanese dishes, and the characters relationships with food. Also very maddening how offended all these men seemed to be by women's weight...Also...did I miss something or is it never explained whether Kaji killed the men or not???

All this to say that by no means is this a bad book, it's just not for me.

cw// discussions of weight gain/dieting - can be triggering for anyone with disordered eating, sexual assault references, sexual assault of a minor, mentions of murder

A really interesting read, a mix of culture, food, friendship and crime. I will say that it should come with a warning *do not read if hungry!* it was just so detailed on Rika's journey with food and sounded delicious. I loved the freedom she found from it and this passed in to her friends, thus bringing them closer.

Thank you to the author, publisher and netgalley for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

This was a weirdly interesting and unique read. It is a slow burn psychological tale. Because of the pacing it would be challenging to class it as a thriller.
Inspired by true events in Japan, the story is about a female serial killer held in a detention centre, and a journalist trying to obtain an exclusive, career defining interview with her.
Several of the characters go on a personal journey as the tale unfolds.
The characters, not all likeable, are all well developed and richly drawn in this intriguing novel.
The book is beautifully written with wonderful insights into Japanese food and culture. The food descriptions scattered throughout the book add to the atmosphere and ambience.
Many thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley UK for the ARC

This isn't the book I thought I was going to read at all. It is a novel of food but the murder part takes up such a small part of the book that it seems disingenuous to put it on the cover. I presume it's there to garner a different audience.

That said, I thoroughly enjoyed this strange novel. I am a big fan of Japanese literary fiction but Asako Yuzuki is a new author to me. After reading Butter I'd definitely read more of her work.

The narration is by Rika Machida, a journalist who is yet to have a story published. She finds the stories and they are written up by someone further up the chain. However Rika has an exclusive. She has been chasing an interview with a convicted murderer, Manako Kajii, before her appeal hearing begins. Finally, with help from best friend Reiko, Rika gains Kajii's acceptance. What follows is a strange and wonderful experience where Rika becomes totally enamoured of Kajii, following her cooking and dining instructions in the hope it will lead her to the truth of Kajii's life.

However Kajii is a slippery customer and soon sees that Rika is in thrall to her. It is all Kajii requires of anyone - to be her acolyte. But once she is worshipped, will Kajii have any more use for Rika.

The book is inspired by a real case which, no doubt, deserves some Googling. It is certainly a fascinating tale of one woman's desire to be worshipped for who she is. For Kajii does not conform to the standard of beauty in Japan - small, neat, slim, in control; Kajii is rounded, plump, a force of nature. Rika is fascinated by her.

The book itself will most definitely make you hungry and I've got to wonder how sales of good butter have fared in its wake. There are several "recipes" (often just serving suggestions) in the book (mimicking Nora Ephron). The characters in the book also go through transformations where they begin to realise they are not the person they thought they were or should be.

If anything this book is about being a non-conformist which must be very daring for a traditional Japanese.

Loved the book even though it was not what I expected. Highly recommended.

Thankyou to Netgalley and 4th Estate for the advance review copy. Very much appreciated.

Asako Yuzuki's Butter is a bit of a bait and switch. While it cetnres around the (true) story of a woman who killed a series of husbands this is not really a story about murder. Yuzuki uses this story and the relationship between the woman and her main character to explore a range of issues relating to body image, the role of women in Japanese society and our relationship with food. This is a very Japanese novel, which is to say it dives deeply into the minutiae of personal relationship and food preapration, which is interesting but can make for slow going.

Originally published in Japan and a huge hit, this translation provides a great insight into Japanese culture against a backdrop of a female gourmet cook who also happens to be a serial killer and a female journalist Rika Machida. It intertwines the misogyny in Japanese society and preparation of gourmet food. Food is really the central character but for me, it didn’t quite work. More a visual feast than a literary treat.

When journalist Rika pursues accused serial killer Manako Kajii for an exclusive interview, her life changes. Rika’s determination to not only catapult her career, but to be the one to crack the case, borders on obsessive; and before long she is down a rabbit hole leading to a more indulgent life.

Butter is a story of societal expectations on women, exploring Japanese beauty ideals and gender roles. My favourite thing about this book is how it describes food and effortlessly weaves in recipes, and its preparation and consumption in society, to add dimension to the narrative. I don’t think I particularly liked Rika or her friends, but I liked how their interactions demonstrated the author’s points. I found the majority kind of annoying, and Rika herself is very naive. Kajii on the other hand was great. She is such a complex and unpredictable character that I loved reading about and guessing what she would do and say next. Recommend for fans of feminism, cooking and crime.

Sadly I found this a little stodgy. Japanese works in translation is probably my favorite genre amongst international literature generally. There is usually a very appealing finesse and lightness of touch. "Butter' unusually seemed rather slow and heavy and lacking in narrative pace. I was not sure if the translation was letting the author down or if these were features of the original Japanese. For me this resulted in some disappointment, although there is still very much to admire here in terms of the insights on Japan, Japanese culture, society, media and food. Special thank you to 4th Estate and NetGalley for a no obligation advance review copy.

Manako Kajii is being held in Tokyo Detention Centre convicted of the murders of multiple lonely men, who she allegedly seduced with her delicious home cooking. Determined to land an exclusive interview with her, journalist Rika Machida writes a her a letter asking for one of her infamous recipes, and Kajii can’t resist writing back. So begins a strained and tumultuous relationship between the two women, one which will change Rika in more ways than she could have imagined.

I’m not totally sure what I was expecting this book to be, but it definitely took me by surprise. The story focuses not on Kajii’s crimes and whether she is guilty or innocent, but on Rika’s personal journey as she learns to cook for herself, gains weight, wrestles with other’s opinions of her new figure, and comes to terms with the death of her own father.

As marketed, there’s a lot of focus on the food within this book. As I’m not at all familiar with Japanese cuisine, it was difficult for me to picture or understand what a lot of the food being described was, and there was too much mentioned to be able to Google each and every different thing.

My overall feeling towards this book is that it was much too long. It’s a slow-burner for sure, and the many descriptive accounts of different food items definitely adds to the word count but, even without this, I think it would still have felt longer than necessary. I also found the writing style to be a little bit stilted, but this could be because it has been translated into English. It’s different to anything else I’ve read recently and I did enjoy it, but getting through the extensive descriptions of food and the many, many tangents was a struggle.

I read recently in a book (not this one), that a good story allows us to understand a lot about ourselves, and I think that, although the quote does not belong to this novel, this is precisely the case. The story of the alleged serial killer and the journalist who would like to interview her might seem to be a mix between Silence of the Lambs and Babette's Feast, but only superficially, because between the various tastes and smells and the small truths that emerge as a surprise from the mouths of not even too extraordinary characters of the story, these +400 pages flow quickly and satisfied me more than a Christmas dinner.

Ho letto di recente in un libro (non questo), che una bella storia ci permette di capire molto di noi stessi e credo che, nonostante la citazione non appartenga a questo romanzo, sia proprio questo il caso. La storia della presunta serial killer e della giornalista che vorrebbe intervistarla, potrebbe sembrare un mix tra Il silenzio degli innocenti ed il pranzo di Babette, ma solo superficialmente, perché tra i vari sapori e profumi e le piccole verità che emergono a sorpresa dalla bocca di protagonisti nemmeno troppo straordinari, queste +400 pagine scorrono velocemente e mi hanno soddisfatto piú di un cenone natalizio.

I received from the Publisher a complimentary digital advanced review copy of the book in exchange for a honest review.

I was really intrigued by the blurb and very keen to review this title. It definitely didn’t disappoint. Whilst Butter is not an easy read I very quickly became absorbed. I feel that my review could never do the book justice. There are so many complex layers and themes surrounding Riko and both her personal and professional life.
You really need to read it to appreciate it.

I had such great hopes for this book! Loved the idea behind it, the food descriptions had my mouth watering and despite initially getting confused with the names of the two Japanese friends, Riko and Reika throughly enjoyed the first half! However, for me the story then lost itself and I was desperate for it to get moving, for something to happen! It didn’t and sorry to say I gave up!

On paper this should have SO been my kind of thing.
A character study, a focus on food, difficult women.
But I found this a real struggle and I can't quite put my finger on it.
It was a bit too long and I just struggled to stay engaged with it.
I also know this is a cultural thing and part of it is the point, but the obsession with characters' weight, including detailing their exact weights, I found quite troubling and I think some people would find upsetting.
I loved the food descriptions but this one wasn't for me, I just wish I could work out why.

3 stars.

I tried. I really tried but a dnf for me. Too long, slow and a lack of interest throughout.
Nevertheless, my thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Fascinating on every level, an insight in to Japanese culture and the pressures society put on women and men to be "women" and "men" which are not exclusive to Japan. The food writing made my mouth water, I have to try rice with butter & soy!!

You are warmed to Riko and the other characters (maybe not all!!) and become invested in their relationships and lives.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to read Butter.

Butter by Asako Yuzuki is a fascinating examination of the culture of misogyny in Japan , the nature of obsession and the visceral pleasure of food, even in its simplest forms as well as the complex relationships so many people have with food and eating. The book is inspired by a real life criminal case but is more driven by character than by plot, so readers expecting a thriller or court room drama may well be disappointed. On the other hand if you are looking for insight into another culture you will find plenty to sink your teeth into here. The writing is very descriptive, especially when it comes to the food that plays such a vital role in this book, so if page after page about streamed rice and butter sounds like something you would want to avoid this might not be the book for you. I did think about seting this book aside but I am glad that I persevered as by the end I was invested in the characters and how their stories would play out.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

A journalist wants to write an article about a woman in jail for being involved in the deaths of some men. In order to open a dialogue they bond over food.
It's quite a long book but that means that the story develops slowly. It covers a lot of issues around body image, the expectations for women and relationships.
The main character Rika has to face up to lots of questions about herself and how the world works.
Really interesting and thought provoking.