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Butter

By: Asako Yuzuki
Narrated by: Hanako Footman
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THE NUMBER ONE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING SENSATION

WINNER OF WATERSTONES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2024

WINNER OF THE BRITISH BOOK AWARDS DEBUT NOVEL OF THE YEAR 2025

SHORTLISTED FOR THE CWA CRIME FICTION IN TRANSLATION DAGGER AWARD 2025

A BBC BETWEEN THE COVERS BOOK CLUB PICK

‘A full-fat, Michelin-starred treat’ SUNDAY TIMES

‘A cult phenomenon’ iNEWS

‘Took the literary world by storm’ BBC

‘A killer Japanese novel’ THE TIMES

'I have been glued to Butter ’ NIGEL SLATER

The cult Japanese bestseller about a female gourmet cook and serial killer and the journalist intent on cracking her case, inspired by a true story, and translated by Polly Barton.

There are two things that I can simply not tolerate: feminists and margarine.

Gourmet cook Manako Kajii sits in Tokyo Detention Centre convicted of the serial murders of lonely businessmen, who she is said to have seduced with her delicious home cooking. The case has captured the nation’s imagination but Kajii refuses to speak with the press. That is, until journalist Rika Machida writes a letter asking for her recipe for beef stew and Kajii can’t resist writing back.

Rika, the only woman in her news office, works late each night, rarely cooking more than ramen. As the visits unfold between her and the steely Kajii, they are closer to a masterclass in food than journalistic research. Rika hopes this gastronomic exchange will help her soften Kajii but it seems that she might be the one changing. With each meal she eats, something is awakening in her body. Might she and Kaji have more in common than she once thought?

Inspired by the real case of the convicted con woman and serial killer, 'The Konkatsu Killer', Asako Yuzuki’s Butter is a vivid, gripping exploration of misogyny, obsession and the transgressive pleasures of food in Japan.

**Hooked, the latest novel from Asako Yuzuki is available to preorder now**

'It isn’t entirely clear whether to read the novel or devour it’ OBSERVER

‘Readers around the world are finding themselves utterly captivated’ DAILY MAIL

‘I really enjoyed it’ MEERA SYAL, on BBC Between the Covers

'Compelling, delightfully weird' PANDORA SYKES

'Unputdownable, breathtakingly original' ERIN KELLY

'You’ll be craving rice, butter and soy sauce in no time’ STYLIST

‘Nothing short of ingenious’ iNEWS

‘Ambitious and unsettling’ GUARDIAN

'Luscious … I devoured this' IMOGEN CRIMP

'A salty morsel with one hell of a bite’ ALICE SLATER

©2024 Polly Barton (English translation) (P)2024 HarperCollins Publishers Crime Thrillers Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Psychological Thriller & Suspense Women's Fiction Thriller Crime Murder
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Interesting perspective on current pressures on women with regard to physical expectations and defining femininity today. There was exploration of the competitiveness women feel towards one another based on the above expectations and whether these expectations are defined by men/society or women themselves.

It uses the premise of a murder trial where two women who, on the surface are polar opposites, explore and interpret human desire, food, the place of food and self, identity, friendship, human interaction and love.
In the end, these two women realise their similarities, but display their respctive resilience in very different ways .

It is a slow burn read with lots of red herrings which make the reader formulate their own ever changing answer of “ did she do it?”

Thought provoking

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What a beautiful, complex, compelling and wide-reaching story that touches on so much of the lived experience. Not only beautifully written, but beautifully translated and performed as well. A testament to all involved and one I will come back to again, and again, and perhaps again

An absolute favourite

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Butter is a social commentary on the role of women in Japanese culture disguised as a crime novel. While the criticisms it raises are valid and worth discussing, the crime story framing these points ultimately is never resolved in a satisfying manner. Those enticed by the intrigue of Manako Kaiji's case will be left disappointed as the plot soon shifts to focus more on the protagonist's relationships. This isn't a bad thing, however as Kaiji takes up so much of the book's synopsis, this can certainly feel like a letdown to readers such as myself.

The performance is solid, though I would recommend speeding it up slightly.

Luscious food descriptions, but a dry plot

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Compelling story with extremely good narration, highly recommend and keeps you hooked throughout the duration of the book.

great book with excellent narration

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Mindhunter meets Tampopo.

This is pitched as a novel of food and murder. The emphasis is definitely on the food and in particular Japanese women's relationship with food.

The first few chapters felt quite dense and dry, but then I began to marinade in the narrative and the style and it all comes together in quite a tasty stew.

Personally I felt the promise of murder was largely left undelivered. The descriptions of food were so tactile that I wanted some of the same treatment for the murders, but it never came. Perhaps that might not have been to a wider audience's taste buds.

A character study in obsession

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