Review: Butter, by Asako Yuzuki

To put it simply Butter is a deep dive into trauma, misogyny, fatphobia, and loneliness and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Asako Yuzuki's characters swing wildly between being completely alien and unsettlingly relatable. The analysis of society and the clarity of the misogynistic views and expectations that women are held to are constantly at the forefront of this novel.

The book follows journalist Rika Machida, a workaholic ignoring her past trauma and seemingly destined to isolate herself in her work from all aspects of life other than her friend Reiko.

Enter Manako Kajii. A woman convicted of multiple murders, accused of using her gourmet cooking and domestic charm to con lonely businessmen into paying for her extravagant desires, before ultimately causing their deaths.

Sat in prison she has refused to speak to the press despite the media storm surrounding her. The media are shown to be obsessed with Kajii, writing sexist and derogatory articles about her weight, looks, and even questioning how someone that looks like her could trick men into loving her.

By asking about a recipe for beef bourguignon, Rika becomes the first person that Kajii agrees to talk to. From there we see Rika swept away by the force of Kajii's beliefs and unorthodox view of the world. Rika begins to try and experience food in a new way, Kajii's way.

But as she explored this new culinary world she recognises that she is facing the same misogyny and abuse as Kajii and seems to find it harder and harder to separate her perspective on the world and the case from Kajii's.

I have to say that there were times I found myself pondering the reason for events in this story, but I think this is due to me not truly recognising the true purpose of the novel.

Deep down, this is about trauma, isolation, and loneliness. The characters are all running from their issues and failing to recognise that they have support if they reach out for it. At the same time Yuzuki brilliantly skewers the absurdity of societal views on the role of women and the pressure to look and act a certain way.

I have to also take some time here to applaud Polly Barton. The translation is simply wonderful. The prose flows beautifully and the descriptions of food and cooking felt so sensory I ended up craving a lot of the dishes.

Overall this is a heavy, excellently crafted tale full of character development and wonderful self exploration.

Rating: 8

"There is nothing in this world so pathetic, so moronic, so meaningless as dieting."