At a glance: Butter by Asako Yuzuki
- Author: Asako Yuzuki, translated from the Japanese by Polly Barton
- Genre: Literary fiction with a true-crime thread
- Setting: Tokyo
- Length: around 450 pages
- Reading pace: slow burn
- Themes: food and appetite, societal expectations of women, body image, ambition, female friendship, social connection
- Content notes: references to murder, dieting and body shaming, workplace sexism, and very detailed food writing
- Best for: readers who enjoyed Convenience Store Woman, My Year of Rest and Relaxation, or novels that discuss complex emotions
- Not for: anyone wanting a fast-paced thriller. The crime is the frame, not the plot engine.
- My rating: 4.5/5
- One-line verdict: This book will touch the hearts of patient readers who enjoy emotional depth.
Butter is a story of friendship, overcoming grief, forgiving oneself and finding oneself, however set in a backdrop of a serial killer. Rika, a young Japanese woman, works in publishing and wants to understand the truth of Manako Kajii, a woman accused of several murders. What begins as a hunt for the truth slowly becomes a question about Rika: why did she choose this story in the first place?
During this journey, Rika finds herself piece by piece, from overcoming society’s expectations of a woman’s body image to having clarity on things that matter to her. Every time I saw Rika growing through a change, a growth moment, I would feel a tug at my heart. Somewhere along the way her story became mine, which only comes through fine writing, and Yuzuki did a great job there. What resonated most with me was how widely this book looks at body image. It goes well beyond the protagonist. A teen popstar joins the story, and through her we see body shaming and the conversations around it.
The beauty of the story and the title is Rika’s journey to understand herself by exploring butter in its simplest form. At their first meeting, Kajii introduces Rika to butter as the key ingredient to an easy dish and how that slowly becomes a loved ingredient. It has several references throughout the book, from shortage at the start to plenty at the end. Rika sees her body change through her food choices (her love of butter) and accepts herself as is.
I would also like to highlight that the book is so much more than what I have just described above, coming from a person who is not particularly fond of cooking. So, anyone holding back on reading this book because it includes a lot of food talk, should not bother about it as the book captures so much more and will take you along on the ride.
Another thing that I absolutely loved about the book is how it captures friendships. The book digs deep into close female friendships and how we all need that, from bouncing ideas to sharing both sorrow and joy. The depth and importance of these bonds came through the story. Butter also brings other friendships, based on acceptance and helping each other out without needing anything in return, a simple yet profound gesture. It’s about creating one’s own family of friends, where we support each other through thick and thin and yet give space. The book allowed me a moment of pause and reflection in terms of my own friendships and the role they consistently play in my wellbeing.
One place I found that the book stretches out further than required is when Rika is trying to please Kajii into giving an interview and follows Kajii’s orders, which are over the top in a few places. Kajii makes her cook dishes, try dishes at restaurants, but when Kajii asks her to visit a restaurant late on a cold night and right after sex, it was one place the book failed to connect to me. Rika has been portrayed as an independent woman, but when Rika does exactly as Kajii says despite knowing Kajii’s tendencies, it becomes a bit of heartbreaker for me. This part is the reason the book lands at a rating of 4.5 instead of 5.
The book digs deeply into emotions and deals with complex human emotions like grief and guilt, which I feel are difficult emotions to build upon. Yuzuki has done full justice to the depth of emotions, without impacting the pace of the book apart from the scenes mentioned above, which I feel is really commendable. The story gracefully holds several layers and depth and is as complicated yet as satisfying as cooking a turkey.
The true feminist in Yuzuki could be seen through her creation, Butter. Throughout the book, via different characters, Yuzuki subtly highlights the difficult choices and lives women lead in their roles. How Rika unlearns and relearns to live a better and more meaningful life, how Reiko (Rika’s closest friend) is so strong and brave for others, yet timid about living her life fully shows women through a different lens.
I would definitely recommend this book, for people who enjoy books that explore emotions along with the story arc. It is not a gripping story and does not demand finishing in a single read, rather slow reading along with moments of pause and reflection.
In case you are interested in reading the book and yet do not have it, you can buy it from here on Amazon – Butter by Asako Yuzuki
PS – Buying book using above link will generate a small commission for me.