Butter Book Review

The world is filled with many amazing books and authors and sometimes we are too focused on books released domestically that we forget to read from other parts of the world. This year, I have been trying to read more books written by foreign authors and that is why we will be reviewing Butter by Asako Yuzuki and translated by Polly Barton!

Butter Summary

Rika Machida is a journalist and she decides to reach out to Manako Kajii, a convicted serial killer residing in the Tokyo Detention Center. Manako is known to hate two things, feminists and margarine but after listening to her friend’s advice, Rika gets Manako to open up to her and that leads to an unlikely friendship.

To get Manako to open up, Rika has to try food that Manako loves and misses and can’t because she is in prison. But Rika’s new friendship is changing something inside her and changing how she sees everything. Is Manako minipulating Rika and did Manako really kill her former boyfriends and did someone help her commit those murders? As Rika tries to find the answers to these questions, she gets caught up something dangerous that will upend her life.

Commentary

The first thing that jumped out to me about this novel was the beautiful yellow book cover and the contrasting black image. This is how you do a great book cover and it definitely will get some people to pick the book up and give it a chance. The novel does talk a lot about butter and fits the theme of the book, even If it is a little overdone.

And yes, the novel is inspired by the true case of the The Konkatsu Killer, a con woman and a serial killer. The true crime that the novel is based on is interesting and worth looking up. But this novel dives deeper and explores issues such as misogyny, romance, feminism in Japan. Yuzuki’s commentary of these subjects and others will have you thinking long after you finish this novel.

Conclusion

Butter was a wonderful novel to read and I enjoyed reading about food and murder. The book is a bit long but it pays off when it reaches the climax and everything comes together. Writing a novel based on a true crime case is not an easy task but Asako does a wonderful and writes a novel that is worth reading. Happy reading!

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