Butter- Asako Yuzuki

 Hello, Rats!

Look at me keeping up with writing! This month's SECOND post is for Butter by Asako Yuzuki and what an exciting post to finally be writing!

I picked up and put down Butter so many times, it's insane. Not because I wasn't enjoying it, but rather that I found the pace so incredibly slow at first. As I know this will put people off, I beg you to keep reading what else I have to say, because this was most certainly a five star read!

Whilst, yes, I did find the first 15-20% a crawl, Butter had such incredible depth to each and every character, place, memory and taste, that it fully made up for it and I whizzed through it after that first fifth.

Yuzuki's writing was so detailed, I could almost taste each recipe myself, felt butter melting in my mouth and my body being warmed from the inside. 

If only the book itself was as wholesome as that.

This title follows Rika, a journalist, who is assigned to investigate Manako Kajii, a serial killer who lured wealthy men through her luxurious cooking classes before murdering them. Kajii won’t speak to the media until Rika writes to her asking for her signature beef stew recipe, sparking an unusual correspondence. As their conversations deepen, Rika becomes increasingly influenced by Kajii—gaining confidence but also absorbing some of her darker impulses.

Set in 2011 amid Japan’s butter shortage, Butter offers a vivid portrait of modern Japanese womanhood through a wide cast of characters. The novel blends lush descriptions of food with themes of femininity, power, taboo, and the complicated ways women shape and challenge one another.

I can confidently say that Butter is certainly in my top 5 books so far this year and I can only urge you aggressively to pick it up and taste it yourself. I promise you won't be left feeling hungry after finishing it.

I just know you're starving for a copy ;)

-A Rat 🐀