Butter: A Novel of Food and Murder

"Ahhh, well, I really enjoyed reading this one! The most interesting part was when Rika Machida, a journalist and the main protagonist of the novel, wrote a letter to murder suspect Manako Kajii requesting a specific recipe. Despite Kajii refusing media interviews, but she was not able to stop herself from responding to Rika."

The novel also shows the darker side of Japan—beyond its celebrated culture and beauty—by exploring themes of gender roles, media sensationalism, and the power of food.

I would rate this somewhere between a 3.5 and 4. I thoroughly enjoyed the plot itself, which left us in mystery and suspense with the somewhat "strange" antagonist. In a way, I would compare this to Silence of the Lambs- how someone who completely rejects social norms envelops a "victim" of the society they live in. This novel truly highlights how food controls and breathes life into a culture and the people that attempt to live by the rules placed upon them, whether it be gender dynamics, emplyoment, weight, or relationships. It reminds us how much food really affects our daily lives and how we interact with others. Not only just the food, but how much energy we put into making or enjoying it. As a food-lover, and a woman, "Butter" speaks to me on many levels. The character development is interesting and different.

Honestly I'm glad this is over so I can stop eating rice with butter and soy sauce while silently defying social expectations.

3.5 i did enjoy this but it felt entirely too long. the first half of this took me foreeeeeever to get through. title was a bit misleading, considering this is barely about murder? but i liked it's whole thing about friendship. and food!

Why, when her desire was the most natural thing, was she not brave enough to look it in the eye?

phenomenal characters; the women particularly felt refreshingly whole & distinct, despite the novel exploring their similarities. the in-depth characters made the relationships so much more satisfying--rika's growing obsession with kaiji, only interrupted by her life-long love for reiko, rika's banal romantic relationship with makoto, her grief regarding her dad and her mom... incredibly beautiful & well-written.

So the reporter thought they were getting a story but the interviewee was trying to break the reporter. One person's need to be the centre of attention and they feel the world is always against them.
An enjoyable read and the ending was a little unexpected as I thought that there were several diffeent outcomes possible.

This book was everything ‘I didn't' expect it to be and nothing I did expect. I liked a lot of how it was more or less like social and psychological commentary of not just the Japanese society but also most other cultures and societies.

But it wasn't why I picked up the book and that's perhaps why it was kind of a let down? It also could've been a tad shorter for some bits felt quite unnecessarily slow. I did really appreciate the explorations of our relationship with food, however.

I expected a murder mystery of sorts, but this was not that. I think had it not been for the descriptions of food I might have just scrapped the book entirely.

More like 3.75, I loved the writing but this book should have been about 100 pages shorter.
Riko is trying to score the biggest interview of her career with convicted killer Manako Kajii- a food blogger who is in jail for murdering her older, rich boyfriends. Riko is trying to be successful in a world in which women cannot get the highest office AND have a family. Women must conform to most of society's standards, and they must be thin. Manako opens Riko's eyes to another way of being, but one that landed Manako in prison.
I loved Yuzuki's writing. I loved the small details she picked up on and I loved learning about contemporary life in Tokyo. I didn't mind the descriptions of food and specific dishes.
What I didn't love is the sheer length of this book. We didn't need Reiko's side quest when she goes all Nancy Drew. I super didn't care about Riko's friends with benefits situation with Makoto. The novel even seems to run out of steam explaining the appeal trial.
There was mad sexual attraction between Riko and Reiko that was never addressed.
I loved the ending and the ideas behind the ending.
Just don't do into this with an expectation of Hannibal Lecter and Will Graham story. I am a little guilty of that.