"This delicious novel, a best seller in Japan, is part mystery thriller, part feminist manifesto and part food blog."
This novel needs to come with a health warning: “Will make you ravenously hungry.”
Butter by Asakao Yuzuki, and translated by Polly Barton, is a novel of multitudes. Part mystery thriller, part food blog and part feminist manifesto, this Japanese best seller based on a true story delivers on all of these disparate parts.
Manako Kajii is a gourmet cook and convicted serial killer. Now held at the Tokyo Detention Centre, everyone wants to hear her story, but she has adamantly refused to speak to the press. Until enterprising journalist Rika Machida asks for her beef stew recipe—the dish she allegedly made for her final victim—and a cat-and-mouse game between them begins.
Kajii has strong opinions to match her strong personality. She says, “There are two things that I can simply not tolerate: feminists and margarine.” Kajii asks Machida to cook her favourite foods and then describe them to her. Machida, who lives on takeaways and instant noodles, knows nothing about food. As the relationship blossoms, the requests become more elaborate—and more personal.
Running beneath the mystery of Kajii’s killings—did she actually kill the three men or did they commit suicide of their own accord—lies an exploration of the impossible standards women must meet.
The novel excels in its descriptions, whether its a dairy farm on a snowy day or Tokyo in the middle of the night. But where it really shines is in its descriptions of all kinds of food, including Japanese dishes like ramen, but also French dishes like soupe de poisson or an American Thanksgiving turkey.
The first food suggestion that Kajii makes is to put a pat of butter on top of rice with a drop of soy sauce. I was so intrigued with the suggestion that I tried it on my lunch hour. Reader, it was delicious. Just like this book.
| Primary Genre | Modern and Contemporary Fiction |
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