Reviews with content warning for Infertility - Butter: A Novel of Food and Murder

Enjoyed the inclusion of feminist themes and think they were insightful from the perspective of women in Japan, but otherwise there were no "hot-takes" or new information for me in terms of this theme. Really enjoyed, however, how the plot was so well linked to this theme and did well to address many different issues in a natural way (didn't feel forced/performative).

Content Warnings

teaandbooksnuggery's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

heather_harrison's review

Go to review page

dark reflective tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

Our protagonist Rika, a female journalist in her 30s, finds her life and her identity tipped upside in the task of interviewing accused murder Kajii.

Butter delves into the concepts of misogyny, expectations of women, loneliness & isolation in society, and pleasure.

The novel is long, and I found myself struggling in middle as the plot begins to thicken. The ending was delicious.

This book touts itself as being inspired by the real case of the convicted con woman and serial killer, "The Konkatsu Killer” - and it seems accurate and as well as stranger than fiction.

With thanks to NetGalley and 4th Estate for my e-ARC of Butter.

Content Warnings

minimicropup's review

Go to review page

inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

This felt like a made-for-me story, I loved it so much. I miss this world and these characters, especially Rika.

Energy: Cautious. Insightful. Suffusive.

Scene: 🇯🇵 Various Tokyo districts and Niigata, Japan

Perspective: We follow a journalist in their day-to-day life. Work success is their sole ambition until a rare interview with an accused serial killer catalyzes a re-examination of their life and how society's expectations have prevented them from embracing their Best Life. We also get a snippet of their bestie, who has a different Best Life, and how they navigate those expectations.

🐩 Tail Wags: All of it... Food as a metaphor. The characters, both likeable and unlikeable. The slow burn with meaning. How both men and women suffer under societal expectations. And those foodie descriptions 🤤

🤔 Random Thoughts:

I went in expecting a food horror, but it wasn’t that. It’s literary fiction with tastes, textures, smells, and visuals. I’d describe this as a subtle, profound, symbolic exploration of domesticity, service to others, and true happiness and success.

Slow burn character and societal study, using food to explore different themes. It’s meandering, kind of random, just existing. It could read as dull if you don’t like that style.

There’s room for reader interpretation and alliance with different characters and their values, this could be a good book club discussion book.

----

🎬 Tale-Telling: Poetic, meticulous (in a good way), reflective, with a touch of surrealism.

🤓 Reader Role: Thrown into the story. Exploring the themes, messages, and existential questions with Rika and her friend Reiko.

🗺️ World-Building: Rich, sensory, abundantly detailed but not overexplainy. Tranquil yet gritty, even disgusting sometimes. Immersive and cinematic. Tiny bit of info-dumping with stations, but glad they were included so I could explore via YouTube & Google Earth.

🔥 Fuel: Emotional investment in character transformations– whether you like ‘em or not, how will this year play out for them? Will Rika and Reiko grow apart or closer? Will Rika choose to stay in her relationship or move on? Will she be able to publish her interviews with an accused serial killer? Is the accused a killer or something worse?

📖 Cred: Semi-realistic with hyper-realistic moments and a sprinkling of absurdist pointlessness

🚙 Journey: Slow burn gradually unfolding in complex layers. Snuggled in a thunderstorm, working on a favourite hobby, contemplating how things could have been.

Mood Reading Match-Up:

Wintery nights. Soft snores. Ambient office sounds. Cigarette smoke and coffee. Fresh butter. Train announcements. Paper grocery bags. Wet soil. Smokiness. Cumin. Fried meat. Cake baking. Ramen slurps. Roast turkey. Sounds of home and comfort.
Bizarro melting into slice-of-life literary fiction.
Found family and friendships
Social commentary around gender roles and failures of traditional indicators of success and happiness

Content Heads-Up: Body shaming (fat). Fertility struggles. Murder. Fatphobia. Double standards. Misogyny. Toxic gender roles. Adult/minor relationship. Escort/sex work. Pedophilia (stalking, molestation; recall). Loss of parent. Stroke. Hit and run. Emotional incest. Narcissism.

Rep: Fat. Thin. Voluntarily childfree. Involuntarily childless. Japanese. Queer. Cisgender. Heterosexual.

📚 Format: Library Digital

🤩 Potential Fav of 2024

My musings 💖 powered by puppy snuggles 🐶

Content Warnings