Reviews - Butter: A Novel of Food and Murder

10.6k reviews for:

Butter: A Novel of Food and Murder

Asako Yuzuki

3.68 AVERAGE

justamelonbun's review against another edition

4.0

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

rinasangel's review against another edition

4.0

emotional hopeful mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

biancala's review against another edition

2.5

mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

baron_jelly's review against another edition

5.0

Absolutely loved this book. I've seen people say it was slow but I didn't find that at all, I felt like it took all the time it needed and I was utterly enthralled the whole time.

This story is so layered and the characters and themes are so complex. Conversations about, sexism, fat phobia, mental health and sexuality, all explored in such an interesting and nuanced way.
The only thing I wasn't a fan of was the portrayal of polyamory, I think it's possible that it was just one characters views and not the authors but it rubbed me the wrong way.

Rika is such a fascinating protagonist and the book does such a fantastic job of showing us her perspective that you find yourself carried along with her as she falls under Kajii's spell, only to be jolted out of it by revelations from other characters.

The beautiful descriptions of food made me so hungry reading and afterwards I felt like I really paid more attention to my food. I also bought some fancy butter.
Similarly the message it left me with about looking after yourself and taking initiative for your own happiness was really powerful.

This isn't the type of book I usually read but I would definitely recommend it if your looking for something rich, thoughtful and complex to sink your teeth into.
Just don't expect it to be a fast paced thriller or a murder mystery, cause that's not what it is.

Content Warnings

legume_and_beans's review against another edition

1.75

I am so glad this is over. I honestly found this a fight to read, and it was through sheer physical force that I waded through to the end. In the beginning, this was so very stereotype-y and drowning in fat-phobia to the degree that sections were deeply uncomfortable to read. What I didn't realise was that the feeling of discomfort would persist for the rest of the novel. I was consistently cautious and worried, though some aspects of the characters were addictive, despite the lack of plot. For most of the book I had no idea where it was going next, but in a wandering aimless kind of way, very little intrigue to it??
On the topic of food, as is the title, I found myself consistently rather hungry. Also was shocked about how many times butter was mentioned...Though I really should have seen that coming.
The way this book covers SO MANY heavy topics and themes was fascinating in how briefly they were discussed... Things overtly mentioned and then not discussed again were themes that honestly needed more discussion.
I would have adored to see the subplot actually develop at all, including the continual but not explored lesbian relationship blossoming between characters.
Overall the way I would describe this book is ominously stressful and stressfully ominous, whilst still being heavy and confusing. The end was only marginally worth it, but still left many ends untied, and I would not recommend it based on anything.