Review by applesodaperson - Butter: A Novel of Food and Murder

applesodaperson 's review for:

Butter: A Novel of Food and Murder by Asako Yuzuki

4.5

emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This book was incredible! This book was just translated and released in English, even though it was originally published in 2017. But despite that, I think it still holds up and the commentary is still relevant. And it weaves together so many topics so well. For one, it talks about the meaning of family, and how family can absolutely include friends. We see this through the main character going from being super lonely to

upsizing her apartment so she can have lots of rooms for all her friends to stay in, and a kitchen to cook in.

Speaking of food, the main theme in this book is about food and eating. There is a lot of fatphobia in this book, but in a commentary kind of way. And I loved how this commentary wasn't just performative, but actually made an impact and mattered to the plot. It all reinforces the idea that people's perceptions of women is greatly affected by their weight and size and then talks about how messed up that is. Especially considering how much connection and enjoyment can come from eating and cooking.
I would also say that this book makes a comment about the consumption of true crime content can stray into weird territory and isn't always healthy.
Overall I loved this book.
Read from the Spokane Library.

Content Warnings