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

himpersonal 's review for:

Butter: A Novel of Food and Murder by Asako Yuzuki

3.0

emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I can understand why this book is currently being talked about by Japanese feminists. A lot of important things are discussed. I enjoyed the question of whether men’s domestic dependency on women could drive them to death. However, given the book’s greatest achievement for me was making my mouth water for buttery foods, I cannot give this more than three stars.

Actually, it did also surprise me in one way. When I was a child and my family was poor, my dad also used to mix rice with soy sauce and butter (well, it was some butter-like spread - probably margarine, which would appall Kaji 😫). I always thought it was something we did just because we were so poor. Now I wonder if my dad was more gourmet than any of us realized 😂😂😂

Update a couple months later: Missing my dad a lot this week. This week is the anniversary week that he died/was killed. So I'm eating rice with butter and chopped chili and Maggi seasoning to remember him. We'd be laughing together about what a silly snack this is, and we'd love every bite together. Not exactly a Michelin star meal, but sure is good for my soul. My dad was a man of many contradictions, and food was a big part of that.

Content Warnings