This book was discussed in one of our Cochin Book Club meets couple of years before and wanted to read it since then. Inspired by real events, based on the case of the “Konkatsu Killer” (Kanae Kijima), a con woman and gourmet cook convicted of poisoning her lovers, 'Butter' by Asako Yuzuki is widely considered a powerful and thought‑provoking novel. Translated into English by Polly Barton, this book blends crime fiction with social critique, exploring murder investigation, appetite, loneliness, body image, gender expectations, the meaning of pleasure, the relationship between women, food, and desire. It is unsettling but rewarding, with rich character depth and cultural commentary.
We have Rika Machida a young journalist seeking recognition in her newsroom and Manako Kajii a charismatic cook awaiting trial, who lures men with her food. Rika gains access to Kajii by asking for a recipe, leading to intimate meetings where food becomes a metaphor for power, desire, and trauma. The food descriptions are absolutely mouthwatering. Every meal feels intentional, symbolic, and deeply connected to the characters' emotional lives. But beneath the delicious dishes lies a sharp critique of societal pressures placed on women, especially around appearance, ambition, and desire.
What I loved most was how Butter challenges the idea that women should constantly deny themselves. It asks powerful questions: Who gets to enjoy life? Who gets to take up space? And why are women so often judged for wanting more?
Interesting to read how food can be both nurturing and destructive. Indeed an “incisive, thrilling novel” that exposes misogyny and fatphobia while weaving in rich food imagery. Butter lingers long after the final page. Come for the mystery, stay for the rich commentary on food, feminism, and freedom. Sometimes nourishment is about much more than food. It's about allowing yourself to desire, enjoy, and exist without apology.
#ButterBook #AsakoYuzuki #JapaneseLiterature #LiteraryFiction #FoodAndBooks
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Rika Machida's relationship with her father is one of the quieter but most important threads in Butter. The novel doesn't focus on it as directly as it does on Manako Kajii, but it helps explain why Rika initially lives the way she does and why Kajii's influence affects her so deeply.
One of the key ideas critics have noted is that both Rika's and Kajii's attitudes toward food can be traced back to their childhoods, particularly their relationships with their fathers.
Rika's father and food
Rika's memories of her father are associated with warmth, care, and shared experiences around food. Unlike the rushed, convenience-store meals that define her adult life, food in her childhood carried emotional meaning. As an adult, however, she has largely disconnected from that part of herself.
At the start of the novel, Rika:
Prioritizes work above everything.
Barely cooks.
Eats convenience-store meals.
Treats food as fuel rather than pleasure.
Through her encounters with Kajii, Rika begins to reconnect with enjoyment, memory, and self-care through food. In a sense, Kajii forces her to revisit parts of herself that had been suppressed, including feelings linked to family and childhood.
The emotional significance
What I find particularly moving is that Rika's father represents a kind of unconditional acceptance that is largely absent from her adult relationships.
Her boyfriend Makoto, for example, quickly comments on her weight gain when she starts enjoying food more freely. The world around her constantly judges women's bodies.
Her memories connected to her father stand in contrast to that judgment. They remind her of a time before she internalized society's expectations about how women should look, eat, and behave.
Why it matters to the novel
The novel isn't really about solving the murders. It's about women, desire, food, and freedom.
Rika's journey is essentially a rediscovery of self:
She starts as someone living according to social expectations.
Kajii introduces her to pleasure, appetite, and self-indulgence.
Rika reflects on her past, including family influences.
She begins to build an identity that is less dependent on others' approval.
Her relationship with her father helps illuminate what she has lost and what she is trying to reclaim.
One of the most fascinating aspects of Butter is that Rika and Kajii seem like opposites, but both women's relationships with food ultimately lead back to childhood experiences and, in different ways, to their fathers.
Like "Timshel" in East of Eden, Rika's story is also about choice. She gradually learns that she can choose how to live, eat, and define herself, instead of simply accepting the role society has written for her.
Rika's closest friend in Butter is Reiko Sayama, a university friend who remains one of the most important people in her life throughout the novel.
Their friendship serves as an emotional anchor for the story because the two women represent different responses to the pressures placed on women in Japanese society.
Who is Reiko?
Reiko Sayama was once ambitious and career-oriented, but she has left her professional life and become a housewife while undergoing fertility treatment and trying to conceive. This transition leaves her feeling isolated and increasingly dissatisfied with her life.
What is her relationship with Rika?
At the beginning of the novel, their relationship is one of deep trust and mutual support.
Reiko is the person who suggests that Rika write to Manako Kajii asking for a recipe rather than an interview request, a suggestion that ultimately opens the door to Rika's access to Kajii.
They confide in each other about their personal struggles.
Each woman sees in the other an alternative life path: Rika has a career but lacks fulfillment in other areas, while Reiko has chosen domestic life but feels trapped by it.
Why is the friendship important?
As Rika becomes increasingly fascinated by Kajii and starts changing her relationship with food, her body, and her sense of self, Reiko grows concerned that Kajii may be manipulating her. Reiko even accompanies Rika on parts of the investigation because of these worries.
What makes their friendship compelling is that it isn't idealized. There is genuine affection, but also envy, frustration, and misunderstanding. Both women are struggling with societal expectations about:
marriage,
motherhood,
careers,
beauty,
and what it means to be a "successful" woman.
My reading of their friendship
One of the novel's strongest themes is that the relationship between Rika and Reiko is ultimately more important than the mystery itself. While Kajii acts as a catalyst for change, it is the friendship between these two women that provides the novel's emotional heart. They challenge, disappoint, support, and ultimately help each other understand the lives they have chosen.
In many ways, Butter is as much a story about female friendship as it is about food, crime, or feminism.
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