Butter

Teeming with searing insights into sexism, obsession and pleasure, this glorious Japanese cult classic revolves around a famed female chef convicted as the serial killer of lonely businessmen and a story-hungry young journalist who wishes to learn the secrets of gourmet cooking from her.

Waterstones Fiction Book of the Month for May 2025

The cult Japanese bestseller about a female gourmet cook and serial killer and the journalist intent on cracking her case, inspired by a true story, and translated by Polly Barton.

There are two things that I can simply not tolerate: feminists and margarine.

Gourmet cook Manako Kajii sits in Tokyo Detention Centre convicted of the serial murders of lonely businessmen, who she is said to have seduced with her delicious home cooking. The case has captured the nation’s imagination but Kajii refuses to speak with the press, entertaining no visitors. That is, until journalist Rika Machida writes a letter asking for her recipe for beef stew and Kajii can’t resist writing back.

Rika, the only woman in her news office, works late each night, rarely cooking more than ramen. As the visits unfold between her and the steely Kajii, they are closer to a masterclass in food than journalistic research. Rika hopes this gastronomic exchange will help her soften Kajii but it seems that she might be the one changing. With each meal she eats, something is awakening in her body, might she and Kaji have more in common than she once thought?

Inspired by the real case of the convicted con woman and serial killer, "The Konkatsu Killer", Asako Yuzuki’s Butter is a vivid, unsettling exploration of misogyny, obsession, romance and the transgressive pleasures of food in Japan.

MEDIA REVIEWS

'I have been glued to Asako Yuzuki’s new novel Butter … contains delicious descriptions' Nigel Slater, Guardian Feast newsletter 'A deliciously dark tale … examining power and greed through a feminist lens. Yuzuki has created a cult phenomenom' iNews ‘Exuberant, indulgent romp of a novel … Butter is a full-fat, Michelin-starred treat … Let this book bring you under its spell’ Sunday Times ‘Readers around the world are finding themselves utterly captivated’ Daily Mail

‘A unique and, at times, unsettling read … Butter holds countless surprises … you’ll be craving rice, butter and soy sauce in no time’ Stylist 'It isn’t entirely clear whether to read the novel or devour it’ Observer ‘Ambitious and unsettling … a thought-provoking and surprisingly feelgood take on friendship, transgressive pleasures, and society’s impossibly contradictory expectations of women’ Guardian

'Compelling, delightfully weird, often uncomfortable … Butter will churn your brain and your stomach with panache’ Pandora Sykes, author of How Do We Know We're Doing It Right? ‘An unputdownable, breathtakingly original novel … I will be spoon-feeding Butter to every woman I know’ Erin Kelly, author of The Skeleton Key 'I devoured this dark and delicious novel' Imogen Crimp, author of A Very Nice Girl ‘A delectable meditation on appetite, fatphobia and misogyny in modern Japan … a salty morsel with one hell of a bite’ Alice Slater, author of Death of A Bookseller

‘A biting satire on fat-shaming culture and double standards in beauty’ Financial Times ‘The perfect mix of crime thriller, twisted feminist fantasy and gourmet cooking – what more could you want?’ Independent ‘Cleverly intertwines paeans to the pleasures of eating with indictments of Japan’s standards for women’ New Yorker ‘A heady serving of food culture and feminism … Yuzuki goes beyond the typical crime narrative’ Japan Times ‘A delicious novel’ i-D 'It'll make your mouth water' Irish Independent