Just finished Butter by Asako Yusaki and found it really fascinating. What did you all think of it?
Things I liked
Exploration of the themes of patriarchy in a traditional society and how the female characters negotiate this and develop their own autonomy from their relationships with their fathers and partners and understand and value better their relationships with other women.
The idea of consumption in relationships, where Kajii is portrayed almost like a cannibal or vampire, sucking the life out of her victims and Reiko is portrayed as a woman who is being consumed by societal pressure of ideals of perfection.
Rika, Kajii and Reiko do ring true as characters although it took me a while to warm to them and Kajii although intriguing was perhaps lacking in rounding and detail.
Things I didn’t like
Drawn out descriptions of cooking and food, although part of this was a lack of understanding about Japanese food and culture.
Poorly written male characters like Makato, Ryo etc. did not find them at all interesting or realistic.
Perhaps because I am reading an English translation, the dialogue seems very formal and stilted.
What did you like/dislike?
by Verystrange129