Our January Book of the Month is the award-winning Japanese bestseller Butter by Asako Yuzuki, translated by Polly Barton. Inspired by a real-life case, the novel follows Rika Machida, a Tokyo journalist who begins a correspondence with Manako Kajii, a woman in detention whose story has gripped the public imagination. What starts as a professional inquiry slowly becomes a charged exchange shaped by food, power, and curiosity. Blending crime, social critique, and evocative food writing, Butter explores misogyny, obsession, and desire, confirming Yuzuki’s place as a distinctive and compelling voice in contemporary literature.
Special price: €8,50 (instead of €14,99)

Discussion in English