Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

Butter by Asako Yuzuki

27 reviews

carlomartinez__'s review against another edition

challenging dark reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Suicide attempt, and Toxic relationship

ellegranger's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fatphobia and Misogyny

caseyreadslol's review

reflective slow-paced

• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

decent enough prose to (just barely) slide me over the finish line but otherwise imagine reading narrative and character arcs structured like this https://youtu.be/kJqZCa-xXvQ?si=wW2WZls8a6tU5cMf . for nearly 500 desperately in need of cutting down pages

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fatphobia, Eating disorder, and Grief

Moderate: Misogyny

fionag's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

A read I was disappointed by. I agree with a lot of reviews I’ve seen that this book is a lot longer than it needs to be and could’ve been much sharper if a couple hundred pages were cut. I also think that the marketing of this book was perhaps misleading, as from the content on socials I assumed this would be the story of a journalist slowly siding with a killer and joining the dark side, a la Hannibal. It’s a shame because the first part of the book I enjoyed and then it fell off for me. Some discussions of sexism felt far too on the nose and I don’t think they were adding anything new. I didn’t like our main character and I thought she didn’t have any agency. The ‘twist’ at the end was so unsurprising and there’s a part in the middle that annoyed me and felt pointless. Also the body shaming is extreme and something I grew bored of, though if you were struggling with disordered thoughts I can imagine this would be really triggering. The narration on audio felt a bit strange as I struggled to get where a paragraph changed and it felt a bit rushed. Overall definitely not for me but the food descriptions were amazing and I really did find Kajii an intriguing character 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Fatphobia, and Body shaming

book_artiste's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Enjoyed the inclusion of feminist themes and think they were insightful from the perspective of women in Japan, but otherwise there were no "hot-takes" or new information for me in terms of this theme. Really enjoyed, however, how the plot was so well linked to this theme and did well to address many different issues in a natural way (didn't feel forced/performative). 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Infertility, Murder, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Adult/minor relationship, Abandonment, Classism, Death of parent, Fatphobia, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Physical abuse, Child abuse, and Mental illness

NOTE: mislabeled trigger warnings as graphic, these are mainly moderate to mild but be aware these themes exist in the book

dorothy_shack's review against another edition

There was a lot of talk about body size/shape/changes due to changes in diet/societal stuff about bodies and food that I’m honestly not in a good place to read, now or ever. I came for food descriptions, not breathless depictions of how gross-but-somehow-alluring a chubby probable-murderer is. 

The writing itself is evocative and well-done, so if you’re up for a lot of discussion about Japanese societal expectations of women’s bodies and behavior, you might enjoy this more than I did. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fatphobia

Moderate: Toxic friendship, Body shaming, Sexism, and Misogyny

nix_jinx's review against another edition

challenging dark inspiring mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The writing and, by extension, the translation, are phenomenal. I loved how the the descriptions of food were woven into so much of the character's perspective. 
Ultimately, this felt like an exploration of psychological manipulations, the subtleties and insidiousness. You have a character who overtly attempts to exude control over those who come into contact with her, but then you also have all the different influences who seek to control more subtly. Having the stark contrast of women fighting to live for something other than the men in their lives, and those fighting for the status quo in which men are all that matters was uncomfortable and powerful. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fatphobia, Emotional abuse, Toxic friendship, Body shaming, and Misogyny

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Child abuse, and Toxic relationship

teaandbooksnuggery's review

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Misogyny, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Toxic relationship, Body shaming, Infertility, Pedophilia, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicide, and Toxic friendship

kirstym25's review against another edition

dark reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fatphobia, Body shaming, and Misogyny

Moderate: Murder and Suicide

heather_harrison's review against another edition

dark reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

Our protagonist Rika, a female journalist in her 30s, finds her life and her identity tipped upside in the task of interviewing accused murder Kajii. 

Butter delves into the concepts of misogyny, expectations of women, loneliness & isolation in society, and pleasure. 

The novel is long, and I found myself struggling in middle as the plot begins to thicken. The ending was delicious. 

This book touts itself as being inspired by the real case of the convicted con woman and serial killer, "The Konkatsu Killer” - and it seems accurate and as well as stranger than fiction.  

With thanks to NetGalley and 4th Estate for my e-ARC of Butter. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Eating disorder, Sexism, and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Murder

Minor: Infertility, Sexism, Grief, Infidelity, and Mental illness