Asako Yuzuki

Kansainvälinen myyntimenestys käsittelee ruokaa ja ruokakulttuuria, yhteiskunnan misogyniaa ja naisten ulkonäköpaineita, kehopositiivisuutta ja fat shamingia sekä epäkonventionaalisia parisuhteita. Gourmet-kokki Manako Kajiin väitetään hurmanneen varakkaita poikamiehiä herkullisella kotiruoallaan – ja sitten myrkyttäneen heidät. Tapaus on vanginnut koko kansan huomion, mutta Tokion tutkintavankilassa istuva Kajii ei suostu puhumaan lehdistölle. Ei ennen kuin toimittaja Rika Machida keksii pyytää häneltä kirjeessään naudanlihapadan reseptiä. Tapaamiset Kajiin kanssa muistuttavat enemmän ruoanlaiton mestarikurssia kuin tutkivaa journalismia, sillä Rika toivoo gastronomisen ajatustenvaihdon murtavan Kajiin hiljaisuuden. Sen sijaan muutos tapahtuu hänessä itsessään: jokaisen syödyn aterian myötä Rikan kehossa herää jotakin uutta.

En miljon sålda exemplar - nu kommer den kultförklarade japanska bästsäljaren om kvinnlig besatthet, mat och mord äntligen på svenska. Berättelsen är inspirerad av en sann historia. Det finns två saker jag vägrar att tolerera: feminister och margarin. Manako Kajii sitter dömd för att ha mördat flera affärsmän efter att ha förfört dem med sin läckra matlagning. Fallet har väckt stort intresse i Japan, men Manako vägrar att prata med media och tar inte emot besökare. Till dess att journalisten Rika Machida skriver ett brev och ber om receptet på hennes köttgryta. Rika är ensam kvinna på sin tidningsredaktion. Hon arbetar hårt, har inte mycket till privatliv och lagar sällan mer än en enkel ramen. Men det hon hade hoppats på som ett karriärsavgörande scoop blir snarare en kurs i kulinarisk kokkonst - och istället för att komma den manipulativa seriemördaren in på livet är det snarare Rika som börjar förändras. Med inspiration från ett verkligt rättsfall utforskar Asako Yuzukis SMÖR de krav som ställs på kvinnor i dagens Japan. Det är en underhållande feministisk tour de force som får smaklökarna att vattnas. En dödligt bra roman. THE TIMES En helfet delikatess i Michelin-nivå. THE SUNDAY TIMES Vinnare av WATERSTONES BOOK OF THE YEAR och BRITISH BOOK AWARDS

'Tender and thrilling it's Yuzuki at her best'ELLE'Deliciously satisfying'iPAPER'Enjoyable and addictive' INDEPENDENT'Fantastically dark' ERIN KELLYThe thrilling new novel of friendship and dangerous obsession from Asako Yuzuki, the award-winning author of the global sensation Butter.

The unmissable new novel of friendship and dangerous obsession from Asako Yuzuki, the award-winning author of the global bestselling sensation Butter.

The unmissable new novel of friendship and dangerous obsession from Asako Yuzuki, the award-winning author of the global bestselling sensation Butter.

A Paperback Original From the author of the international bestseller Butter comes a chilling and perceptive novel about obsession, female friendship, and the slow unraveling of two lives Eriko's life looks perfect--from her prestigious job at a Japanese trading firm to her spotless apartment and devoted parents. Her newest project, to reintroduce the controversial Nile Perch into the Japanese market, is as ambitious as she is. But beneath her flawless surface lies a consuming loneliness. Eriko has never been able to hold on to a real friend. Enter Shoko: a popular lifestyle blogger whose work Eriko follows obsessively. Shoko lives a life of controlled chaos--messy apartment, take-out dinners, a kind, easy-going husband. She writes about daily contentment, though her fractured relationship with her father gnaws at the edges of her happiness. When Eriko orchestrates a "chance" meeting with Shoko, the two women strike up an unlikely connection. For a fleeting moment, Eriko believes she's finally found what she's always longed for. But as her fascination turns to fixation and Shoko's carefully balanced life begins to dissolve, both women are pushed to breaking points neither of them saw coming. Deftly translated by Polly Barton, Hooked is a taut, provocative novel about modern womanhood, the hunger for connection, and the quiet, ordinary ways our lives can spiral out of control. With razor-sharp insight and disarming empathy, Asako Yuzuki explores how far we'll go to be seen and what happens when the ones who see us don't like what they find.

Tõsielulistest sündmusest inspireeritud Jaapani kultusromaan! Pärast seda, kui Manako Kajii on süüdis mõistetud mitme üksildase ärimehe tapmises, kelle ta väidetavalt oma maitsva koduse toiduga võrgutas, istub ta Tokyo vanglas. Skandaalne juhtum on köitnud kogu Jaapani kujutlusvõime, kuid Manako keeldub ajakirjanikega rääkimast ega nõustu kellegagi kohtuma. Ajakirjanik Rika Machida leiab aga kavalama lähenemise: ta saadab mõrvarile kirja, milles palub tema veiseliha hautise retsepti. Ja Manako ei suuda vastu panna ahvatlusele toidust rääkida. Rika, kes on oma toimetuses ainus naine, töötab varavalgest hilisõhtuni ning tema tavaliseks toiduks on kiirnuudlid. Kohtumised tema ja jääkülma Manako vahel näevad välja pigem toidukunsti seminaride kui ajakirjandusliku uurimistööna, kuid Rika loodab, et see gastronoomiline vahetus aitab tal salapärasele naisele naha alla pugeda. Üllatuslikul kombel näib, et hoopis tema ise hakkab muutuma. Iga saadud retseptide järgi valmistatud ja söödud roog äratab temas midagi ... kas tal ja Kajiil võib olla rohkem ühist, kui ta kunagi oskas arvata? Asako Yuzuki kultusteose staatuse saavutanud 1970ndatel Jaapanis aset leidnud "Konkatsu tapja" juhtumist inspireeritu romaan "Või" on värvikas, rahutukstegev uurimus misogüüniast, kinnisideedest, romantikast ja toidu piiritutest naudingutest.

THE NUMBER ONE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING SENSATION WINNER OF WATERSTONES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2024 SHORTLISTED FOR THE BRITISH BOOK AWARDS DEBUT NOVEL OF THE YEAR 2025 A BBC BETWEEN THE COVERS BOOK CLUB PICK ‘A full-fat, Michelin-starred treat’ THE SUNDAY TIMES ‘A cult phenomenon’ iNEWS ‘Took the literary world by storm’ BBC ‘A killer Japanese novel’ THE TIMES 'I have been glued to Butter’ NIGEL SLATER 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. 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, gripping exploration of misogyny, obsession and the transgressive pleasures of food in Japan. Longlisted for the CWA Crime Fiction in Translation Dagger Award 2025 'It isn’t entirely clear whether to read the novel or devour it’ OBSERVER ‘Readers around the world are finding themselves utterly captivated’ DAILY MAIL ‘I really enjoyed it’ MEERA SYAL, on BBC Between the Covers 'Compelling, delightfully weird' PANDORA SYKES 'Unputdownable, breathtakingly original' ERIN KELLY 'You’ll be craving rice, butter and soy sauce in no time’ STYLIST ‘Nothing short of ingenious’ iNEWS ‘Ambitious and unsettling’ GUARDIAN 'Luscious … I devoured this' IMOGEN CRIMP 'A salty morsel with one hell of a bite’ ALICE SLATER

THE NUMBER ONE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING SENSATION WINNER OF WATERSTONES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2024WINNER OF THE BRITISH BOOK AWARDS DEBUT NOVEL OF THE YEAR 2025SHORTLISTED FOR THE CWA CRIME FICTION IN TRANSLATION DAGGER AWARD 2025A BBC BETWEEN THE COVERS BOOK CLUB PICK

The cult Japanese bestseller about a female gourmet cook and serial killer, and the journalist intent on cracking her case, inspired by a true storyThere are two things that I simply cannot tolerate: feminists and margarineGourmet cook Manako Kajii sits in the Tokyo Detention House convicted of the serial murders of lonely businessmen, whom 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 master class in food than journalistic research. Rika hopes this gastronomic exchange will help her soften Kajii, but it seems that Rika might be the one changing. Do she and Kajii have more in common than she once thought? Inspired by the real case of a 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.

INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER The cult Japanese bestseller about a female gourmet cook and serial killer, and the journalist intent on cracking her case, inspired by a true storyThere are two things that I simply cannot tolerate: feminists and margarine. Gourmet cook Manako Kajii sits in the Tokyo Detention House convicted of the serial murders of lonely businessmen, whom 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 master class in food than journalistic research. Rika hopes this gastronomic exchange will help her soften Kajii, but it seems that Rika might be the one changing. With each meal she eats, something is awakening in her body. Do she and Kajii have more in common than she once thought? Inspired by the real case of a 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.

A BBC 'BETWEEN THE COVERS' BOOK CLUB PICK'Compelling, delightfully weird, often uncomfortable' PANDORA SYKES'Unputdownable, breathtakingly original' ERIN KELLY'I have been glued to Asako Yuzuki's new novel Butter' NIGEL SLATER'A full-fat, Michelin-starred treat' THE TIMES

THE NUMBER ONE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING SENSATION WINNER OF WATERSTONES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2024 SHORTLISTED FOR THE BRITISH BOOK AWARDS DEBUT NOVEL OF THE YEAR 2025 A BBC BETWEEN THE COVERS BOOK CLUB PICK ‘A full-fat, Michelin-starred treat’ THE SUNDAY TIMES ‘A cult phenomenon’ iNEWS ‘Took the literary world by storm’ BBC ‘A killer Japanese novel’ THE TIMES 'I have been glued to Butter’ NIGEL SLATER 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. 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, gripping exploration of misogyny, obsession and the transgressive pleasures of food in Japan. Longlisted for the CWA Crime Fiction in Translation Dagger Award 2025 'It isn’t entirely clear whether to read the novel or devour it’ OBSERVER ‘Readers around the world are finding themselves utterly captivated’ DAILY MAIL ‘I really enjoyed it’ MEERA SYAL, on BBC Between the Covers 'Compelling, delightfully weird' PANDORA SYKES 'Unputdownable, breathtakingly original' ERIN KELLY 'You’ll be craving rice, butter and soy sauce in no time’ STYLIST ‘Nothing short of ingenious’ iNEWS ‘Ambitious and unsettling’ GUARDIAN 'Luscious … I devoured this' IMOGEN CRIMP 'A salty morsel with one hell of a bite’ ALICE SLATER