Waterstones has been slammed for naming a ‘boring’ Japanese murder mystery as its ‘Book of the Year’ for 2024.
The British book retailer, which was founded in London in 1982, announced Butter: A Novel of Food and Murder by Asako Yuzuki had scooped its coveted title last week.
The crime thriller originally came out in Japan back in 2017, where it became an instant bestseller, before it was published in the UK in February.
As well as winning breakthrough author award at the Books Are My Bag Awards earlier this year, the novel also features in 2024’s top 20 translated fiction titles, according to The Guardian.
However, Waterstones’ Book of the Year choice, which follows the extreme lengths a female reporter goes to secure an exclusive interview with a suspected serial killer with a taste for fine dining, has been met with mixed reaction from avid readers.
Following the announcement, several UK-based ‘BookTok’ users have posted TikTok videos complaining about the decision.
Yesterday, TikToker Annabel – who boasts 24,000 followers – said Butter, which Waterstones says is ‘teeming with searing insights into sexism, obsession and pleasure’, should have been ‘so up her street’ but ‘shied’ away from its ‘f***ed up’ subject matter.
Speaking in her review video, the TikToker said: ‘It creeps up to the line so many times […] but it always backed down every single time in a way that was very disappointing and quite deflating to a read.
Pictured: Annabel – who boasts 24,000 TikTok followers – said Butter should have been ‘so up her street’ but ‘shied’ away from its ‘f***ed up’ subject matter
In the comments, Annabel’s viewers praised her ‘spot on’ review of the novel, which they also felt was ‘tepid’
‘It is jam-packed with really interesting commentary but some of that commentary is so heavy-handed.
‘It just goes over the same points over and over again, where I feel like I was being punished for paying attention.’
Annabel ended her video by saying it’s a ‘lie’ to call Butter the ‘best book of the year’ – instead arguing that ‘it was fine’.
In the comments, Annabel’s viewers praised her ‘spot on’ review of the novel, which they also felt was ‘tepid’.
One replied: ‘It won Waterstones Book of the Year and I was SO CONFUSED! It won over SO MANY other amazing books and I DON’T GET IT.’
Another added: ‘Butter is the only book I [didn’t finished] this year. I couldn’t do it. I was really excited for it too.’
Meanwhile, a third said: ‘It’s like the year’s best premise of a book, but the actual book itself is so tepid and timid about its potential to be weird. It’s a shame.’
Last night, Kirsty, from Scotland, posted a video where she said: ‘Butter – Book of the Year Sorry, what?
Last night, BookTok creator Kirsty, from Scotland, said she couldn’t finish reading Butter and ‘doesn’t know a single person that enjoyed it’
Pictured: Members of the BookTok community on TikTok were furious about Waterstones’ pick for Book of the Year
‘I [didn’t finish] this book [and put it down] after the first 50 pages. I don’t know a single person that read and enjoyed it.’
Taking issue with Waterstones’ description of the novel, Kirsty continued: ‘It’s not a murder mystery.
‘It’s not gripping and dark and twisted. It’s food porn. I was 50 pages in and she had made noodles with butter about 500 times.’
The furious social media user concluded her video by adding: ‘Waterstones, I think you need to rethink your panel.’
In their rave review of the novel, The Guardian’s Josh Weeks wrote in March: ‘Part of the brilliance of Butter is its framing of individual eating habits as a mystery to be solved, which in the case of both Rika [the journalist] and Kajii [the serial killer] leads back to their upbringings – particularly their relationships with their respective fathers.’
In the book, suspected serial killer Manako Kaji – an amateur chef with a taste for luxury – tells her female interviewer: ‘There are two things that I can simply not tolerate: feminists and margarine.’
Pictured: Butter author Asako Yuzuki, who won the breakthrough author award at the Books Are My Bag Awards earlier this year
Although The Times’ reviewer Laura Hackett took issues with some of the ‘cringeworthy’ prose, the critic praised the ‘Dickensian cast of fleshy characters’.
They gushed: ‘Butter is a full-fat, Michelin-starred treat that moves seamlessly between an Angry Young Woman narrative and an engrossing detective drama and back again.’
Following the announcement, Waterstones’ Head of Books Bea Carvalho said: ‘Butter is the ultimate word of mouth sensation, a deliciously rich treat of a novel which quickly established itself as the most talked about book of the year.
‘Weaving tense mystery with blistering social commentary and skewering the media’s obsession with true crime, fans of fiction of all kinds will devour Butter.
‘As well as its brilliant storytelling and elegant translation, Butter is a true publishing masterclass which raises the bar for book design. We are thrilled to name Butter our Book of the Year.’
