Hooked by Asako Yuzuki review follow-up to global hit Butter

"Both are 30, an age which in Yuzuki's telling spells disaster in Japan for unmarried women who are no longer girls. During her long office hours, Eriko becomes addicted to Shoko's pseudonymous, self-deprecating blog The Diary of Hallie B, the World's Worst Wife, and contrives to accidentally-on-purpose meet the blogger at a cafe Shoko mentions in one of her posts."

"They initially hit it off, but Eriko pushes too hard for an all-consuming friendship. An alarmed Shoko backs away, and Eriko begins an increasingly aggressive campaign of stalking and blackmail. While a more introspective work, its high-wire plot and uneven trajectory make for a relentlessly dizzying experience."

Hooked is Asako Yuzuki's follow-up novel to the international bestseller Butter, written earlier in 2015 and translated by Polly Barton. Set in Tokyo, the story centers on two 30-year-old women: Shoko, a laid-back stay-at-home wife, and Eriko, an ambitious seafood company executive. Eriko becomes obsessed with Shoko's self-deprecating blog and orchestrates a meeting. Their initial connection deteriorates when Eriko demands an all-consuming friendship, prompting Shoko's withdrawal. Eriko then escalates into aggressive stalking and blackmail. The novel combines introspective character study with high-wire plotting, creating a dizzying psychological thriller. Like Butter, it critiques capitalist society and misogyny while examining how age 30 represents a critical juncture for unmarried women in Japan.

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