Asako Yuzuki's follow-up to her international bestseller Butter, Hooked, is a tense exploration of obsession and loneliness set in Tokyo. Originally written in 2015, the novel has been translated into English by Polly Barton with crackling verve. While Butter was a crime thriller and foodie mashup based on a true story, Hooked is a more introspective work, though it shares a similar high-wire plot and uneven trajectory.
The story centres on two 30-year-old women: Shoko, a laid-back stay-at-home wife, and Eriko, a perfectionist high-flyer at a seafood company. Eriko becomes addicted to Shoko's pseudonymous blog, The Diary of Hallie B, the World's Worst Wife, and contrives to meet her at a café. Their friendship quickly sours as Eriko pushes too hard, leading to an increasingly aggressive campaign of stalking and blackmail.
The novel delves deep into both characters' motives. Eriko is emotionally undeveloped and craves a best friend after losing one at school due to her control freakery. She identifies with the Nile perch, a fish that devours all others in its bid to survive, a metaphor used liberally throughout the book. Shoko, meanwhile, is friendless but companionable with her husband, whom she underestimates. Both women struggle with societal expectations and loneliness.
While the emphasis on blogging may seem dated in the age of Instagram and TikTok, the anxieties that fuel it remain relevant. The novel wears its black comedy lightly but carries its political statements more heavily. There are farcical elements, such as a subplot involving a psychopathic office temp, but the book avoids easy answers. The finale tones down the manic drama to end on a quiet, philosophical note.
