Butter by Asako Yuzuki is Waterstones Book of the Year 2024

Waterstones announced on 28 November 2024 that its Book of the Year was Butter by Asako Yuzuki, translated from the Japanese by Polly Barton and published in the UK by Fourth Estate.

The novel is loosely based on a real criminal case in Japan and follows a journalist's increasingly close relationship with a woman accused of murder, a cook whose interest in food is at the centre of the story.

The prize, founded in 2012, is chosen by Waterstones booksellers, who nominate and vote for the shortlist and winner from books published over the previous twelve months. The winner receives prominent promotion in shops and online.

A translated novel winning a prize voted for by high-street booksellers says something about how far translated fiction has travelled in the British market. It also shows how a book can build momentum over months through staff recommendation rather than a single launch. For translators, and for publishers of translated work, it is a welcome result.

Sources: The Bookseller: Butter crowned Waterstones Book of the Year 2024; Wikipedia: Waterstones Book of the Year.