“Butter’’ is one of those books that you’re not really sure how it ended up on your Kindle but you’re glad. I knew I wanted to read something less ‘heavy’ than a lot of the things I’ve read recently, and this seemed quite interesting. The plot is quite unusual, Butter is a morbidly obese teenager, who, fed up with being known for nothing other than his huge appetite, decides to eat himself to death, live on the internet on New Year’s Eve. The time between making this pledge and New Year’s Eve, is where most of the story happens. The ‘popular kids’ begin to find Butter incredibly interested, and suddenly, after years of being a nobody, he is finally part of the in crowd.
At times, it is quite a hard book to read. The whole way through you don’t think he is going to go through with it (and I’m not going to tell you whether he does or not) but you get the feeling that it isn’t just going to have a sudden, sugar-coated happy realisation either. The dark side of the internet, and the ease at which you can hide a whole other life from your family is really well explored in this story. In fact, there are so many layers aside from the suicide pact; Butter’s unhealthy relationship with his parents, his love for the saxophone, his insistence that all his problems stem from being overweight.
It really makes you question your own values too. The whole way though I was struck with morbid curiosity. Of course I didn’t want this kid to kill himself, but at the same time, it was like a car crash, I wanted to see where it was going.
I won’t give away any spoilers but it is an addictive book. In fact, I had it propped up on my drawers as I got dressed so I didn’t have to stop reading in order to get dressed. That’s a pretty good accolade for a book I think!
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