Rating: ★★★​​★½

Author: Asako Yuzuki, translated to English by Polly Barton

Genre: Contemporary thriller

Publication Date: March 12, 2026

Ever since spotting the bright yellow cover of her English debut, “Butter,” in a London bookstore, Japanese writer Asako Yuzuki has captivated me. Combining gripping musings on womanhood, humorous analysis of Japanese society, and unctuous descriptions of food, Yuzuki’s delectable prose left me longing for more. “Hooked,” her second English novel, not only satisfied my hunger completely, but also encouraged similar reflections on my own identity and connections as a woman. 

“Hooked” follows two Tokyoites in their late 20s who could not be more opposite in careers and dispositions. Eriko, a glamorous and driven businesswoman, and Shoko, a laidback stay-at-home wife and blogger, overlap in just one way: Neither woman has ever been able to make a friend. After a “chance” encounter in their neighborhood cafe — orchestrated by Eriko — both women’s lives are irrevocably changed. 

Don’t be fooled, however. This is not a novel about meet-cutes and blossoming friendship. Apart from one blissful night spent bonding in a diner, Eriko and Shoko’s relationship devolves catastrophically as their shared ineptitude at friendship drags them deeper into each other’s obsessive clutches. Alternating between each woman’s perspective, Yuzuki’s characterization of Eriko and Shoko lays bare their nastiest traits. Eriko alienates herself with her intense need for control and perfection. In contrast, Shoko avoids blame and makes excuses for the grief she causes. As I progressed through the novel, I found myself oscillating between feelings of disgust, pity, and sympathy for these characters who — despite all the hurt they inflict on each other — just wish to be less alone. 

Yuzuki’s writing shines in her portrayal of an increasingly erratic Eriko as she wrestles with her laughable inability to connect with Shoko. Eriko likens herself to the subject of her current business venture: the Nile perch, an invasive freshwater fish devastating the waters of Lake Victoria, Africa’s largest lake. This large, silver fish became a fearsome carnivore once it was introduced to this new habitat. Tasked with its introduction into the Japanese market, the Nile perch’s bizarrely forlorn existence haunts Eriko throughout the novel. 

As Eriko’s varied attempts at friendship fail over and over, her interior monologue diverges from the succinct, measured cadence of her professional pursuits, growing manic and absurdly unreliable: “Should [Eriko] learn to trust people by practising little by little? By telling people how she really felt, for example. By putting in the time it took to understand another person. … But no, it was useless. Eriko couldn’t be bothered with all that hollow, purposeless effort.” Yuzuki relentlessly ensnares the reader with paragraphs of insight into a woman who, despite all the privileges afforded to her since birth, is hopelessly unable to connect with a single other human being. All you can do, Yuzuki seems to tell readers with a wry smile, is watch.

Originally published in Japan in 2015, “Hooked’s” venture into the sinking depths of loneliness in an ever-changing, fast-paced world is still relevant over a decade later. Through Eriko and Shoko’s struggles in warding off infuriating coworkers, indolent family members, and each other, Yuzuki asks us to examine the ways our interpersonal relationships ebb and flow. Most of all, “Hooked” challenges preconceived notions about female friendship in the patriarchal, workaholic society of which Eriko and Shoko are unwitting members. The cattiness, the envy, the never-ending competition — how could a meaningful connection with another woman ever survive this kind of environment? Or are these stereotypes the result of male manipulation, clouding the perspective of women searching for comfort and loyalty in one another? After all, it’s awfully convenient for the men in Eriko and Shoko’s lives that these women lack agency, performing domestic “duties” and depending solely on their male counterparts for companionship. Like an invasive species introduced into an unnatural habitat, both the ideals and presumptions dumped onto women are aberrant and destructive in nature. 

However frustrated and horrified I was while reading, I still found myself rooting for both women to somehow achieve true companionship and understanding from those around them. With every rising development, I became more unsure of how “Hooked” would ultimately resolve. Neither woman is able to move forward from their self-destructive tendencies and crippling loneliness until they reconcile with these faults — the most formidable undertaking of all. Despite intense second-hand embarrassment at each woman’s social fumbles, Eriko’s outstandingly foolish perfectionism and Shoko’s terrifying levels of apathy are, at times, relatable. Outlandish as their actions may be, these women are still human, just like you and me. 

Like its predecessor, “Hooked” has all the hallmarks of Yuzuki’s writing that I’ve now grown to crave. If I wasn’t obsessed with her work previously, I am absolutely, completely enthralled now; I’ll be excitedly watching for what’s next.