While the story is overtly a simple one, Yuzuki’s habit of dropping large philosophical questions with a delicate touch adds depth and richness to the calm, pristine prose ... There is much enjoyable black humour too ... It is a subtle, original and thought-provoking book that stayed with me for weeks after I had finished it.
Deranged ... Yuzuki tells this nail-biting stalker saga through alternating chapters from the third person limited perspectives of Eriko and Shoko ... Though Hooked doesn’t have quite the same sheen as Butter, it’s still a feverishly good time.
I suppose we can forgive the author for the multiple infractions she otherwise commits against good linguistic taste ... A hyper-compelling opening act ... Eventually, however, the pacing falls apart ... While Yuzuki is too busy grappling with the themes and the plot, we end up in a banal linguistic universe ... Yuzuki pinballs between the glib and the strange with arresting intensity. It’s a good story, let down at the sentence level.
