The Gist: Good afternoon VegNews Book Clubbers! It is now November, and we have begun to read the novel, My Year of Meats by Ruth L. Ozeki. The book has two main characters—Jane Takagi-Little and Akiko Ueno. Jane is an American documentary filmmaker with an American father and a Japanese mother. At the start of the book, she has been offered a job to run a television series called My American Wife!, which documents "real" American women, their families, and the meat they cook for them, in order to bring the American Heartland to Japanese women—Akiko being one of them. The shows only sponsor is the Beef Export and Trade Syndicate (BEEF-EX), who has its sights set on Asia. Hence, the new show.We're only three chapters in so far, but so far the narration has gone back and forth between Jane's point of view to Akiko's, who lives in Japan, and whose husband is the representative of the ad agency in charge of marketing the meats. Akiko's husband has pretty much ordered Akiko to watch the show and to participate by cooking the meat recipes displayed on the show. Akiko is extremely unhappy, and her health is a reflection of it—she's bone thin and cannot menstruate. Her husband, Joichi (or "John"), wants her to put meat, literally, on her bones so that they can have a baby together.
Already, there are connections between the two main characters, particularly with The Pillow Book—Sei Shonagon's book of observations and musings. It is mainly a diary of sorts. They also both seem to be unhappy with their lives at the moment.
The Discussion: I am really enjoying this book so far! I have always been more of a fiction reader myself, because I love to lose myself while reading, and fiction helps me to do just that. Here are two discussion points to help get the conversation started. I look forward to hearing from you!
1. What do you think of the two main characters so far? Are there any similarities between the two? How do they complement each other?
2. It's sad, but My American Wife! sounds an awful lot like current reality TV shows on air. What are your thoughts on reality television? Do you think it shows a negative portrayal of American society?
The Assignment: Please read chapters 4 to 6 for our discussion on Monday, November 8.
~VN Book Club Hostess Lyndsay Orwig
Hi!
ReplyDeleteThis is my first time reading/posting for the book club. I am not really sure what I think of this book so far or how it relates to veganess but I guess I will keep reading and find out!
As far as the 2 main characters, Jane and Akiko so far I do not see alot of "external" similarities. I do think the may be alike on the inside. I would assume that this is due to cultural differences. It seems Akiko would like to be more in control of her life, hence the possible eating disorder, but maybe I am just reading to much into that. It would appear that Jane is a much stronger person than Akiko but on the otherhand it seems she is still trying to find her "place' in the world.
As to the reality TV aspect of the book/show I must confess that I LOVE reality TV. I have watched every single season of Survivor. There are lots of others that I love but I will just stick with that one as my main love. I love watching how people of different ethnic groups, social classes, genders, ages, etc react to each other and learn to deal with each other. Also no matter how scripted reality TV may be (and as critics say then its not really reality tv) the humaness always comes out! As it did in the case of the Flowers family. I am quite sure the producers NEVER expected Mr. Flowers to say he was cheating on his wife since they were supposed to be the "ideal" American family.
I look forward to hearing what others say and to reading more of this book!
1. I feel that Jane and Akiko are very similar, but due to different circumstances, a divide has occurred. At the moment, it seems like Jane has much more control over her life, while Akiko has none—I actually feel incredibly sad for Akiko. Although, at the same time, Jane may not have as much control as it may seem. At the very beginning she is pretty much a starving artist, and when this job opportunity falls into her lap, she jumps on it, even though it may not have been the best opportunity out there. And as she's progressing with the show, she's realizing that her control over it really isn't what it seemed to be. I look forward to seeing how the characters will change/grow in the book!
ReplyDelete2. Unfortunately, I'm going to have to disagree with Kim—I absolutely hate "reality" TV. In my opinion, it's the most unreal thing I've seen, featuring people who are desperately seeking fame, and every show seems painfully scripted. I believe that it portrays the United States in a very poor light.
Hi everyone, and thanks for the comments so far! I don't know about you, but I'm really enjoying this book so far—I find it very well-written and quite emotional. I look forward to reading more of your comments!
ReplyDelete~VegNews Book Club Hostess Lyndsay Orwig
I have been listening to this book as I drive so I'm not really sure which chapter I am on. I'm pretty sure I'm farther along than Chapter Six so I will not spill the beans for the other readers. As far as the questions that have been asked, I do not think that Akiko and Jane have that much in common. Maybe Akiko wishes she could have the strength and independence that Jane seems to exude.
ReplyDeleteAs far as reality t.v., I think it's a huge waste of time and it kinda disgusts me that so many people are into it. If you want to be entertained by the behavior of people, look out your window, take a walk, pry yourself off your t.v. and live a little outside your box of a house.