The Gist: Good afternoon everyone! It is the third week of reading My Year of Meats by Ruth L. Ozeki, and we're really getting into the storyline, specifically with the two main characters, Jane and Akiko. Jane has found out that she is pregnant, even though she thought that she was unable to conceive due to a deformed uterus, that she believes was the result of her mother taking the pills containing DES when she was pregnant. At first, Jane wants to get an abortion, but decides against it, because she realizes that she really wants a child. The father, Sloan, also tells her that he wants to be a part of her and the baby's lives, making their relationship stronger.Jane has also taken more risks with My American Wife!, which has greatly angered Joicho Ueno, Akiko's husband, who is the representative of BEEF-EX. First, she features an Indiana family who cooks lamb chop instead of beef. Ueno is very upset by this due to the fact that Japan gets most of their lamb from Australia, and not the US. Second, Jane features a lesbian vegetarian couple, which completely sets Ueno off, and Jane almost loses her job. Luckily, she doesn't, and she decides to feature a slaughter house in the next episode, but hides the fact from Ueno that she will be using the episode to expose the meat industry.
Speaking of meat, Jane is finding out much more about the industry, and the terrible conditions within it. She finds out a lot about it through the lesbian couple, but she also does a lot of her own research. It seems as though she is on the edge of going vegetarian, but she admits that being pregnant makes her want meat, so she buys organic meat instead.
Over in Japan, Akiko is facing much more physical abuse from her husband, Joicho Ueno. The worst happens when she connects with Jane after the episode about the lesbian couple. The episode makes her realize that she does not want to be with Joicho, but does want a child of her own. She gets ahold of a fax number for Jane and writes her a private letter asking for advice about leaving her abusive husband, as well as asking about the problems with meat. Jane writes her back urging her to leave her husband, but Joicho discovers the letters, and beats Akiko, and even rapes her. That's where chapter 9 ends, on a decidedly sad note.
The Discussion: Here are two discussion points to help get the conversation started. I look forward to hearing from you!
1. Although Jane and Akiko are both of Japanese descent, they are very different. How much do you think culture takes part in shaping a person?
2. The lesbian couple cooked pasta primavera for the episode of My American Wife! If you were on the show, what would you cook, and why?
The Assignment: Please read the rest of the book for our discussion on Monday, November 22. We will start our discussion on that day, and I will wrap up on Monday, November 29 due to the Thanksgiving holiday.
~VN Book Club Hostess Lyndsay Orwig
