My Year of Meats
Ruth L. Ozeki
(Penguin Books 1999)
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Reviewed By: Kate Payne“My Year of Meats” is Ruth Ozeki’s hilariously satirical and disturbingly accurate novel, which combines fact and fiction to forever alter the way to you look meat; and more importantly, the way you look at the meat industry.
Jane Takagi-Little, the main character, is the daughter of a Japanese mother and an American father. A documentary filmmaker, struggling in her career and her life, she is offered the chance to produce a weekly television show for Japanese housewives called My American Wife! A “day-in-the-life type of documentary,” each episode of My American Wife! features an American housewife who can cook—or more specifically, an American housewife who can cook meat.
The program’s sole sponsor is BEEF-EX, “a national lobby organization that represents American meats of all kinds.” Their mandate is “to foster among Japanese housewives a proper understanding of the wholesomeness of U.S. meats,” and Jane is given the task of helping these housewives understand that “Pork is Possible, but Beef is Best!”
As Jane and her crew make their way through the US, seeking out “authentically wholesome” American families who eat beef, she begins to find her conscience at war with her professional obligations. As Jane learns more and more about beef production in the United States, and what that means for its consumers, she struggles with how to do her job, while keeping her self respect.
Running parallel to Jane’s story is that of Akiko Ueno, the miserable wife of Joichi who is the violent executive in charge of advertising for My American Wife! Joichi forces his wife to rate the program each week, and then meticulously recreate the recipe that was showcased. But as Jane’s growing consciousness is expressed more forcefully in each episode of My American Wife!, Akiko begins to change as well. As she dutifully completes her assignment each week, Akiko realizes that her duty is best placed elsewhere.
“My Year of Meats” uses humor to educate, and the combination is a successful one. At times preachy, but never unbearable, Ozeki delivers her message with sharp insight and clever humor. The story and its characters are entertaining, thought provoking, and more than a little unsettling. As much about the changing nature of American society as it is about the production of meat, Ozeki’s observations ring true—and that’s what is so scary.
