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A review by bookwoods
My Year of Meats by Ruth Ozeki
5.0
Second read, 3/2020, 5/5
Oh my. Ruth Ozeki’s novels seem to just improve upon a reread, and I feel like I understood this better the second time around. The realities of animal agriculture really do make for a powerful literary backdrop. I wish more fiction would explore that, from different angles and not too overwhelmingly, to help people see what’s going on. Essentially we need more authors like Ozeki who can brilliantly intertwine important and educational matters with captivating storylines.
First read, 6/2016, 5/5
I finished this book days ago but have been unable to transform my thoughts into an articulate review. So I thought I would just list all the things that I loved about My Year of Meats, because honestly, there´s nothing I didn´t like.
1. The main themes in this book are the problems of meat production. That´s a matter I´ve researched a lot myself, but there´s still some information that I had no idea about, especially about hormones fed to cattle. Then again, I wouldn´t consider this a book that extensively explains why you shouldn´t eat meat and it doesn’t have to: My Year of Meats is still fiction and not at all preachy.
2. Other things that are brought up include the power of media, eating disorders, infertility, cultural differences and domestic violence. Ozeki is fantastic at teaching the reader about important matters while telling a compelling story.
3. The characters. Like A Tale for the Time Being, My Year of Meats follows two very different females whose lives are connected in a heart warming way. There´s also plenty of side characters and even though some are part of the story for only a few pages, I cared for them.
4. The actual story and the writing. I´m not going to explain it here, but you really should read the Goodreads synopsis if you haven´t read this book, as the idea is something utterly unique. I´m never good at describing different writing styles, so let´s just say that he text simply flows well and is beautiful.
5. The structure. My Year of Meats is divided into twelve chapters, one for each month. That made following the story very easy. At the start of each chapter there´s a quote from Shonagon´s (Japanese courtesan, lived around the year 1000) The Pillow Book, which has all these obscure lists like ´Times When One Should Be on One´s Guard´. I found these extremely interesting and I hadn´t even heard of Shonagon before reading this book! I love how Ozeki introduces her readers to new ideas, philosophical and historical, religious even, without making the text feel at all dry.
Only after two books Ruth Ozeki has earned her place among my all time favorite authors, her stories have everything I enjoy in a book and after turning the last page, I feel like I´ve changed somehow. I´m most certainly going to read All Over Creation soon, though not too soon, I want to give it all the time it deserves.
Oh my. Ruth Ozeki’s novels seem to just improve upon a reread, and I feel like I understood this better the second time around. The realities of animal agriculture really do make for a powerful literary backdrop. I wish more fiction would explore that, from different angles and not too overwhelmingly, to help people see what’s going on. Essentially we need more authors like Ozeki who can brilliantly intertwine important and educational matters with captivating storylines.
First read, 6/2016, 5/5
I finished this book days ago but have been unable to transform my thoughts into an articulate review. So I thought I would just list all the things that I loved about My Year of Meats, because honestly, there´s nothing I didn´t like.
1. The main themes in this book are the problems of meat production. That´s a matter I´ve researched a lot myself, but there´s still some information that I had no idea about, especially about hormones fed to cattle. Then again, I wouldn´t consider this a book that extensively explains why you shouldn´t eat meat and it doesn’t have to: My Year of Meats is still fiction and not at all preachy.
2. Other things that are brought up include the power of media, eating disorders, infertility, cultural differences and domestic violence. Ozeki is fantastic at teaching the reader about important matters while telling a compelling story.
3. The characters. Like A Tale for the Time Being, My Year of Meats follows two very different females whose lives are connected in a heart warming way. There´s also plenty of side characters and even though some are part of the story for only a few pages, I cared for them.
4. The actual story and the writing. I´m not going to explain it here, but you really should read the Goodreads synopsis if you haven´t read this book, as the idea is something utterly unique. I´m never good at describing different writing styles, so let´s just say that he text simply flows well and is beautiful.
5. The structure. My Year of Meats is divided into twelve chapters, one for each month. That made following the story very easy. At the start of each chapter there´s a quote from Shonagon´s (Japanese courtesan, lived around the year 1000) The Pillow Book, which has all these obscure lists like ´Times When One Should Be on One´s Guard´. I found these extremely interesting and I hadn´t even heard of Shonagon before reading this book! I love how Ozeki introduces her readers to new ideas, philosophical and historical, religious even, without making the text feel at all dry.
Only after two books Ruth Ozeki has earned her place among my all time favorite authors, her stories have everything I enjoy in a book and after turning the last page, I feel like I´ve changed somehow. I´m most certainly going to read All Over Creation soon, though not too soon, I want to give it all the time it deserves.