My Year of Meats

The characters are all distinct and real and they surprised me repeatedly. I felt like the book was as much documentary as fiction -- but the plotting had me rigid with tension. I expected disaster at every turn.

While I enjoyed this book while I was reading it, it was only after I’d digested it (pun intended) that I really came to appreciate its value. I think one of the real measures of an artwork is how much it sits with you in the months and years after the initial read/watch/listen, and this is one I think about often. The story follows a documentarian attempting to serve the corporate hierarchy and produce an asinine show about American wives and the meat-filled dinners they serve their husbands, but the novel gradually unfolds as a complex critique of misogyny, corporate… show more.

I owe a huge debt to Ozeki–in particular to her first two novels. They are both so ahead of their time. This book’s playful, curious, hilarious take on contemporary food culture is something that’s stuck with me for decades. The send-up of reality TV and nonfiction media is another thing that informed my work. As great as it’s been to watch all the success of Ozeki’s A Tale for the Time Being, I remain a loyal fan of My Year of Meats and All Over Creation. If you liked my book, you should run right out and… show more.