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My Year of Meats

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My Year of Meats

By: Ruth Ozeki
Narrated by: Anna Fields
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About this listen

Jane, a struggling filmmaker in New York, is given her big break, a chance to travel through the United States to produce a Japanese television program sponsored by American meat exporters. Meanwhile, Akiko, a painfully thin Japanese woman struggling with bulimia, is being pressured by her child-craving husband to put some meat on her bones, literally.

How Jane's and Akiko's lives intersect in wacky crosscultural collisions provides romance, humor, intrigue, and even a muckraking message about questionable meat and the Wal-Martification of America.

Ruth Ozeki is an award-winning novelist and filmmaker. She is also the author of My Year of Meats and, most recently, longlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2013 for A Tale for the Time Being. Ozeki was born and raised in Connecticut, by an American father and Japanese mother. In June 2010 she was ordained as a Zen Buddhist priest. She divides her time between British Columbia and New York.

©1998 Ruth Ozeki (P)2013 Audible Ltd Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Witty New York Marriage

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Critic reviews

"A well-crafted, often comic story of the personal and political" (Observer)
"A nice blend of humour and strangely affecting optimism. Ozeki has written a book where dread and hope coexist. Neither is given short shrift or magicked away" (New York Times)
All stars
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Ruth is one of the most skilled novelists alive today! This book is breathtaking. Incredibly skilful, imaginative and fun. Highly recommended!

Fantastic

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Anna Fields was one of my favourite narrators. Really good story, beautifully read. Very engaging.

good story, great narrator

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Equally laugh-out-loud funny and deeply profound. You won’t want to stop, and, when it ends, you’ll want to start all over again.

Brilliant

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my second ruth ozeki book (first was a tale for the time being) and again it was excellent and well narrated - I'll have to take a breather before taking on the next one but almost can't wait

excellent

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If you could sum up My Year of Meats in three words, what would they be?

Touching, clever, inspiring...it has lifted my spirit and made me part of this journey. Wonderful characters populate this book spanning across two different and great cultures. The narrator is also excellent!

A wonderful, original, perfectly written novel.

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My second Ruth Ozeki book and what a relief to have a good narrator. Loved the story and was completely drawn in to the morality and the ethics and the humanity of the story. Heartily recommended.

Loved it

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Where does My Year of Meats rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This book rates among the few top audiobooks I've listened to so far. I especially liked the way Ruth Ozeki wove fact and fiction seamlessly into the story.

What was one of the most memorable moments of My Year of Meats?

The scene in the slaughterhouse was well written both in content and description.

What about Anna Fields’s performance did you like?

Anna Field reading Japanese with ease, and her ability to change her voice effortlessly to portray the characters, added so much to the story.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

The book made me rethink my attitude towards buying and eating meat, and challenged my complacency with regard to the subject.

Any additional comments?

I think the book is a must read for everyone!

Powerful and thought provoking

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Having adored 'Tale for the time being', I bought this despite reservations about the narration in the sample. It's still very much a Ruth Ozeki book and I am a big fan of her style. I enjoy the way she can create the character's emotions within you as the reader without actually spelling them out.

I definitely enjoyed the book although hadn't quite expected the direction it took overall. still a good read though and my initial reservations about the narration were unfounded, the narration was actually excellent.

Took an unexpected turn but still an Ozeki!

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I unexpectedly loved this book. The contrast of the lives of these two women, it’s a great read. Don’t let the title put you off the meat brings them together but true essence of the book is the relationships.

Don’t let the title put you off

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Who was your favorite character and why?

There were lots of characters to like or dislike, some of the "American Wives" were developed so you could really like them.

What does Anna Fields bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

The reader brought the two cultures (American and Japanese) to life really well, which added to the interest.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I think the story developed well as it went along and I became more involved with it. I had a lump in my throat a few times, particularly towards the end.

Any additional comments?

Give it a try.

Really absorbing storyline, and very well written.

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