My Year of Meats

A Modern Take on Upton Sinclair.

My Year of Meats is a satirical dive into the beef and reality television industries. Jane Takagi-Little is a documentarian who has been charged with creating a show called My American Wife! –which basically amounts to advertising copy for a beef export company. Jane begins a road trip across the U.S.: meeting families, learning how they are impacted by industrial agriculture, and (much to her employers’ chagrin) creating moving and human portraits of her subjects.

Back in Japan, Akiko is a housewife tasked with cooking the recipes seen on the show every week. As Jane uncovers the industry’s horrifying secrets, Akiko plots to escape her abusive marriage, and their lives end up on a collision course. Ruth Ozeki’s writing is engaging and funny, and I found it a delight to read. If you ever wished The Jungle had more reality TV in it, this might be the book for you.