This book is too strange for me. The continuous connection of meat to America, women, and having babies is bizarre. Even though the topic is quite unusual, I found that Ruth L Ozeki strongly supported her idea of meats. I like how she introduces Akiko as this scrawny little thing, and then the Texas woman who are well nourished. If I could make a comparison, I would say that Akiko is like a veggie burger, and the Texas strippers are like a giant beef burger with extra bacon. It is interesting that Akiko ripped the skin of her tongue of as a child. When she walks out side to look at the playground she tastes blood and metal in her mouth because of the experience she had. She also gets sick when she eats meat. It is like the blood and the meat link together. Akiko’s husband John wants a child but Akiko cannot have one because she is too thin. He makes her eat a lot of meat but Akiko keeps throwing it up. Maybe she does this because she does not want to have a child with John. I would not blame her since he goes to strip clubs and looks at other women when he is in America. All she has done is be nice to him. She even sends him bath salts, even though I find that a bit strange. Jane is an interesting character. She is described frequently as a boy. Even her mysterious lover says, “You’re younger looking. Like a prepubescent boy after a growth spurt” (Ozeki 54). I am not sure what he means but he is referring to her as a boy. She dresses and acts like one too. She wears men’s boxers and combat boots with and army shirt, and when she was in Japan she dyed her hair green and talked in men’s Japanese.
