One Book, One Vancouver

When I learned that Ruth Ozeki was short-listed for "One Book, One Vancouver"(an event held by VPL yearly - a Canadian book gets chosen and lots of events happen around it), I was THRILLED...in a way that you couldn't wipe the smirk on my face (a happy smirk), because she is most definitely one of my favourite authors ever. She, for lack of a better word, is SO COOL.

She has this way of blending fiction and non-fiction beautifully - her works help people reflect not only on what she chooses thematically, but also in the way that it questions the truth claims of non-fiction and how we conceptualize "reality" with literature and film (she is also a documentary filmmakers). Her book "My year of meats", which is my personal favourite, has been chosen this year and I'm more than ecstatic about being able to attend readings and book discussions. This is quite a cool thing that VPL does, and I remember a lot of fabulous learning opportunities that arose with the choice of Joel Bakan's The Corporation a couple of years ago (do pick that up too if you haven't already...it's an amazing book). I can't wait! Wee!

The concept behind MYOM is focused on a program called "My American Wife" which features the “wife of the day” (27) in her kitchen, exhibiting the warmth of her home and introducing the audience to “the meat of the week” (27), deliciously prepared with American flair and aimed to seduce Japanese housewives into integrating meat into their daily meals. The program was advertised to Japanese audiences as an authentic look into life in the U.S. A falsified concept of the American Dream is used to lure consumers: “if you eat American meat, you too can become American”. The central character is Jane Takagi-Little, who struggles with her hybridity (Japanese mother, American/Caucasian father), as she goes around the U.S finding different housewives for the program. Meanwhile, she discovers the questionable practices of the beef company (BEEF-EX, which sponsors the program) and meets a series of people who have been harmed by the meat industry.

The book is much more complicated than my explanation - it not only raises important issues regarding food consumption and the politics of globalization, but it is also inevitably about identity formation and coming to terms with our own "hybridity". as a chinese-canadian woman, I can relate very well to what it feels like to be torn between cultures, and in many ways between gender as well (having to be more traditionally feminine, in respects to chinese culture). It's about being comfortable in your own skin - even if it feels like a whole different shade than anybody else. It strives to ask: What does it mean to be ethnic? What does it mean to be a woman?

I hope I haven't completely shunned the male population reading this...haha...please, please, look into getting a hold of the book. It will change your life.