“My Year of Meats” the end
I’ve just finished reading the last section of “My year of meats” and I have to say that I am really glad that I’ve read this novel. At first, I had some doubts about this book mainly caused by its strange title. I just couldn’t understand what’s so special about meat and why someone would want to write about it. However, after I read the first few chapters I realized that there was much more to this novel than just meat.
With that said, these are my thoughts about the final chapters.
First of all, it was heart breaking to read that Jane had lost a child due to a miscarriage. At first she thought that there is no way that she could get pregnant and finally when she did this horrible thing happened to her. Also, I felt that it was very unfair that Jane lost her baby while Akiko got pregnant. It seemed to me that Jane wanted to have a baby much more than Akiko did and for some reason I think that she would be a better mother.
Secondly, I felt very happy for Akiko because she finally found the strength and courage to leave her abusive husband and turn her life around. There is no doubt that John was a horrible person and most of the time I felt disgusted by his character. I just couldn’t stand him because of how he was treating poor Akiko and all of the bad things that he did to her during their marriage. I don’t understand why it took her so long to leave his sorry ass.
Add a comment April 16,2008
“My Year of Meats” part 2
Throughout reading the next section of “My year of meats” I’ve noticed that Jane, similarly to characters from other books that we’ve read so far, is dealing with the identity crisis. She is half American and half Japanese and because of that she feels lost and starts to reject her Japanese heritage. On page 89 she said: “…since I wasn’t Japanese, I used the boys as my barometer”. Her statement really bothers me because she is half Japanese and no matter how many times she says she’s not, it won’t change anything. I don’t understand why she cannot just simply accept it. Also, I found it strange that others question her Japanese heritage and tell her that she is not Japanese enough. I’m not sure why they make such a big deal out of this. Is it because of the way she feels about herself or is it because it just bothers them overall? Seriously, what the difference does it make if someone is more or less Japanese? I really cannot understand that. Even if she was “more Japanese” she would still be the same person; so what’s the point and why is this constantly being brought up?
Secondly I feel bad that Akiko got her period back. I am so afraid that now she is going to get pregnant and I would really hate to see this happen. John is such a horrible husband and makes her life a living hell. And there is no doubt in my mind that he would not be a good father. Furthermore, despite the abuse Akiko continues to be his wife and for that reason I don’t think that she would be a good parent either. If she cannot take a good care for herself how she is going to care and protect her baby.
Lastly, the entire scene of rape was just outrageous and I had a very difficult time reading it. Now I really hate John and I feel even more disgusted with his character.
Add a comment April 13,2008
“My Year of Meats”
The first thing that captured my attention even before I started to read this novel was its title “My year of Meats”. I couldn’t help to wonder why the author decided to give this book such a strange name. Personally, I think that this would be a great title for a cook book or show from a food channel but not a novel. Other than that I think that I am really going to enjoy reading this novel. It seems to be very funny and quite different from other books that we have read so far in this class. I also appreciate the way in which this piece is written. Oseki doesn’t keep any secrets from the readers. She is very straightforward and puts everything upfront. Since the beginning we get to know all of the characters, what they do and who they are. That makes this novel easy to read because we as readers don’t have to waste the time on wondering what is going on and instead we can just focus on the text and actually enjoy reading it.
1 comment April 8,2008
Native Speaker the end
Even though this book was interesting and I really enjoyed reading it, for some reason I feel happy that it’s finally over. But anyways, these are my final thoughts about the “Native Speaker”. First of all, I was surprised and a little bit disappointed with the ending part of this novel. I completely did not expect it to end like this. Usually when I read a book I can predict in some ways what is going to happened next and how it is going to end. However, in this case my predictions and anticipated ending were totally off. Since the beginning I thought that Henry and Lelia were a very strange and dysfunctional couple so once they separated I thought that their relationship was definitely over. Besides, after all of the bad things that they went on throughout their marriage I just couldn’t see how they could ever be back together. All well, I guess I was wrong.
Add a comment April 6,2008
Native Speaker part 3
I am enjoying reading this book so far and I think that it gets more interesting every time I read more of it. However, there is a one thing that really irritates me. I cannot figure out how I feel about the main character- Henry Park. On one hand I feel bad for him because of all of the bad things that had happened in his life. First, when he was a child his mother passed away from a liver cancer and the only person that he had left was his father, who did not seem to really care about his son. Then, when Henry was an adult his seven year old son died in a tragic “accident” and his marriage fell apart. However, on the other hand I dislike Henry as a person because of what he does for a living and his overall attitude of not carrying about anything or anyone.
1 comment April 3,2008
Native Speaker part 2
I found the second section of “Native Speaker” to be very interesting and throughout reading it I was able to learn a lot of new details about Henry Park and his past. The first thing that really stood out to me was the story from Henry’s childhood about his mother dying from liver cancer. I thought it was very strange that his parents didn’t want to tell him what was really going on and instead of telling him the truth, they lied to him by saying that she was suffering from “Korean fever” and that the doctors in America didn’t know anything about this disease and were unable to help her. Another thing that was very surprising to me was the fact that Henry and Lelia once had a son. His name was Mitt and when he was seven he tragically died by being crushed by other children in a dog pile. Apparently Henry and Lelia loved their son very much and it seemed to me that he was the one who really held their family together and after he was gone everything started to fall apart for them.
Add a comment March 30,2008
“Native Speaker”
I’ve just finished reading the first two chapters of “Native Speaker” by Chang-Rae Lee and I have to say that this novel turned out to be very different from what I initially expected it to be. First of all, it was not overwhelming and relatively easy to read. Also, I am happy to finally read a piece that is not a memoir. But anyways, after reading the first two chapters I was able to learn some facts about the main character – Henry Park and his life as a Korean-American. To me Henry appeared as someone who was very secretive and did not like to show his emotions. I’ve noticed that he had some issues regarding his Korean nationality and felt self conscious because of that. For example, one time when he kissed Lelia he asked: “Have you ever kissed a Korean before”. Also, Henry’s relationship with his wife Lelia seemed to be very odd and I was not surprised that it did not last. They were so obviously different from each other and I was wondering why they even got married in the first place. At one point I thought that maybe Henry married her, because she was a speech therapist and he was clearly very obsessed with the English language and speech. There is even one part in the text when he talks about how much he loves the way in which her mouth moves when she speaks. (Personally, after reading this passage I thought that he was creepy, but what do I know?) . Another strange thing that I’ve noticed about their relationship was that even though they were married they kept a lot of secrets from each other. It seemed to me that each of them lived a double life. Henry had his secret job and I don’t think that his wife knew what his profession was. On the other hand, Lelia was traveling a lot and she never told her husband where she was going and who she was going to meet. The last thing I found to be interesting and at the same time very confusing about Henry was his occupation. I still cannot figure out what he does for a living. At first I thought that maybe he is some kind of spy who works for the U.S. government and his job is to find and report illegal immigrants. But, now after I’ve done some more reading I am not so sure about it anymore.
Add a comment March 27,2008
“Immigration Blues”
After I was done with reading “Immigration Blues” by Bienvenido Santos, the only thing that I could think about was Alpino and how unlucky he was in life. At first his wife Seniang passed away leaving him heart broken and all alone in America. Then, if that was not enough, he got into a horrible car accident and was forced to spend a whole year in the hospital’s bed not knowing if he is ever going to walk again. Finally he got a little better, but because of his leg he was unable to leave the house very often. He did not have a lot of friends who would come and visit him. Therefore, he became very lonely and even a little bit crazy. I think that was the major reason for why he was willing to marry the woman that he did not know at all. I believe that he was tired of being alone and would do anything just to have company. One thing that really surprised me though, was how he reacted to all of the unfortunate events that took place in his life. He did not seem to be disappointed or angry at his life, instead he believed that everything that had happened to him happened for a reason and that it was God’s wish. That really shows how extremely religious he was and I was amazed that even though God put him through all of that he still remained faithful to him. Overall, I’ve enjoyed reading this story. At first I was a little bit confused about some things, but later on I was able to figure it all out.
Add a comment March 16,2008
“All I Asking for Is My Body” by Milton Murayama
The first thing that I’ve noticed about this reading was its similarity to the “Nisei Daughter”. Especially the part in chapter 16, where Oyama’s family finds out about the bombarding of Pearl Harbor and Tosh asks his father to destroy the Japanese flag and hide all of the Japanese books. I remembered that Monica’s family did exactly the same thing in order to disguise their ties to Japan and protect themselves from being viewed as Japanese allies. Another thing that I found to be very similar was the initial reaction of both families when they found out about the Japanese attack. At first none of them wanted to believe in what was happening and they couldn’t understand how Japan could do such a horrible and foolish thing. They felt ashamed and betrayed by a country that some of them once called “home”. I cannot even imagine how difficult it had to be for them, especially for the young Nisei, who didn’t understand Japan’s politics. I remember how confused and torn apart Kiyoshi was about the whole situation. He didn’t know on whose side he was supposed to be on. He even asked his teacher if the Nisei should fight for America in the war. I’ve also noticed how mad he was on Japan and for being Japanese: “…don’t do anything that’d bring shame to Japanese race, don’t be a rotten apple and spoil the whole barrel. What chance have I got, me, a single apple getting slammed by a barrelful of rottenness? Even if I tried deliberately, every day of my life, I wouldn’t be able to produce one-thousandth of the massive shame of Pearl Harbor.” Then again when he talks to his teacher: “ You know, you’ve always said, ‘Be proud you’re Japanese. Never bring shame to the Japanese race.’ What if they, all of them bring shame to me? What about me? I feel ashamed I’m Japanese. I feel a shame I can never erase, and here I haven’t done a single bad thing”
5 comments March 9,2008
The end of Nisei Daughter
After reading the last chapters of Sone’s memoir, I couldn’t believe how unfairly Japanese immigrants and their children had been treated by the U.S. government. After Japan bombarded Pearl Harbor in 1941, the Japanese living in America became oppressed and viewed as a threat for the U.S nation. All of them, including American citizens who had Japanese background, were stripped from their freedom and forced to live as prisoners of war in the internment camps. I think that this was horribly wrong and could have been settled in a very different way. Also, I found it very strange and controversial that the military recruiters were coming to these camps in order to find volunteers among Nisei, who were willing to join the forces of U.S army and fight in the war. They were presented with this president’s statement that read: “No loyal citizen from the United States should be denied the democratic right to exercise the responsibilities of his citizenship, regardless of his ancestry. The principle on which this country was founded and by which it has always been governed is that Americanism is a matter of the mind and the heart. Americanism is not and never was a matter of race or ancestry. Every loyal American citizen should be given the opportunity to serve this country…” (pages 198-199). I thought that this was totally ridiculous and the first question that emerged in my mind was why those people were incarcerated in the first place? Lastly, I was very shocked and a little disappointed with the Sone’s statement at the end of the last chapter. She said that: “Now I know I’m just as responsible as the men in Washington for its actions” (page 237). As much as I try to understand what was going through her head when she came up with this “brilliant” conclusion, I just can’t. I really don’t understand why she feels this way and wants to take the responsibility for being victimized by her own country. She was innocent like most of other Japanese people in America, who didn’t disserve to be punished for something that was beyond their control.
1 comment February 27,2008
