Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

La vegetariana by Han Kang

145 reviews

sparetimebibliophile's review against another edition

challenging dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I liked this! It seemed a bit slow at times but it truly stuck with me and blew my mind a bit. You’re left not really knowing what to think, which I enjoy. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror and Gore

Minor: Vomit

racheltrow_'s review against another edition

challenging dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Suicide attempt, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

khadijaheatswords's review against another edition

dark emotional tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

The body horror in the vegeterian is restrained but effective, especially when read as a feminist text. The three sections of the novel condense the timeline so that what we experience as reader’s is Yeong-Hye’s rapid loss of control over her own body. What begins as a personal, if unconventional, choice almost immediately designates Yeong-Hye’s body as the locus for intimate violence and cultural debate. That we rarely hear from Yeong-Hye herself also raises the question of who truly owns her story. 

There are criticisms of the translation and as someone who doesn't speak Korean, I can only say the dialogue felt stilted at times which I don’t think is an affect of Kang’s. Cultural nuances also seem to be misunderstood in translation. All that is to say, there is something that feels off in the reading of this translation that is identifiable even to non-Koreans but I don’ count that against Han Hang.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Domestic abuse, Rape, Self harm, Violence, and Vomit

jay_hobday's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Confinement, Eating disorder, Infertility, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Dysphoria

zeldam's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

5.0

A highly disturbing book, original in its darkness and really well written. Whilst it is a great read, please turn to this book when you are in a good state of mind - as it presents so many TW. Stay safe and enjoy reading x

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail

kayang's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Blood, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Animal death, Confinement, and Abandonment

leonormsousa's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

REPRESENTATION 

Korean cast, mental health 

QUOTE 

“The feeling that she had never really lived in this world caught her by surprise. It was a fact. She had never lived. Even as a child, as far back as she could remember, she had done nothing but endure. She had believed in her own inherent goodness, her humanity, and lived accordingly, never causing anyone harm. Her devotion to doing things the right way had been unflagging, all her successes had depended on it, and she would have gone on like that indefinitely. She didn't understand why, but faced with those decaying buildings and straggling grasses, she was nothing but a child who had never lived.” 

WHAT I ENJOYED 

• the violence and weirdness → it took me a little aback at first, but I’m here for it!
• the underlying message (and no, this is not a book about vegetarianism)
• the different POVs allow us to see the story from different perspectives but also contribute to the idea that the MC does not have a voice
• it’s a beautifully written book, even when it’s ugly
• the way it stuck on the back of my head and does not let me go
• I know it’s a book that I’m gonna enjoy even more the second time around

WHAT I DIDN'T ENJOY

• very, very minor but there were points, especially in the dreams sections, where it became a bit confusing for me

READ IF YOU ENJOY

• character-focused books
• a dark, bizarre and disturbing vibe
• unhinged women
• hidden meanings
• different views on life
• non-lovable and flawed characters
• underlying critics of sexist societies

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Dysphoria

intoblossom's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Medical content, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Gore and Rape

maxgene's review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Suicide attempt, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Domestic abuse and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Animal death

violetends's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Please check the terrifyingly long list of content warnings before reading any further or checking this book out generally.

The Vegetarian was deeply unsettling and beautiful and nauseating. The detailed descriptions of violence against female bodies, against traumatized bodies, against physically and mentally ill bodies, were both difficult to read and somewhat empowering in the unapologetic space they gave to these experiences and their effects on those who survive them. 

The book is split in three segments. The first is narrated by Mr Cheong, the husband of Yeong-hye, who is the one to turn vegetarian after a recurring nightmare. The second segment is narrated by her brother in law, Yeong,-ho. And the last segment is narrated by her sister In-hye. Especially the first two thirds of the book which were narrated by the male protagonists were deeply uncomfortable. They sexualize the women around them, compartmentalize them into consumable bits that they judge to be sometimes more sometimes less sufficient for their tastes, they obsess over their respective sister-in-law and both of them

r*pe their wives when they coldly judge that they are owed sexual acts, Yeong-ho once, Mr Cheong regularly.

The narrative voices of these characters are observant in a cold way that highlight the cruelty of their acts and perceptions and make this even more of an emotionally unsettling feminist statement about patriarchy and misogyny. 

The perspective of In-hye at the end of the book is more complex and conflicted. She struggles with the traumas of the violence and neglect in her family along with the fact

that she is now a single mother to Ji-woo after Yeong-ho abandoned them. She also cares for Yeong-hye and regularly visits her in the psychiatric hospital where her sister is treated for anorexia and schizophrenia. Even though a distance always remains in her perception of Yeong-hye, In-hye feels for her sister and experiences single moments of gentleness towards her. Nevertheless, these happen parallel to moments of intense anger in which she almost mirrors the violence of their father. And I loved this portrait of caring for ill relatives that felt very raw and authentic to me.

 

Yeong-hye herself has little to no voice in the book which is metaphorically depicted in her growing inability to speak. Her dreams and what conclusions she draws from them, are always focalized through the other characters who judge and seek to change her. And yet, I felt so many of her emotions, her fear and determination and the growing numbness, seep through the pages. Personally, I find this depiction of trauma and a mind that escapes into illnesses that give more simplicity to a violent world, moving and entirely convincing. I could write several more pages about specific aspects of this narrative, the beautiful prose or what it means to me to see stories like this portrayed with attentiveness to the complexity that violence and illness bring to lives. This was a particularly difficult time for me to read this novel but I think it was also one where the depth of this story gave me a certain kind of comfort that can only come from not looking away from deep, gaping wounds and feeling seen.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Rape, Self harm, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Suicide attempt, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis