Reviews tagging 'Forced institutionalization'

The Vegetarian by Han Kang

616 reviews

hannah_go03's review against another edition

3.75

challenging dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Self harm, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical trauma, Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Minor: Child abuse, Sexual assault

angorarabbit's review against another edition

5.0

challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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TLDR: Anything I write is trite compared to this book. I would advise taking it slow and reading something lighter in-between sessions. 

 

A masterclass. It is not just about how others react to the diet a family member but a visceral depiction of the effects of childhood abuse and mental illness on the individual and family members. 

 

There are 4 points of view: Yeong-hye, her husband, brother-in-law, and sister. In the end all four are devastated, though perhaps the husband is the least affected. It is a book that will stay with me for a long time and haunt my dreams.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Incest, Alcohol

I skipped 5 paragraphs 25% of the way in due to graphic animal abuse/killing. The protagonists thoughts include disturbing depictions of slaughter and molestation of animals. There are graphic depictions of food including meat.

hanyaya's review against another edition

4.75

challenging dark

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Loveable characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Rape, Sexual content, Forced institutionalization, Schizophrenia/Psychosis

robyn1998's review against another edition

5.0

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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I read this in 2019 and decided to come back to it as it left such a strong impression on me at the time. It's such a strange, horrifying, idiosyncratic book. The switches in perspective and inclusion of Yeong-hye's dreams really round it out. Of all the books that people cite as future classics, I would say this is the one I feel most enthusiastic about  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Rape, Forced institutionalization, Schizophrenia/Psychosis

jkpiowa's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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Not sure how to rate this because I'm not sure I really understand it. I was sure I must have been missing pages at the end, and reread the last few pages, but am still confused. 

I found it interesting that every section was told from some perspective other than our main character. I respect the rebellion from convention at all costs, but... wut. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Forced institutionalization

aliyahoff's review against another edition

3.5

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis

bibliomich's review against another edition

4.0

challenging dark tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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The Vegatarian was a challenging read for me, and it is a book that I think I would need to go back and read again in order to fully appreciate what Han Kang was trying to achieve. My experience reading the book was hindered by the fact that I (mistakenly) assumed it fell in the genre of body horror, and so for much of the book I was anticipating a shift into something that resembled classic horror and/or body horror, and I was confused by the pacing of the story. The Vegetarian, in actuality, is much closer to literary fiction, and while there are certainly some horrific elements, the story is really exploring female bodily autonomy. It is smart and intense, and I think if I had gone into the book with no expectations at all, I would have appreciated the reading experience quite a lot more than I did.

CW: disordered eating, self harm, suicidal ideation and attempt, blood, sexual assault, infidelity, forced institutionalization for mental illness

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Self harm, Blood, Suicide attempt

Moderate: Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization

heartofhorrors's review against another edition

4.0

challenging dark emotional

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Eating disorder, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Injury/Injury detail

bridge_to_narnia's review against another edition

2.25

dark tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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Well written, but I don't think it was for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis

dawndiscusses's review against another edition

4.0

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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This was a 4 star read partly due to my enjoyment of the author's press engagements for the English release. I'm generally not a fan of art that requires extra research (e.g. author interviews, discussion threads etc) to get a grasp on, but in this case I'm glad I followed my curiosity. Having watched Han discuss the project and reading a lot of the wonderful clarity provided by people in this community, I am moved by her willingness to open herself up and confront a subject matter that has plagued her for so long. It is contemplative, reflective, dark and just what I needed.

The most endearing part was Han's exploration of the impossibility of a truly ethical life, the impact of which I think has softened to some of the other perceived flaws others have pointed out. I like that she approached it not in a attempt to find a solution, but with the desire to explore an aspect of humanity she's clearly given a lot of thought to. I tend to enjoy works where it's clear the author has grappled with the subject matter, and looked deep within to find resonance.

I don't know who I would recommend this to. My enjoyment felt so tailored to little add-ons and layers I enjoy in art overall that I don't quite know how to explain why I loved this or why anyone else needs to read it. I think the blurb doesn't quite prepare readers for the content (please review trigger warnings), but it's short enough that if you're at all interested, the first section or so gives you a good idea of what you're getting.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Eating disorder, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma

Minor: Domestic abuse