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3.62 AVERAGE
3.62 AVERAGE
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
So... Personally this was more like 3 rather than a four-star rating.
Then why 4. Because this is a well-written, interesting book that gives an inside to a culture, the food, the family, the taboos, the life and expectations... I enjoyed the fact that we never get the perspective of the main character (only in few chapters of the first part) while we learn about her and her state of mine from the perspective of three other characters. The book also has a nice message, although it is served at the end.
Subjective, as my own reading experience, this was a story that hooked me up on the mystery of one being a vegetarian and the changes withing the protagonist, while fighting her family and husband of remaining one. Then it went in a completely different direction that was nothing like what I loved in the first part of the book (the perspective of the husband). Because of that I slowly lost interest in what followed and disliked the ending (not the message).
Then why 4. Because this is a well-written, interesting book that gives an inside to a culture, the food, the family, the taboos, the life and expectations... I enjoyed the fact that we never get the perspective of the main character (only in few chapters of the first part) while we learn about her and her state of mine from the perspective of three other characters. The book also has a nice message, although it is served at the end.
Subjective, as my own reading experience, this was a story that hooked me up on the mystery of one being a vegetarian and the changes withing the protagonist, while fighting her family and husband of remaining one. Then it went in a completely different direction that was nothing like what I loved in the first part of the book (the perspective of the husband). Because of that I slowly lost interest in what followed and disliked the ending (not the message).
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
What a fantastic exploration of South Korea’s treatment of women by trying to reclaim bodily autonomy… Such a clever way to frame one woman’s constant mistreatment by the men in her life and the slow descent into madness - rejecting the human form to find a more resilient plant form. I thought it was fucked up and I enjoyed that, my favourite being the Mongolian Mark section (very Crash, very sexually depraved and fucked). I definitely wanted a bit more from this book, but there was something special and deeply moving about hearing from In-hye’s perspective and how it could’ve been her in Yeong-hye’s place, but I still wanted more depraved, maybe more magical realism?
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
medium-paced
Just as I thought before, this book hooked me from the very beginning. Through 3 perspectives, I understand Yeong-Hye's struggles. Her struggles to be a vegetarian equals with hers as a woman, a daughter, a wife.
My fav quote : "Why, is it such a bad thing to die?"
My fav quote : "Why, is it such a bad thing to die?"
I didn’t dislike it, but it’s something very different from what I’ve read in the past so it took me a moment to get into the story. 3 stars because it’s a book I wouldn’t recommend to everybody.
Wanted it to be better. The three POVs felt repetitive and unfinished.
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really enjoyed reading this book. This was my first introduction to Korean literary fiction, and I must say it’s a hard one to beat. I just wish I was more experienced with literary fiction to fully understand the nuance in this book. I feel as though I had missed some key details hidden within the story telling, and so I will continue to look into some deep dives on this book for a while. I will hopefully report back once I can confidently say I fully understood this book.