Reviews with content warning for Misogyny - The Vegetarian

Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

hannaheinhorn's review

challenging dark sad tense slow-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

1.5

because many people with mental health are already silenced when telling their own stories, this book rubbed me the WRONG way. i disliked the author’s choice to describe various violent instances (specifically the multiple rapes) by gratuitously showing it through the brother-in-law’s perspective and the husband’s perspective. i’ve read far grimmer stories but this one grossed me out, especially because of the pedophilic overtones when describing yeong-hye’s emaciated body. i feel like the author did exactly what she was trying to critique, which is ridiculous.

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hfleur's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad 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

3.0

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sashasghost's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

this book is brutal. the POV characters, especially in part 1 and 2, are vile, but are well written. well written scumbags. i highly recommended reading triggers.

rape is brought up suddenly at around 30 pages in, but it makes sense from the POV. he doesn't really view it as a vile act, just "meeting his needs".
rape is also explored through part 2 with both Yeong-hye and In-hye. you see rape from the rapists perspective so it's very cold, not truly acknowledging the pain they've inflicted.

mental illness is prevalent. it's an accurate depiction of the pain, so it's rather brutal, especially in part 3. you only get glimpses into Yeong-hye's perspective and only in part 1. it's very isolating.
it's by no means an enjoyable read in most people's common meaning of 'an enjoyable book'. for me, there's appreciation in the carefully painful choices Kang made. framing the perspectives through the unloving husband, the obsessive brother-in-law, and the struggling sister. they're different perspectives of cowardice, different types of cowardice.
In-hye's perspective i personally found more brutal for it's exploration of familial abuse. the guilt, the constant what if's, the growing up too soon.
it's a very well written, painful little book.

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missdeaddoll's review

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dark emotional sad fast-paced

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

4.5

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arieslofi's review

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dark reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.75

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dawntin's review against another edition

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dark sad tense 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? Yes

3.5

What a dark and devastating book! I read this for a class, and was told it would go well with the ecofeminist analysis of literature. It did, though definitely not in the way I thought things would go. The plot was a bit hard to get through at times because of how violent it was: full of family/marriage issues, mental illnesses, and trauma. The narrator changing with each section of the book was interesting. I did not like

the main character’s husband or her sister’s husband’s perspectives

at all, but the drama that unfolded was like a wreck I couldn’t stop looking at. The narrator was never who I wanted to hear from (Yeong-hye gets her small snippets in the form of dreams, but nothing else). I guess that’s a part of the book’s main point.

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