Reviews with content warning for Suicidal thoughts - The Vegetarian

Reviews tagging 'Suicidal thoughts'

rowanelisa's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-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

5.0

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lpython's review

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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? Yes

4.25

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paninigoweenie's review

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challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

Yeong-hye, the Vegetarian, remains a mystery to me. The reader never truly understands her, Han Kang veiling her behind the perspectives of the people in her life: first behind her domineering husband, then behind her repulsive brother-in-law, and finally behind the worrisome and tired eyes of her caring sister, In-hye.

In the first third, The Vegetarian, I disliked every character, especially Mr. Cheong, Yeong-hye’s husband. A natural patriarch, he feels emboldened by his control over his wife. Naturally, when she decides to cease her consumption of animal products, he calls her insane, inconsiderate, mentally-ill. What will his boss think of him? How will society perceive him? A man with a vegetarian wife, a man who lost control of the being who belonged to him. Yeong-hye defies society. By rejecting meat. By rejecting wearing a bra to ease the tension in her chest. By rejecting submission. And so begins Yeong-hye’s quiet revolt against the pain of being human.

In the second third, Mongolian Mark, we follow In-hye’s husband, Yeong-hye’s brother-in-law. When compared to Mr. Cheong, her brother-in-law is not outwardly tyrannical. A distant artist, he keeps to his art studio, often forgetting about his wife and child. Hearing about Yeong-hye’s mongolian mark, he finds inspiration for a new film project. He films her nude, painting flowers over her body. He sexualizes her. He defiles her. He is the embodiment of the cruelty and perverseness of humanity. All the while Yeong-hye embraces a new version of herself: she becomes more reticent, less anxious, almost like a plant. In fact, she begins to believe she is one.

After In-hye learns of her husband's infidelity, and him taping him and Yeong-hye having sex, she calls the police. We then transition to the final third of the novel which redeemed the book for me in many aspects: Flaming Trees. In this latter third, the fog that blurred my understanding dissipated, albeit, not completely. Reading from the perspective of In-hye was particularly enjoyable, solemn, and devastating. Suddenly the book became less about the savagery of men and more about the women, the two sisters, who must endure the agony of human consciousness. Yeong-hye’s suffering stemmed from the abuse of their father; In-hye learned to survive their father’s abuse. Suffering is inflicted upon them throughout their lives. And as a result, Yeong-hye revolted, becoming like the trees, a silent creature that does as she pleases, without serving others. In-hye suffers as well, realizing she’s never really lived:

“The feeling that she had never really lived in this world caught her by surprise. It was a fact. She had never really 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 has been unflagging, all her success 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.”

While her sister is admitted in the mental hospital, In-hye thinks of her son and her love for him, she thinks of life and its plights, but she also thinks about a human oddity: we suffer yet we endure. We lace laughter in our suffering, we continue treading:

“Life is such a strange thing, she thinks, once she has stopped laughing. Even after certain things have happened to them, no matter how awful the experience, people still go on eating and drinking, going to the toilet and washing themselves—living, in other words. And sometimes they even laugh out loud.”

When I think of this novel, I do not think of meat, or a mental hospital, or even a certain character. I think of the imagery of the trees: the trees that Yeong-hye and In-hye escaped to as children, their leaves burning with the rising of the sun, the same trees they see in the last scene of the book. As children, they see the trees as an alternative life, a peaceful one, devoid of their father’s abuse. Why not become one? Why not escape the tumultuous expectations of life, and simply live as you care to? Why not simply forge your own path, no matter how peculiar it seems?

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thewitchsreads's review against another edition

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challenging dark 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

3.0

Ik was zo benieuwd naar dit boek, maar ik denk dat ik een heleboel symboliek of plotpoints heb gemist of zo, want het was niet wat ik ervan verwachtte. Ik vond het tof dat het boek vanuit drie verschillende perspectieven over de hoofdpersoon spreekt, maar ook daar was het niet wat ik verwachtte. Ik had het boek Kim Jiyoung, geboren in 1982 meer in m'n hoofd, dat het die kant op ging, maar da was nie.
Verder bleef ik wel geïntrigeerd en was de schrijfstijl prachtig, maar soms ook echt veel te grafisch voor mijn liking. Op sommige momenten was het echt te eerie.

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sweetadeliene's review

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dark medium-paced

3.5

The writing was gorgeous but the plot and themes are dark and difficult.

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moonsunamour's review

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dark reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.75

Part 1: female rage and a lot of frustration at our society and males in particular.
Part 2: disgust and a feeling of doom and instability regarding humanity which seems drenched in malice and unconsciousness.
Part 3: utter desolation and empathy for sensitive and open minds who struggle through a twisted and seemingly inexplicable world as well as a sense of confusion, despair and being lost

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m4eson's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

FIRST AND FOREMOST - i do think this book can be HIGHLY triggering to some and would advise to check for a list. ive done my best to tag them in this review because they are reoccurring and graphic.

reading this book was such an experience. i dont know whether i could label that experience as good or bad as the topic was complex and deeply layered.

i was a little lost at first and then i took into account a few things that i feel are important when talking about this book. first, the book was originally written in korean — this meaning the translation was done as best as possible but as an asian woman with my first language not being english i am all to aware that some things are not easily translated. second, that this book was written by a woman which i always like to take note of but that detail in specific to this book feels extremely important.

the main character in this book was mostly treated as a 3rd person, i found this to be super strange at first but as we get to know her, i see exactly why she was created in the eyes of those around her. this book represents the harmful narratives of patriarchy — specifically in asian cultures. the main character is othered, abused and truly discarded by those around her because she had chosen to live a life no one understood. the fact that all that followed stemmed from her choosing to change her diet speaks so strongly of how women are seen ESPECIALLY by men. the men are awful, they are absolutely horrible to their wives (the main character and her sister and even their mother). not only does this touch on the value of women determined in a patriarchy but this also covers the aspect of food and the relationship women have to it. i thought this was a brilliant choice as food in many asian cultures stands as a deeply woven and sacred aspect to our identity and histories but this was the first time ive seen it discussed as something that could be negative.

i think in time my brain will sit with this and i will only continue to peel back more and more of how important this book is and i think thats a makes this read all the more meaningful.

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strawb_ellie's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.0

This book has left me speechless. It was written in such a fascinating and devastating way. I'm so glad I have read it. But it's also made me feel sad. Don't read if ur sad. Or do. It's a v good book

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