Review by afestivalaparade - The Vegetarian

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afestivalaparade 's review for:

The Vegetarian by Han Kang

4.0

challenging dark sad tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

A beautifully written book with characters whose fixations and horrors will stick with me for a long time. So much went unspoken around the edges of Han’s writing, and such a technique both adds to the growing terror and also highlighting the banality of sexual violence. I really struggled with the slick gristle of the violence in the book, events that include animals as well as people. But it was far and away the growing depression and suicidality of some characters that unbalanced me the most. Han slides into it so seamlessly and vividly that I felt trapped myself. I don’t think I enjoyed reading this book… but wow, is it well written and beautiful.

Content Warnings