A review by booksbeforebs
The Vegetarian by Han Kang

challenging dark reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

All I knew going into ‘The Vegetarian’ was that it’s about a woman in South Korea who goes against cultural norms when she decides to give up eating meat, then things get weird… and it’s really something you have to experience for yourself. I agree: no review or summary can prepare you for what you’re about to read, nor can it do the book justice, for while yes, the book *is* about a woman who gives up eating meat, really it’s about everything *but* that, being an equally gripping and wonderfully unsettling exploration of friction between the individual and the expectations placed on them by society. 
 
Given the content of the book (insert all the warnings) and the strangeness of it, I can see why some readers find it too extreme for their tastes and decide not to finish it; however, personally I found I didn’t want to put the book down, and whenever I had to put it down I couldn’t stop thinking about it, and ever since finishing it I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it—all I want to do is to find other people who have read and been equally fascinated by it so that we can discuss its meaning, pick it apart and obsess over it together, because there are so many layers to appreciate in this masterpiece. 
 
‘The Vegetarian’ truly is worthy of all its accolades.
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