A review by thebookchubi
The Vegetarian by Han Kang

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

3.0

3 stars for the poetic translation and writing style. Docked 2 Stars for negative use of vegetarianism as a symptom of severe mental illness and intense focus on how the men in the story are inconvenienced by women's independence. 

I had a strong negative reaction throughout the book as they intensely focus on the main character being "vegetarian" when really they meant to say "anorexic" or "schizophrenic" as is finally revealed in the final chapter. If it was meant to be allegorical (my best guess since in the last scenes she claims to have become a plant) I think it was a miss. And this mentally ill woman who needs support and help is instead raped by her husband then manipulated into dubiously consensual sex by her brother-in-law, both of whom get to be central characters while we get minimal gibberish from "the vegetarian" herself. (Not too mention the physical abuse from her father.) The final section has slight redemption as you see how her sister takes on so much guilt and responsibility for the sins of her family and how she struggles to help her sister in the future effort of healing her sister. But the ending was abrupt and unfulfilling.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings