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A review by catbrigand
The Vegetarian by Han Kang
3.0
I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks, Netgalley!
This is a strange little story written in a very dreamy tone. The story's three narrators, all troubled, focus their parts more or less on Yeong-hye, who gives up first meat, then food altogether, in an effort to lead a more organic (literally) existence. At first I found it irritating that none of the narrators is Yeong-hye herself--we never know what she thinks; she has no agency. As it turns out, I just found her husband's narration irritating. This story, which has more then a hint of the unusual, delves deeply into the fantasies brought on by mental illness of several kinds. I enjoyed a lot of things about it. But I feel something lacking.
This is a strange little story written in a very dreamy tone. The story's three narrators, all troubled, focus their parts more or less on Yeong-hye, who gives up first meat, then food altogether, in an effort to lead a more organic (literally) existence. At first I found it irritating that none of the narrators is Yeong-hye herself--we never know what she thinks; she has no agency. As it turns out, I just found her husband's narration irritating. This story, which has more then a hint of the unusual, delves deeply into the fantasies brought on by mental illness of several kinds. I enjoyed a lot of things about it. But I feel something lacking.