A review by rieriereads
The Vegetarian by Han Kang

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

It's your body, you can treat it however you please. The only area where you're free to do just as you like.

The Vegetarian, written by Han Kang and translated by Deborah Smith, was beyond my expectations. It was dark, graphic, melancholic, and somewhat reflective.
 
This is one of the books I would love to read reviews about but not make my own. The Vegetarian covers so many themes, and I'm afraid my review couldn't live up to it. Mental illness, relationships with family and yourself, anorexia, society, and more could be seen in the novel.

Divided into three parts, it is the story of two sisters, Yeong-hye and In-hye, and their husbands. One day, because of a strange dream, Yeong-hye decided to become a vegetarian. Everyone around her chastised her for her decision. Slowly, the world between the characters interlopes and tumbles into something I never would have expected.

My favorite of the three parts was the first one. It was the most interesting, and I loved that the narrator was unreliable. Mr. Cheong focuses on the other characters' flaws, not noticing his own flaws. The second part was the best in terms of description and imagination. Though in this part the novel took a turn I did not expect, I love how the flowers, pleasure, and overall story were written. The third and last part was the slowest of the three. It was equally weird, but it was my least favorite.

Overall, The Vegetarian was a good book. I wouldn't probably be reading it again, but I believe it's one of the books that everybody should at least try to read. I'd recommend this book too, but only in certain situations since the trigger warnings are quite heavy. Moreover, this was a perfect read this August.

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My Rating System

5 🌟 - Life changing, a new favorite read
4 ⭐ - I loved it
3 ⭐ - I liked it 
2 ⭐ - It was okay
1 ⭐ - I hated it but decided to  not dnf
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