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A review by aelunny
The Vegetarian by Han Kang
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Um wow. I was definitely misled by a book reviewer to this book and it took me completely by surprise.
Very, very well written and this was an excellent translation. It's truly one of those novels thats also a work of art. That being said, the content of this book is most accurately described as disturbing. I have so so so many thoughts and I feel like I need to write an essay about this book, but the number one theme that I keep coming back to to is the objectification of women. Our protagonist (Yeong-hye) is viewed by a different person in each of the three parts and is reduced to a role in each of them. I also think a lot of people are saying her actions in the book are to enact agency on her life, but I think that by viewing it this way we are also objectifying her as a character in a book. The fact we never see the story told from Yeong-hye's perspective and our narrators never have a real conversation trying to understand what is going on in her head, makes me believe we cannot presume what her motivations are.
Please read all content warnings, as a lot of the depictions are really graphic.
Very, very well written and this was an excellent translation. It's truly one of those novels thats also a work of art. That being said, the content of this book is most accurately described as disturbing. I have so so so many thoughts and I feel like I need to write an essay about this book, but the number one theme that I keep coming back to to is the objectification of women. Our protagonist (Yeong-hye) is viewed by a different person in each of the three parts and is reduced to a role in each of them. I also think a lot of people are saying her actions in the book are to enact agency on her life, but I think that by viewing it this way we are also objectifying her as a character in a book. The fact we never see the story told from Yeong-hye's perspective and our narrators never have a real conversation trying to understand what is going on in her head, makes me believe we cannot presume what her motivations are.
Please read all content warnings, as a lot of the depictions are really graphic.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexism, Body horror, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Suicide attempt, Vomit, Rape, Blood, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Sexual content, Chronic illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Abandonment and Dementia