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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: Body horror, Chronic illness, Confinement, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Dementia and Abandonment