A review by beebeewin
The Vegetarian by Han Kang

dark sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

While this isn't going to be my favorite book ever, I will be thinking about it for awhile. Han Kang wrote a deeply disturbing, intense, and thought provoking read. It was fascinating to see Yeong-hye, the titular vegetarian, through everyone's perspective but her own. She seem to go through the evolution of womanhood from wife to sexual object to simply a body becoming one with mother nature. Kang did a great job capturing how everyone around her reacted to her differently as she progressively became less human. I think especially the last part really drove home to me how this could happen to anyone not just Yeong-hye. Kang is just showing us what happens when we choose to break away from systems of control and whether there is really a delineation between sane and crazy.  "She'd been unable to forgive her for soaring alone over a boundary she herself could never bring herself to cross, unable to forgive that magnificent irresponsibility that had enabled Yeong-hye to shuck off social constraints and leave her behind, still a prisoner. And before Yeong-hey had broken those bars, she'd never even know they were there." You could see how In-hye was only being held onto this plane of existence by her child, and it made you think about would that child experience the same feelings. Kang wrote all of the darkest thoughts of these characters with unflinching honesty, which made this book impossible to put down and horrifying to read. 

I think this just doesn't get a higher rating because it did feel like something was missing. Maybe for me I want to see inside Yeong-hye's mind, but in reality I think this book just isn't my favorite kind of book. 

That said I would still recommend this book to anyone looking for a interesting and mind altering read!

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