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cecereads__ 's review for:
The Vegetarian
by Han Kang
Wow. My experience of this book was five stars. I thought it was truly thought-provoking and confrontational in a powerful yet subtle way. It’s pretty haunting and full-on.
This feels unique and yet relatable, if that makes sense; what an experience it was with reading about/being confronted with mental deterioration (for all involved). The way that the sister starts to experience her own mental struggles (which we’re introduced to in part two through her ex-husband) shows a different way of it than for the two men where a sort of deterioration happens to all of them separately. Which shows how our lives intertwine and are affected by the people around us - one persons seemingly simple lifestyle alteration reveals the cracks. It is also a powerful choice to have a book not give too much of an insight look into the main character (her voice is barely sth for us to apparently hear/know). Her mental illness downward spirals but we learn about it from how those around her are catapulted into their own mental breakdowns. The vegetarianism is symptomatic of sth bigger and used mostly as a “way in” to this case of terrifying/tragic/isolating/numbing experience with mental illness.
This feels unique and yet relatable, if that makes sense; what an experience it was with reading about/being confronted with mental deterioration
Content Warnings
Moderate: Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content
Minor: Child abuse, Violence, Medical content