The Vegetarian by Han Kang, Winner of the 2024 Nobel Prize in Literature

Book Name– The Vegetarian Author – Han Kang Genre – Fiction Translated by– Deborah Smith Hello lovelies!!!!! Here is another review of the book, but as always, let’s listen to my “story behind the book.” SBTB – Umm!! I guess it’s been more than 6 months since I bought this book. When it came into the spotlight as a winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, I was intrigued and so excited to read it. But life happened in a good way, of course and this book remained on the shelf, waiting for its turn. And here it is! I finally took the time and finished this book in a week. So, let’s dive into the review. Book Review– This is the story of Yeong-hye, who was healthy and fine until one day she decided to become a vegetarian and refused to eat meat. Her family and husband forced her to eat meat, but she didn’t budge. Her condition worsened day by day. One day, her husband left her, and eventually, her family did too. Only her sister, In-hye, stayed by her side as a caregiver. As time passed, Yeong-hye became more disturbed, and her mental health deteriorated. She was eventually admitted to a psychiatric hospital. The way the story begins and unfolds is thrilling and painful to read. I found myself praying throughout the book, thinking, “Please Yeong-hye, hang in there, please?” Though the story becomes somewhat predictable, I still kept hoping for a twist that would change everything. This book felt like watching a psychological thriller drama shocking, heartbreaking, and intense on every page. QOTD – Since this month is Mental Health Awareness Month, tell me: What do you do when everything feels like too much, like you're about to break? Have you ever felt this way or seen someone go through it?

Fair warning: Anybody thinking this book is about vegetarianism at it's core may be a little disappointed. The premise of the novel has been surmised well by other reviewers. The novel does not follow the Yeong-hye, her dreams and her obsession with vegetarianism in a straightforward manner. It is during interactions with other characters and her impact on them, that the novel develops the themes of culture, insanity, aspirations, relations, vegetarianism, etc. For the most part, the writing and the premise is gripping. Imagery at certain points is vivid and almost hypnotic. The author does well at exploring relationships and the inner worlds of her characters. The reason(s) why I gave it a 4 star rating instead of 3/3.5 are the portions that which deal with Mr. Cheong (protagonist's spouse), In-hye (Protagonist's sister) and her husband. These portions are well written and provide effortless imagery and connection to the thoughts, feelings and environs of these three characters, whether sympathetic or not. They feel honest and compelling. While there are various themes in the novel, it was easier to identify and appreciate these three characters and their perspectives (as perhaps intended by the author). The Book: The book has a good quality cover paper with matte finish. The cover page art is interesting with its shimmery leaf lattice in the background and a wing at the center. The inside pages are cream-hued with sharp and legible printing and a decent font size. The paper quality resembles that of a mass market paperback - (For INR 338 at Amazon with discount on MRP of 550, one can be forgiven for noticing such things)

BOOK REVIEW: "The Vegetarian" by Han Kang- winner of Nobel prize in literature 2024 Rating - ⭐⭐⭐⭐ THIS IS NOT ABOUT VEGETERIANISM When I started reading it I had no idea about what this book was going to show me. Like everyone else I thought it's about the struggles of becoming a vegetarian in Korean culture. But what I got was a powerful exploration about the struggles of being a woman in this patriarchal society. It's not about a woman deciding to go on a vegetarian diet, but rather about a woman deciding to do things in her own way. Told in three interconnected parts through the perspectives of those around the protagonist, Yeong-hye, the novel unspools like a fever dream—strange, unsettling, and unforgettable. Yeong-hye’s sudden rejection of meat is a catalyst—a symbolic rupture in a world defined by control, convention, and patriarchy. Her decision, triggered by a disturbing dream, is met with escalating hostility and confusion by her husband, her brother-in-law, and her sister, each of whom projects their own desires and expectations onto her body and choices. This shows how much power the people around us think they hold over our lives, our choices, our body. As the story progresses it exposes the brutal controlling nature of Yeong-hye's family. It's sad how her suffering couldn't catch their attention but the only thing that caught their attention is her deciding to become a vegetarian. The brutality that everyone showed towards her throughout all her life was heartbreaking and unsettling. What makes The Vegetarian so powerful is its refusal to explain or moralize. Yeong-hye's transformation is not a parable—it’s a question. A challenge. A wound. This is not an easy read, nor is it meant to be. It is brutal, poetic, and eerily quiet in its rage. Anyone who loves literature is bound to fall in love with this whole book.

What a strange little book. I tried to think of something in my reading experience with which to compare it and the only thing that came to mind was Kafka's The Metamorphosis, but instead of waking up to find herself transformed into a giant insect, Yeong-hye awoke one morning from a troubled dream of blood and gore and cruelty and decides to give up the eating of all flesh; to become a vegetarian. For her avidly meat-eating family, a metamorphosis into a giant cockroach might have been preferable. They are appalled and outraged. At a family gathering some time after she makes her decision, they try to force her to eat meat. Her brutal father slaps her twice and forces a piece of meat between her lips, but Yeong-hye manages to spit it out and then grabs a knife and slits her wrist. As her blood spurts out, the only one who comes to her aid is her brother-in-law, while her parents, her husband, sister, brother, and sister-in-law look on. What is wrong with these people? Well, a lot, apparently. We learn about it all from three different sources: the odious husband, the brother-in-law, and, finally, the sister. The husband's tale starts with his description of his impressions on meeting the woman who was to become his wife. To say his was underwhelmed would be an understatement. To be fair, his description of himself is just as unflattering. I laughed out loud at the husband's sardonic depictions of the two of them, but it was the only time in the book that I felt any inclination toward jocularity. As his wife of five years makes her decision to become a vegetarian, all the husband can think about is how this affects him and what his employer and their acquaintances will think. He is totally self-absorbed. The brother-in-law becomes obsessed with Yeong-hye after the incident at the family gathering. He is an artist. His medium is videos and he becomes consumed by the idea of featuring his sister-in-law's naked body in his videos. He wants to paint flowers on her body and film her. She agrees to this. His fixation then moves on to filming her having sex. He persuades a fellow artist to allow him to paint flowers on his body and to be Yeong-hye's partner, but when it comes to the point of actually engaging in sex, the partner backs out. The brother-in-law then takes over - which is what he wanted to do all along - and videotapes himself having sex with her. The sister discovers them together. The last section of the book is the sister's tale and there we learn some of Yeong-hye's back story. We learn, for example, that she was an abused child. She was the middle child with her older sister and younger brother, and her father took out his rage on her. Her sister feels guilty that she did not do more to protect her or support her. Through the sister's eyes, we see Yeong-hye descending from a healthy vegetarianism into anorexia. She goes from refusing to eat meat to, finally, refusing to eat, period. She is diagnosed with a mental illness and hospitalized. Her husband divorces her. Her parents and brother abandon her. The only one who stands by her in the end is her sister. Yeong-hye is slowly starving herself to death, even as her sister tries to pull her back and persuade her to eat. She dreams of transforming herself into a tree. Finally, she asks her sister who is trying to persuade her to live, "Why, is it such a bad thing to die?" In Korean society, where societal mores are expected to be strictly obeyed, her decision to become a vegetarian and live a more plant-based life is seen as an act of subversion. This disturbing novel should evidently be read as an allegory about modern life in Korea, and about obsession and the choices we make, as well as our stumbling attempts to try to understand each other. This is an impressive bit of story-telling by a very talented writer. Just a note also about the translator: I read this book in English and it was a thoroughly lithe and graceful translation. The translator was Deborah Smith and she, too, is an artist.

A fascinating read. Very different to anything I've read before. I had no idea where it was headed and had to keep turning the pages on a very strange and tragic journey. Explores some pretty deep and dark themes - mental illness, anorexia, and the way we relate to people who make choices that are different to ours. A difficult but rewarding read.

The first reading I had from this author. Fabulous and deep. It is about the choice. It is also about the human nature. The choice that goes beyond the extreme. After this, I bought other books from the same author. Warmly recommended.

Sin duda uno de los mejores que he leído últimamente. Han Kang no defrauda con ninguno de sus libros. Es una maestra describiendo tantos horrores con la sencillez de su prosa.

Intenso, cativante, instigante. Em inglês, difícil, com um estilo e uma linguagem sofisticados. Te prende intensamente do principio so final