Theresa’s Book Review #2

Theresa’s Book Review #2

Welcome to Theresa’s book review #2! Today she’s reading The Vegetarian by Han Kang! Enjoy her thoughts, and feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below!

The Vegetarian (2007) – Han Kang

Hi everyone, Theresa here. Wow, there are people reading this. Welcome back to my book review series! Today I’m reviewing The Vegetarian (2007) by Han Kang. Hopefully you enjoy my thoughts!

The Vegetarian follows Yeong-hye as she makes the staunch decision to stop eating meat, much to her family’s dismay. This action sets off a chain of events that, in increasingly surreal, depraved, and horrifying ways, lead to an Ovidian transformation of Yeong-hye that astounds her family and raises the question of what self-autonomy means in a deeply patriarchal society. The first part, through her husband’s perspective, depicts his lack of understanding and her violent pushback against his (and her family’s) attempt to conform her. The second part, through the perspective of her brother-in-law, explores depravity under the guise of art, and his attempt to contort Yeong-hye into an art project for the purpose of satisfying his sexual fantasies. The third part, through the perspective of Yeong-hye’s sister, explores societal rejection and her futile attempts to come to terms with a world that rejected her sister, and one in which she herself conforms. 

With blistering prose, Han Kang holds nothing back, describing in horrid detail Yeong-hye’s destruction, both as a woman and as a person. It’s almost comedic how such a small decision triggers catastrophic consequences (the first part even reads like a satirical comedy), yet the book ensnares the reader in the trap of laughing along until, at the point of no return, the reader realizes they shouldn’t be laughing. The repeated trampling of Yeong-hye’s identity grows increasingly violent as the book progresses, and by the third act the question shifts to whether nonconformity is even possible in a society held together by human cruelty. The reader never gets Yeong-hye’s perspective; she is always seen through the eyes of those around her. The third act was a bit heady, and the pacing was less consistent after the halfway mark, but the ending is a gut-punch, and the book features some of the most elegant prose of the past ten years. 

Vicious. Beautiful. The dog scene made me want to puke. 

Rating: 4/5

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