The Vegetarian
By Han Kang
- Release Date: 2016-02-02
- Genre: Fiction & Literature
Description
WINNER OF THE INTERNATIONAL BOOKER PRIZE • “[Han] Kang viscerally explores the limits of what a human brain and body can endure, and the strange beauty that can be found in even the most extreme forms of renunciation.”—Entertainment Weekly
“Ferocious.”—The New York Times Book Review (Ten Best Books of the Year)
“Both terrifying and terrific.”—Lauren Groff
“Provocative [and] shocking.”—The Washington Post
Before the nightmares began, Yeong-hye and her husband lived an ordinary, controlled life. But the dreams—invasive images of blood and brutality—torture her, driving Yeong-hye to purge her mind and renounce eating meat altogether. It’s a small act of independence, but it interrupts her marriage and sets into motion an increasingly grotesque chain of events at home. As her husband, her brother-in-law and sister each fight to reassert their control, Yeong-hye obsessively defends the choice that’s become sacred to her. Soon their attempts turn desperate, subjecting first her mind, and then her body, to ever more intrusive and perverse violations, sending Yeong-hye spiraling into a dangerous, bizarre estrangement, not only from those closest to her, but also from herself.
Celebrated by critics around the world, The Vegetarian is a darkly allegorical, Kafka-esque tale of power, obsession, and one woman’s struggle to break free from the violence both without and within her.
One of the Best Books of the Year—BuzzFeed, Entertainment Weekly, Wall Street Journal, Time, Elle, The Economist, HuffPost, Slate, Bustle, The St. Louis Dispatch, Electric Literature, Publishers Weekly
Reviews
Unexpected
3By OzcromeI had something else in mind when I started reading this book. I can’t recommend it because it was just ok.More Than Horror
4By DatDuDawpWhat starts off as creepy quickly evolves into a family dealing with grief, loss, and desiresWhy did I read this?
1By AmpsV2Each section of this book got weirder and more uncomfortable. There is no ending. No resolution. Nothing. Worst book I’ve read in a long time.Boring, no characters to care about
1By travisa3722The characters are one dimensional So I didn’t have a connection to anyone. The act of becoming vegetarian was illustrated as the beginning of a mental collapse. Although I never fully understood what happened to make her so fragile. The book is written much like it is being told to you in short hand. Only continued to read because I spent money on it and kept thinking something had to happen, but nothing really did.Not shocking
1By Iwishitwouldstopraining!Just boring. Read all the way to the end, hoping for a shocking reveal or turn of events. Nothing. I can’t even say the rest of the book was worth the lame ending. Don’t even bother.An okay read
3By mrsbottleDon’t see what all the fuss is aboutFalse Advertising
1By Madd1e😄This book is called “The Vegetarian”, but as shown within the first few pages, the main character is quite literally NOT a vegetarian, but a VEGAN. Can you believe this blasphemy? I highly recommend you do NOT buy this book if you do not want to be LIED to and fall victim to FALSE advertising.Easy to read but Question reality.
3By sXioAt first, i thought it was three different short story only to be surprised by how the author build the book. At first, i thought it was the story of an average vegetarian, but i guess that's why some review called it Kafka novel type. At first it looked like a normal story but it was more than that...No Premise, No Climax, No Resolution
1By Still waiting......I'm usually not one to criticize, but there was simply no point to this story. I kept turning the pages (well, there's THAT), wondering Why, What next, and How will it end. None of those things were explained, Nothing happened Next, and there really was No Ending. Perhaps everything was lost in the translation?Strange
3By thrtyfutsmurfThis is a strange book that at times makes perfect sense and at other times, veers off into the incomprehensible. Entertaining and engaging but not very satisfying.