The Vegetarian: A Novel
FROM HAN KANG, WINNER OF THE 2024 NOBEL PRIZE IN LITERATURE
“[Han Kang’s] intense poetic prose . . . exposes the fragility of human life.”—The Nobel Committee for Literature, in the citation for the Nobel Prize
A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
WINNER OF THE INTERNATIONAL BOOKER PRIZE
ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES’S 100 BEST BOOKS OF THE 21ST CENTURY
A KIRKUS REVIEWS BEST FICTION BOOK OF THE CENTURY
“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.
A Best Book of the Year: BuzzFeed, Entertainment Weekly, Wall Street Journal, Time, Elle, The Economist, HuffPost, Slate, Bustle, The St. Louis Dispatch, Electric Literature, Publishers Weekly
“[Han Kang’s] intense poetic prose . . . exposes the fragility of human life.”—The Nobel Committee for Literature, in the citation for the Nobel Prize
A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
WINNER OF THE INTERNATIONAL BOOKER PRIZE
ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES’S 100 BEST BOOKS OF THE 21ST CENTURY
A KIRKUS REVIEWS BEST FICTION BOOK OF THE CENTURY
“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.
A Best Book of the Year: BuzzFeed, Entertainment Weekly, Wall Street Journal, Time, Elle, The Economist, HuffPost, Slate, Bustle, The St. Louis Dispatch, Electric Literature, Publishers Weekly
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Community Reviews
What Bookclubbers are saying about this book
✨ Summarized by Bookclubs AI
Readers say *The Vegetarian* by Han Kang features beautiful, exquisite writing and vivid imagery that captivate many. They agree it offers a powerful ...
An amazing book that has a lot to say. A book that subverts expectations, with an ending that is haunting as it is ambiguous.
The story chronicles three different perspectives on the mysterious Yeong-Hye, a woman who begins to-- in the eyes of her husband, her in-laws, and her family--undergo a complete transformation. Written in poetic prose and deeply woven with social criticism and commentary, the story of Yeong-Hye is one of defiance, but also vulnerability.
Warning: There are extremely unsettling and disturbing imagery. If you are triggered by sexual assault, trauma and abuse, animal cruelty and nudity, please make sure to be in the right mindset before reading.
Amazing book.
Not sure how I feel about this yet but I do know that it will stick me with for a while and that’s worth at least 3 stars. Not feeling at all apathetic; more so haunted and reeling. I read it in a day and wasn’t really enjoying myself? But also couldn’t put it down. It’s thematically rich and harrowing and weird and tragic.
I don’t know how to describe this book. Maybe it’s because it’s 9 pm and I’ve skipped lunch and still haven’t had dinner. Maybe it’s because I lost my appetite somewhere around the middle of this book. Maybe it’s because it's making me rage, and I don’t know how to articulate it.
The Vegetarian is about a woman who gets tired of the people around her controlling every inch of her life, makes one choice for herself, stops giving a fuck, and somehow that tiny act becomes completely unacceptable to everyone else. The world around her refuses to leave her the fuck alone. Sometimes it’s the selfish, insipid, whiny asshole of a husband who thinks he’s entitled to her service, obedience, and submission. Other times, it’s her parents and siblings pushing conformity while dressing it up as care. And then there’s the perverted brother-in-law who disguises his obsession with her fragility as artistic interest. Every person around her seems convinced they know what’s best for her body, her choices, her life. Her refusal to participate becomes the real crime.
It’s a fantastic commentary on patriarchy, bodily autonomy, and freedom, and it’s absolutely worth reading, even if it costs you a fair bit of emotional investment.
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