The Vegetarian
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
ONE OF THE GUARDIAN’S 100 BEST NOVELS OF ALL TIME
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 haunting, vivid prose that blurs reality and dreams, creating an unsettling, poetic exploration of s...
I really enjoyed the 1st chapter the suspense in the writing.The husband and his basic man personality. I could feel her pain. no one trying to understand her. I loved all characters. I loved the writing style Mrs Kang kept me interested. The second chapter for me was a bit smutty. I didn't enjoy the super detail on the body parts and the sexual arousal. But thats just me. I love the details and style the writer gave. You get to picture the scene. I found the 3rd chapter loosing me, boring I was loosing interest, a chore to read and finish. 4stars because of the smut. I would add I would like to give Mrs Kang another try. So I'll find another book of hers.
Usually when I give a rating of 8 or above, its a book I'd recommend. But outside of an English class, I wouldn't recommend this book to someone. However, in a short book, the author creates an existential crisis web of characters that lead me to think deeper about the characters, society, and how we move through this world.
I'd describe this book as a poem. A sad, unsettling, beautiful, raw, poem. Characters experienced emotions and thoughts in ways I had never considered nor experienced and I am not sure if I am the better for having seen another version of life or just more aware.
I am infuriated at the way every character's attempt to help the protagonist was solely based on their needs, wants, desires. No one took time to listen to her. The one that did listen and ultimately made her feel well, was spurred by his longing for her body and what it could do for his art.
I did like how the author told the story from different characters vantage point, as it truly was an abrupt and odd origin story. The author also has a way of clearly explaining the unsettling and disturbing feelings of the male characters. And in light of the Cornell 7, they feel so unsafe and selfish that their characters disgusted me.
And to think the story probably would have probably had a different ending if someone had simply sat and actually worked to understand what happened to the protagonist.
Everytime something was done to the protagonist to help her, there was never a conversation, just an assumption. It feels twisted that the only person that truly spoke to her and asked her how she felt was the same one motivated by a vivid, odd and erotic artist inspiration. And even then once he got what he wanted, he completely missed her say what the cause of her pain was.
The complexity of the story, the intentionality, the many conversations that are driven by this book, makes this book a 5. The author forces you to grapple with your state of being, living, existing. The protagonist should be the only victim; you soon realize the protagonist may be the only one that is truly free. Is this book ultimately daddy issues tied in a bow and the aftermath of an abusive father...from the men they chose to the proverbial noose those men ultimately tie around their neck?
As the protagonist's sister unravels the existential web, she finally sees her sisters pain, what she was overcome by and acknowledges how real it is. I'd like to believe that her words might have been the key to unlocking what the protagonist needed to hear to keep going.
All to say, the discomfort and oddity means this wouldnt been the first book I'd recommend for someone to read. However, if you have a class, book club, or looking for new perspective, I'd recommend this short read
This book kept me on edge the whole time. I kept thinking that something strange or surreal would happen. Kang paints that imaginary in your mind so well, of her standing in front of the fridge or turning into a tree.
But what meant so much to be as someone with trauma, a passed history with disordered eating, and as a therapist - was that the horror was non-consent. The horror was being mentally vulnerable around men, and having no facilities to protect yourself. The horror was reality, and that’s everything I look for in reading.
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