The Vegetarian

The narrative structure in The Vegetarian is unusual. It is told from three differing perspectives, yet not one of those is the protagonist, Yheong-hye. Aside from a few instances of brief dream-like monologues, readers don’t hear directly from her. Why do you think the author has chosen to tell Yeong-hye’s story in this way? How did this narrative technique enhance your understanding of her journey?

The novel opens with a line from Yeong-hye’s husband, Mr Cheong (page 3): ‘Before my wife turned vegetarian, I’d always thought of her as completely unremarkable in every way’. What does Mr Cheong mean when he states his wife is ‘unremarkable’ and why is this act of ‘turning vegetarian’ so shocking to him?

The Vegetarian has been described as a parable, one that comments on the need to conform, as well as social expectations within South Korea (although the author herself says the book’s themes are universal). Did you read Hang Kang’s novel as a critique of Korean society? Why is Yeong-hye’s personal act seen as so rebellious?

Much of the novel is concerned with the male gaze which serves as commentary on the abuse and violence women often suffer at the hands of men. In what ways does the novel challenge gender roles? To what extent is The Vegetarian a feminist novel, or a feminist critique of the patriarchy?

By the end of the novel, Yeong-hye has been admitted to an asylum. Do you think Yeong-hye has descended into ‘madness’? Or could it be argued that she is fully lucid, in control of her faculties and protesting against the circumstances which have been forced upon her? Discuss how the author delineates between madness and sanity, if at all.

‘The feeling that she had never really lived in this world caught her by surprise. It was a fact. She had never lived. Even as a child, as far back as she could remember, she had done nothing but endure.’ Discuss this quote and Yeong-hye’s feelings. What does she mean when she says she had ‘never lived’ and simply endured, and to what extent is this a novel about a human being pushed beyond the limit of endurance?

The themes of bodily autonomy and agency feature heavily within The Vegetarian, from sexual violence and consent to force-feeding and institutionalisation. What role do they play within the novel, and why did the author write so persistently on the dark side of human actions?

‘Her life was no more than a ghostly pageant of exhausted endurance, no more real than a television drama. Death, who now stood by her side, was as familiar to her as a family member, missing for a long time but now returned.’ Death is often foreshadowed within the novel. Does this seem particular to Yeong-hye’s character, or did you see it in other places, too?

In reviews, The Vegetarian has been described as a horror story. Do you agree with this categorisation? What elements of the novel feel akin to a traditional novel or film within the horror genre?

Told within In-hye’s story, the ending of The Vegetarian is deliberately ambiguous. In-hye stares out of an ambulance window, while trees pass her by. What meaning did you take from the novel’s final scenes? What do you think the author left unwritten?

After winning the International Booker Prize, Deborah Smith’s translation of The Vegetarian has been criticised with some commentators saying the novel contained embellishments and mistranslations. Smith wrote about this controversy in The LA Review of Books, stating ‘Since there is no such thing as a truly literal translation — no two languages’ grammars match, their vocabularies diverge, even punctuation has a different weight — there can be no such thing as a translation that is not “creative.”’ Han Kang, who reads English, stands by the translation. To what extent do you think translations should be entirely faithful to the original text and how much creative license should translators be allowed in their interpretation?