Tania reviewed Die Vegetarierin by Han Kang
Depressing
3 stars
I expected more from a prize winning novel but it was just strange and depressing.
eBook, 185 pages
English language
Published Jan. 31, 2016 by Hogarth.
The Vegetarian
by Han Kang
Before the nightmare, Yeong-hye and her husband lived an ordinary life. But when splintering, blood-soaked images start haunting her thoughts, Yeong-hye decides to purge her mind and renounce eating meat. In a country where societal mores are strictly obeyed, Yeong-hye's decision to embrace a more “plant-like” existence is a shocking act of subversion. And as her passive rebellion manifests in ever more extreme and frightening forms, scandal, abuse, and estrangement begin to send Yeong-hye spiraling deep into the spaces of her fantasy. In a complete metamorphosis of both mind and body, her now dangerous endeavor will take Yeong-hye—impossibly, ecstatically, tragically—far from her once-known self altogether.
Before the nightmare, Yeong-hye and her husband lived an ordinary life. But when splintering, blood-soaked images start haunting her thoughts, Yeong-hye decides to purge her mind and renounce eating meat. In a country where societal mores are strictly obeyed, Yeong-hye's decision to embrace a more “plant-like” existence is a shocking act of subversion. And as her passive rebellion manifests in ever more extreme and frightening forms, scandal, abuse, and estrangement begin to send Yeong-hye spiraling deep into the spaces of her fantasy. In a complete metamorphosis of both mind and body, her now dangerous endeavor will take Yeong-hye—impossibly, ecstatically, tragically—far from her once-known self altogether.
73pctGeek reviewed The Vegetarian by Han Kang
Just absolutely not for me
1 star
I did not like this at all. Everything I don't enjoy in literary fiction shows up in this book. Tedious unpleasant people acting in bizarre, unfathomable ways while nothing much really happens, and the ending is supremely unsatisfactory.
I find these kinds of books utterly opaque, and I know it's not the book, it's my brain. Yet, I struggled through it, and actually finished, but I really shouldn't have, I despised every sentence.
I did not like this at all. Everything I don't enjoy in literary fiction shows up in this book. Tedious unpleasant people acting in bizarre, unfathomable ways while nothing much really happens, and the ending is supremely unsatisfactory.
I find these kinds of books utterly opaque, and I know it's not the book, it's my brain. Yet, I struggled through it, and actually finished, but I really shouldn't have, I despised every sentence.
AVulcan2025 reviewed The Vegetarian by Han Kang
Absolutely amazing
5 stars
This is a book filled with violence. It is not the kind where you have to clench your teeth to get through the scene, at least not most of the time. It is a quiet kind of violence, a violence where you have to wonder when the main character will break. It is a violence that could happen to every woman, no matter her standing, to everyone in fact, regardless of gender. The shifts in perspective are amazing, this is one of the absolute best books I’ve read this year. It shook me to the core. If you’re looking for short literature to get you back into reading, this book has got you covered.
TofuCat reviewed The Vegetarian by Han Kang
shook
5 stars
as a asian, male, husband, brother-in-law, a salaryman, this book shook me thoroughly. gripping from start to end. not for the light-hearted or weak in the stomach like me. great writing style and insight into gender differences, cultural differences and mental health issues.
as a asian, male, husband, brother-in-law, a salaryman, this book shook me thoroughly. gripping from start to end. not for the light-hearted or weak in the stomach like me. great writing style and insight into gender differences, cultural differences and mental health issues.
Niño Gurú reviewed The Vegetarian by Han Kang
Una espiral de letras
5 stars
Impecable! Se me fue el libro como agua. Más que la historia, que no deja de ser interesante, la forma en la que está escrito el libro es una delicia.
Alecs Ștefănescu reviewed The Vegetarian by Han Kang
Silence as violence
5 stars
The first two thirds of the book were a chorus that I am all too familiar with: some men turn everything they touch into burning pain. Han Kang allows us to experience patriarchal violence both through the eyes of the men, and through the thoughts of the women they hurt. The book opens with a first-person view that made me feel the familiar nausea of realising that the women are trapped narcissistic men.
There's only one character whose inner thoughts we never read, except through her dreams. And, honestly, after the last third of the book, I feel like reading her thoughts would have been too much to bear. Perhaps even too much to imagine, as an author.
The silence of the main character feels like a different kind of violence. Just like "Greek Lessons", it feels to me like Han Kang portrays women fighting back at the …
The first two thirds of the book were a chorus that I am all too familiar with: some men turn everything they touch into burning pain. Han Kang allows us to experience patriarchal violence both through the eyes of the men, and through the thoughts of the women they hurt. The book opens with a first-person view that made me feel the familiar nausea of realising that the women are trapped narcissistic men.
There's only one character whose inner thoughts we never read, except through her dreams. And, honestly, after the last third of the book, I feel like reading her thoughts would have been too much to bear. Perhaps even too much to imagine, as an author.
The silence of the main character feels like a different kind of violence. Just like "Greek Lessons", it feels to me like Han Kang portrays women fighting back at the men that wronged them (sometimes, with the complicity of other women) by barring them from hearing their voice.
tinderness reviewed Die Vegetarierin by Han Kang
Becoming something different
5 stars
The book describes a radical and strong character who is willing to transform herself - but in doing so brings herself step by step closer to her own death. For German-speaking readers, see my review of this book: mostindien.org/2024/10/13/han-kang-die-vegetarierin/
