eBook, 185 pages
English language
Published Jan. 31, 2016 by Hogarth.
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.
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.
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 …
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.
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/
