#The Vegetarian

[teenaged-athena]

my favourite literary genre is when a woman goes absolutely insane in first person narration - i'm right there with you girlie

[without-ado]

Time was a wave, almost cruel in its relentlessness

—Han Kang, The Vegetarian l ph: KRL

[quotespile]

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. She had believed in her own inherent goodness, her humanity, and lived accordingly, never causing anyone harm. Her devotion to doing things the right way had been unflagging, all her successes had depended on it, and she would have gone on like that indefinitely. She didn't understand why, but faced with those decaying buildings and straggling grasses, she was nothing but a child who had never lived.

Han Kang, The Vegetarian

[arylleth]

i want to swallow you, have you melt into me and flow through my veins.

[peter1rose]

Just arrived in the mail. I've heard a lot about The Vegetarian and I'm looking forward to reading it.

[lunanireads]

the vegetarian — han kang review

rating : ★★★★✮ (4.5)

started : mar 28th, 2025 / finished : mar 28th, 2025

i've made it my goal this year to read all of han kang's books in order of release and this was the first, and i'm so glad i took the time to read it.

this was a wonderfully disturbing story of the unrealistically high standards in mordern day south korea. i think this book dealt with topics like mental health and the patriarchy in a unique, poetic way.

we see in the story that yeonghye is only ever viewed as an object to the men in her life, and since her struggles with mental health and emotional neglect aren't met, i think yeonghye takes becoming a plant as a way of slowly withering away until she disappears.

in only in the third act that yeonghye's struggles, and her critical condition, are finally acknowledged by her sister and by the end, it's too late to save her. yeonghye's too far gone, in the physical sense. i view the ending as yeonghye dying and inhye being overcome with grief and resentment toward the men in her sister's life who failed to take care of her. not only did yeonghye lose her life, inhye did too. she lost her husband and her sister. i imagine she felt regret, wishing she could've done more.

[withloveilya]

short books recs (under 200 pages)

1. Sweet Bean Paste by Durian Sukegawa

This book follows Sentaro, who runs a dorayaki stall, and his friendship with Tokue, who makes killer sweet bean paste. It is a heart-warming and endearing story that brings you comfort. I love the friendship between Sentaro and Tokue, especially seeing how it develops. The ending feels a little rushed. I kind of wished it was longer. Kind of sad. I cried. 10/10 would read again.

2. Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

The Funiculi Funicula cafe provides a time-traveling service, and the book, divided into four parts, retells different characters' experiences traveling in time. I always associate time-traveling with angst and regret, and this book has just that. I love how each part explores different relationship dynamics, so the time-traveling experience varies for each character. Very heart-warming, but very emotional as well. Cried a lot. It's a series but you don't have to read other books. But if you want more info on the cafe and the characters' backstory, then I highly recommend reading the other books.

3. Heaven by Mieko Kawakami

This book revolves around two students, who are victims of bullying. Due to their shared struggle, a friendship blossoms between them. The depiction of bullying and its impacts is raw and authentic, the story providing the perspectives of both the victims and the perpetrators. It was a rage-inducing but thought-provoking read.

4. The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa

This book follows Nana the cat as he embarks on a road-trip with his owner, Satoru. Now, cats are my absolute weakness. I love cats. I WOULD DIE FOR THEM. Which is why reading this book was hard and painful. The writing is witty, since it is written from the perspective of a cat. The plot itself is kind of predictable, but it doesn't make it any less painful. Tldr; Shredded my heart into pieces. Cried so hard, I couldn't breathe.

5. Almond by Won-Pyung Sohn

The story follows the main character, Yunjae, who suffers from a rare condition called Alexithymia that essentially makes him unable to feel emotions. Due to that, he couldn't understand social cues so people shun him. The development of the story centers on the people Yunjae are going to meet, and how his relationship with these people develops. The ending felt a little anticlimactic, but I loved it nonetheless.

6. Eartheater by Dolores Reyes

The unnamed protagonist can locate missing people and find out their fate by eating dirt, so people seek her to know the fate of their missing loved ones. It was definitely an interesting read, with elements of magical realism in relation to the protagonist's ability. It is also an intriguing depiction of femicide, a reflection of a system that continuously fails women. I felt rage for the women failed by the system and the sufferings they had to endure at the hands of hateful men.

7. A House is a Body by Shruti Swamy

This book is a collection of short stories, which is a raw and authentic depiction of what it is like being human. I enjoyed certain stories, while some left me utterly confused. The narratives are enticing and poetic, so despite some stories not hitting that hard, I enjoyed the writing.

8. The Vegetarian by Han Kang

After having a bizarre dream, Yeong-Hye declares that she is turning vegetarian, and this sudden change concerned her family. I made the mistake of thinking that this book is merely a depiction of what it's like to be a vegetarian. HELL NO. It utterly deviates from my expectation. I could only describe the book as bizarre and spooky, in an unconventional way. It depicts the complexity of the human mind when the contraint of societal expectations is disregarded.

[whilereadingandwalking]

This profoundly unsettling book is as disturbing as it is effecting. The Vegetarian, by recent Nobel-winner Han Kang and translated from Korean by Deborah Smith, depicts Yeong-hye, a seemingly ordinary woman and wife, as she decides after a disturbing dream that she will no longer eat meat. Her husband, a profoundly unlikable narrator, and then her parents, siblings, and brother-in-law all attempt to force her back into eating meat, to no avail, as she begins to break apart other social norms, from going to nude to going silent.

It is a compelling narrative, though also haunting. The people around her seem to descend into madness due to her madness, her refusal to behave, her refusal to abide by social norms. And who, really, is she hurting? For the longest time, no one. No one at all, and let the people around her become possessed by her actions. At times, I felt like all this was unnecessary, all this activity, all this obsession. And then I realized that that is the point, on so many levels: it never had to be this way, did it? What if she'd just been allowed to continue not eating meat? What if those around her had accepted it? Would things have descended to the point they did? Kang's novel asks us, in the background of violent scenes, what it really means to enforce strict normality and conformity in our world, and whether we are too desperate to do so, focused so much on our own selfish desires that we allow others to spiral alongside us, even propelled by us.

Severe content warnings for domestic violence, animal cruelty, sexual assault, self-harm, suicidal ideation and attempt.

[words-and-coffee]

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. She had believed in her own inherent goodness, her humanity, and lived accordingly, never causing anyone harm. Her devotion to doing things the right way had been unflagging, all her successes had depended on it, and she would have gone on like that indefinitely. She didn’t understand why, but faced with those decaying buildings and straggling grasses, she was nothing but a child who had never lived.

Han Kang, The Vegetarian

[panthresss]

first read of march :)

[sidetongue]

she loves salad

[gennsoup]

"I have dreams too, you know. Dreams . . . And I could let myself dissolve into them, let them take me over . . . But surely the dream isn't all there is? We have to wake up at some point, don't we? Because . . . Because then . . ."

Han Kang, The Vegetarian

[quotespile]

It's your body, you can treat it however you please. The only area where you're free to do just as you like. And even that doesn’t turn out how you wanted.

Han Kang, The Vegetarian

[livenudebigfoot]

I'm trying to finish the 700 page book I've been reading since November this week. In the meantime, help me figure out which (short) book to read next. (Feel free to propagandize me.)

[virginwithasthma]

I don't think a woman who kills roaches with her palm is by any means "ordinary"