An extremely weird read.
Book Talk | The Vegetarian by Han Kang & translated by Deborah Smith
This review is 308 words.
I did not enjoy reading The Vegetarian by Han Kang, but that is not a condemnation of the book. I did like it!
The thing about novels is that you can read a grotesque, ugly, or intimate scene, and unless your neighbor is reading over your shoulder (weird, please move seats), you can stay in your own secret world. No one is the wiser!
And thank god for that because I picked this as my bus book, and the scenes are deeply unpleasant at points. The prose moves quickly. Sucks you in. It is visceral and violent. And then suddenly, it's quite sensual. The painted bodies scene? Gorgeous and brilliant. Though not a scene I was ready to read on a bus full of strangers.
My favorite Goodreads review starts, "I really identified with this novel because I'm also a vegan." Dead. Yes, the story's inciting incident is when Yeong-hye becomes a vegan, but this is not a novel about cashew cheese. It's an allegory. A twisted, unraveling one about Yeong-hye's desperate attempts for bodily agency in a patriarchal society. I'm also a huge form nerd, so I really enjoyed that the novel is told from three points of view, none of which are Yeong-hye, stripping her of any narrative agency. Brutal, but effective.
Han Kang can really write a scene, and Deborah Smith's translation is a racehorse on the page, fast out the gate and spellbinding for all 208 pages. That said, reading was a constant push-pull. The immediacy of the voices and pacing of the writing kept me wanting more, but I was also nervous about what I might find on the next page.
If you do decide to pick up The Vegetarian, I recommend having a book on the nightstand with seriously lower stakes to flush out the system when you're done.
Final thoughts? Beautifully written. Complex. Gnawing. Don't read it on the bus.
Who should read The Vegetarian? Lit nerds. Allegory lovers. English majors. "Down with the patriarchy" readers. People who love literary accolades (it won many, many prizes). The dark souls among us. And sure, also vegans.
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