“Why is it such a bad thing to die?” - a review of "The Vegetarian" by Han Kang

 

 

When a book wins the Man Booker Prize, you kind of feel like you have to read it. The Vegetarian by Han Kang received the award in 2016 and its not hard to see why. Objectively, the book is thought provoking, beautifully written, and at points, disturbing. Again, though, as a translated work, it is hard to know precisely how the words impact in their original Korean. 

If you've read some of my other reviews, you would probably know that I love a weird book, and especially a book where eating and sexuality or the body are linked. Therefore, the thematic elements of The Vegetarian appealed to me; a woman who swears off of meat and animal products after a disturbing dream, and her body and mind decay as a result. Kang's ability to create unease through the contrast of Yeong-hye's suffering with the overwhelmingly stifling formality of her family relationships, her husband's bizarrely disconnected internal monologue, and her brother-in-law's innessant sexualisation of her body (especially when she was in crisis). 

Further, because Kang makes the narrative choice to never have the story told from Yeong-hye's perspective, even though the story revolves around her, she seems even more off-putting and inscrutable. I found the parts of the novel told from In-hye's (Yeong-hye's older sister) far more compelling than the other parts; she seemed the most human and the most redeemable; supporting Yeong-hye when everyone else has abandoned her. The duty and unconditional love that In-hye feels for her sister who has been twisted into something essentially unrecognisable was poignant and sharp, especially in contrast with the self-serving men who had told the story so far. 

That being said, I did not enjoy or seem to feel as spellbound by the novel as I had expected; for something right up my alley, The Vegetarian was definitely worth reading, but its not a book that I will continue to think about, not a book that will join my soul-library and stay with me for good.