Reviews

Vegetariánka by Han Kang

darbo's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

The Vegetarian takes us on an emotional journey full of surprises. While it does portray the gradual descent into nothingness, it also portrays a kind of sense of wonder that allows us to question our very existence, what makes us human and why we continue to exist - not just for ourselves, but for others. Han Kang writes with an intriguing prose, making use of repetitions in clever ways that make us look back on transpired events and recall our past. This book is both intriguing and heart wrenching to witness. As someone that initially disliked this book and its writing style, I say give it a go and stick with it, it may surprise you. 

sophix's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

slingersjilly's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

beltari's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

julia62's review against another edition

challenging mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

sandro_reads's review against another edition

challenging dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

The Vegetarian is a viscerally visual novel that paints a portrait of Yeong-hye as told by 3 POVs of people around her.

It attempts to tackle a lot of issues from family violence to mental health to gender roles with a sort of magic realism brush but ultimately left me confused. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Mental illness, and Suicide attempt

csh2424's review against another edition

dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated

4.25

vanessarteaga's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

I went into The Vegetarian wanting to read something weird, and this definitely did not disappoint. Can't say I 100% got everything that was going on, but I was happy to be along for the ride.  I spent most of this book swinging wildly between confusion, emotion, and discomfort. My favorite part of the novel was In-hye's pov:  the age gap between her and Yeong-hye is the same as the gap between my little brother and I, so I related to that combination of exasperation and protectiveness. It truly was an emotional punch to the gut. Overall, I'd caution people against reading part 2 of this book in public, I was constantly glancing over my shoulder to check that no one was sneaking a peak of my kindle.

jojoliest's review against another edition

dark

1.0

sophie_gray's review against another edition

4.0

rly enjoyed! so dark but very well written, loved the change in perspectives