A review by lakeofwords
The Vegetarian by Han Kang
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
3.0
Very well written. Very disturbing. I don't know if I fully "get it", at some point this just feels like... I don't know, torture porn? It feels very weird in a way I can't put my finger on. It's a book about women suffering at the hands of society and men, but it doesn't really get any deeper on its criticism, it's mainly just putting it out there so people see the wreckage and think about it. I understand the choice of not giving us the protagonists perspective at all, giving her even less agency in the whole thing, but I still wish it had, I wish we got to know what she was experiencing. I'm very unsettled about it, some scenes stuck with me and I wish they hadn't. Anyway, fuck men and I am gonna stop reading litfic for a whiiiile.
Graphic: Animal death, Animal cruelty, Emotional abuse, and Eating disorder
Moderate: Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Medical trauma, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Vomit