A review by charlotteroach
The Vegetarian, by Han Kang

dark mysterious

3.25

I’m really confused by this book. I think I liked it? But also don’t ask me what happened.

What I took from this book was to be a woman’s descent into a deadly eating disorder, with the catalyst being her decision to become vegetarian. Every character is very much disgusted by this choice, and believes it to be a sign of her mental state deteriorating. Within the three sections, each is narrated by a different character, and we do not hear directly from Yeong-hye, the title character. These characters are very much unreliable narrators, and so I believe they are completely overlooking the mental distress pressing in on her, believing her vegetarianism to be the sole cause of it. 

I also believe that a large theme of this book was the exploitation of women’s vulnerability, particularly in the middle section, and how women are seen as deviant if they are not conforming to gender roles and playing at being a good housewife. The first section highlights this largely, with Yeong-hye’s husband being a complete asshole in every respect. 

I feel a bit deflated by this book, and I think it is because I expected it to go a bit of a different way after the first third, as tension and intrigue was built, leading to a horror-esqus climax, which was not met. 3.25⭐️, but I will be reading lots of reviews and theories to hopefully give me more clarity. 
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