A review by sourcucumbers
The Vegetarian by Han Kang

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

4.25

Commentary on Patriarchy and Bodily Autonomy in a Unique Concept

There isn't too much I can say about this book that doesn't head into spoiler territory. At the crux of it, this book explores the relationship between patriarchy and the way it affects a woman's bodily autonomy. I find that it tackles and explores many topics relating to mental illness (specifically depression) and abuse. The book is more open ended and up to the reader's interpretation, which some may find frustrating and if you're more into plot driven books, you might want to skip this one. 

The length of this book is pretty short, so if you're up for trying a more contemporary genre with philosophical topics, I would highly recommend it, but be sure to check all trigger warnings and other spoiler free reviews. I would recommend a second or third reread to really get the core message.

TL;DR: 4.25/5 stars, mostly because I couldn't stand the men in the book, but that's my personal rating. It was a quick read, but it can get confusing at times. 

On the topic of men, jail time for all the men in this book. all are awful, but needed in a way to highlight the abuse faced by the women in the book. I find that all the men in the book are of the same in the way that they view women in their lives as objects, whether it be sex objects etc. The way that this book handles the perspective of yeong-hye's husband and in-hye's husband was genius, in my opinion, in that in-hye's husband was supposedly the "good guy" but he's no different from yeong-hye's scumbag husband.
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