Book Review
Han Kang is first South Korean writer to win 2024 Nobel Prize in literature, The Vegetarian written by Han Kang is a great exploration of identity, desire, and rebellion, wrapped in a deceptively simple premise.
The story revolves around Yeong-hye, a South Korean woman who abruptly decides to stop eating meat, triggering a cascade of personal and familial turmoil. However, to say the novel is merely about vegetarianism would vastly undersell its depth. It is, at its core, a profound meditation on autonomy, societal expectations, and the human body as a site of resistance.
The novel unfolds in three parts, each narrated by a different character in Yeong-hye’s life. This structure offers a multifaceted view of her transformation, starting with her husband’s resentment, shifting to her brother-in-law’s obsession, and finally delving into her sister’s complex emotions. Significantly, Yeong-hye herself is never the narrator.
Her silence within the narrative underscores the isolation she faces, compelling readers to piece together her internal world through the perspectives of others.
Han Kang’s writing is both lyrical and unsettling. Her stark, unembellished descriptions of Yeong-hye’s descent into her own world contrast sharply with the lush, dreamlike imagery of her inner life. Yeong-hye’s journey, driven by dreams of violence and escape, is haunting yet strangely beautiful. It challenges readers to question societal norms and the cost of rejecting them.
The body, in The Vegetarian, becomes a battleground. Yeong-hye’s refusal to eat meat symbolizes her defiance against the rigid expectations imposed on her. Her choice confounds and enrages those around her, reflecting the societal tendency to alienate individuals who deviate from convention. Her transformation becomes an act of self-assertion, even as it leads to her physical and emotional disintegration.
What makes this novel unforgettable is its refusal to provide easy answers. Han Kang doesn’t neatly resolve the questions she raises about identity, conformity, and autonomy. Instead, the story leaves readers grappling with its ambiguity, mirroring the complexity of real-life struggles.
The Vegetarian is a masterpiece that stays with you long after you’ve turned the last page. It’s not just the story of a woman who stops eating meat—it’s an unsettling, thought-provoking exploration of what it means to resist, to change, and to exist authentically in a world that demands compliance.
– Reviewed by R.K. Jayawardana
