The Vegetarian - Book Review

Title: The Vegetarian

Author: Han Kang

Pages: 160

Genre: Fiction

Rating: 4/5

I welcomed 2017 buying books and this book was one of them. I was attracted to it by the title and was just going through it when my friend, who runs a beautiful concept bookstore told me that it is a wonderful read and I decided to pick it up. It was the winner of Man Booker International Prize, 2016 (not that it was one of the reasons) and supposedly a must read. For me, the title struck a chord and I picked it up.

This was to be my second book of the year after I finished Deepa Teacher's Kunnolamundallo Bhoothakalakkulir. Considering that I had just come out of a conversational and engaging book, I was  eager to pick up another interesting book and I opened this hoping that it would be as exciting as I thought, and I wasn't to be disappointed. 

There's no better way to describe the book than the summary provided in the back - "A beautiful, unsettling novel in three acts, about rebellion and taboo, violence and eroticism, and the twisting metamorphosis of a soul". The book is a story about a girl, Yeong-hye, who turned vegetarian because of a dream, how she suffers due to non-conformity to societal standards and the way she is exploited. The book is narrated in three parts  - from the point of view of her husband, her brother in law - an artist obsessed with her body, and her sister, In-hye. The story starts with Yeong-hye's decision to turn vegetarian and her family's difficulty in accepting it - the part narrated by her husband, where you could sense his trouble in figuring out what is happening, the despair and angst. The second part of the book disturbed me, shook me out of my senses and left me uncomfortable.  It's violent and sexually exploitive, and it raises in you a sympathetic feeling towards her. This part of the novel is sure to stay in the back of your mind like a whir that affects you and gives you great discomfort. The third part broke me down, dividing my sympathy between a helpless yet doing whatever she can possible to bring back her sister to normalcy In-hye and a mentally unstable, totally oblivious of the normal world Yeong-hye. It was heartbreaking, worrisome and by the end of the book, you are sure to take away a lesson on empathy, in addition to challenging and questioning your thoughts and mindset.

The naive me thought the book would be about food, which was one of the reasons I picked it up. However, it was not anything that I thought the book to be. I haven't ever ready anything like this and despite it being dark, weird and odd, I am glad I did. It opened my eyes to a world that I was oblivious of, and more than anything it left me unsettled. This book renders full justice to all the credits and acclaims that it has received so far and it is a must read.

I don't think I've done justice to the review but I can tell you one thing, you will not be disappointed in picking this one. This book will surely feature in your list of books that has affected you deeply in a life-changing manner. It's intense... and dark!

P.s: You can buy the book by clicking the image/link below!

For U.S. Residents: The Vegetarian: A Novel

For U.K. Residents: The Vegetarian: A Novel