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Vegetarian: A Novel: A Novel Paperback – 27 January 2016
by Han Kang (Author), Deborah Smith (Translator)
3.6 3.6 out of 5 stars 9,089 ratings
A beautiful, unsettling novel in three acts, about rebellion and taboo, violence and eroticism, and the twisting metamorphosis of a soul. Winner of the 2016 Man Booker International Prize.
Yeong-hye and her husband are ordinary people. He is an office worker with moderate ambitions and mild manners; she is an uninspired but dutiful wife. The acceptable flatline of their marriage is interrupted when Yeong-hye, seeking a more 'plant-like' existence, decides to become a vegetarian, prompted by grotesque recurring nightmares. In South Korea, where vegetarianism is almost unheard-of and societal mores are strictly obeyed, Yeong-hye's decision is a shocking act of subversion. Her passive rebellion manifests in ever more bizarre and frightening forms, leading her bland husband to self-justified acts of sexual sadism. His cruelties drive her towards attempted suicide and hospitalisation. She unknowingly captivates her sister's husband, a video artist. She becomes the focus of his increasingly erotic and unhinged artworks, while spiralling further and further into her fantasies of abandoning her fleshly prison and becoming - impossibly, ecstatically - a tree.
Fraught, disturbing and beautiful, The Vegetarian is a novel about modern day South Korea, but also a novel about shame, desire and our faltering attempts to understand others, from one imprisoned body to another.
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Review
Shocking... The writing throughout is precise and spare, with not a word wasted. There are no tricks. Han holds the reader in a vice grip... The Vegetarian quickly settles into a dark, menacing brilliance that is similar to the work of the gifted Japanese writer Yoko Ogawa in its devastating study of psychological pain... [It] is more than a cautionary tale about the brutal treatment of women: it is a meditation on suffering and grief. It is about escape and how a dreamer takes flight. Most of all, it is about the emptiness and rage of discovering there is nothing to be done when all hope and comfort fails... A work of savage beauty and unnerving physicality. Mind-blowing -- Eileen Battersby ― Irish Times Published On: 2015-03-14
It's a bracing, visceral, system-shocking addition to the Anglophone reader's diet. It is sensual, provocative and violent, ripe with potent images, startling colours and disturbing questions. Sentence by sentence, The Vegetarian is an extraordinary experience. [It] will be hard to beat -- Daniel Hahn ― Guardian Published On: 2015-01-24
A strange, painfully tender exploration of the brutality of desire indulged and the fatality of desire ignored... Exquisite -- Eimear McBride, Baileys Women's Prize-winning author ― A Girl Is a Half-formed Thing
Entrancing and tense... the writing is spare and haunting... its crushing climax, a phantasmagoric yet emotionally true moment that's surely one of the year's most powerful... [This is] an ingenious, upsetting, and unforgettable novel -- Publishers Weekly (starred review)
The Vegetarian is hypnotically strange, sad, beautiful and compelling. I liked it immensely -- Nathan Filer, author ― The Shock of the Fall
A stunning and beautifully haunting novel. It seems in places as if the very words on the page are photosynthesising. I loved this graceful, vivid book -- Jess Richards, author ― Snake Ropes
The Vegetarian is a story about metamorphosis, rage and the desire for another sort of life. It is written in cool, still, poetic but matter-of-fact short sentences, translated luminously by Deborah Smith, who is obviously a genius -- Deborah Levy, author ― Swimming Home
Poetic and beguiling, and translated with tremendous elegance, The Vegetarian exhilarates and disturbs -- Chloe Aridjis, author ― The Book of Clouds
[The Vegetarian] is understated even in its most fevered, violent moments. It has a surreal and spellbinding quality. Enthralling -- Arifa Akbar ― Independent Published On: 2015-01-17
This short novel is one of the most startling I have read. Kang is well served by Deborah Smith's subtle translation in this disturbing book -- Julia Pascal ― Independent Published On: 2015-01-10
Kang belongs to a generation of writers that aim to discover secret drives, ambitions, and miseries behind one's personal destiny... [The Vegetarian] deals with violence, sanity, cultural limits, and the value of the human body as the last refuge and private space ― Tiempo Argentino
Disturbing and beautiful, The Vegetarian is translated by Deborah Smith into poetic yet matter-of-fact prose -- Richard Eves ― Big Issue in the North Published On: 2015-01-26
A fine novel -- David Hebblethwaite ― Shiny New Books Published On: 2015-01-30
This off-kilter novel from Korea is simultaneously beautiful and sinister ― Absolutely Dulwich Published On: 2015-02-01
The Vegetarian is so strange and vivid it left me breathless upon finishing it. I don't think I've ever read a novel as mouth-wateringly poetic, or as drenched in hypnotic oddities, taboos and scandal. It seems to have been plucked out of the ether, ready-made to take us all by surprise. Exciting and compelling -- Lee Rourke ― New Humanist
Elegantly translated into bone-spare English by Deborah Smith... The Vegetarian whispers so clearly, it can be heard across the room, insistently and with devastating, quiet violence -- Joanna Walsh ― New Statesman Published On: 2015-02-20
Fascinating and powerful. A really engrossing read ― Guardian Published On: 2015-02-20
Unsettling... [a] strange and ethereal fable, rendered stranger still by the cool precision of the prose -- Peter Brown ― TLS Published On: 2015-02-27
In The Vegetarian Han Kang ruthlessly targets South Korea's social codes, using the story of a simple, personal rebellion to expose a callous patriarchy. Sharply ironic -- Ruairi Casey ― Totally Dublin
[A] heady, unsettling novel... Kang writes in a coolly unsentimental style, and achieves a delicate balance of restraint and passion in a story pulsing with desire, betrayal and destruction. Haunting -- Mireille Juchau ― The Australian
Visceral and terrifying, The Vegetarian is a startling reminder of the utter unknowability of another's mind. Nonetheless, reading it, you will feel it in your flesh: the desire for peace, a plea for safety, for escape from your own inevitable mortality. It is artfully plotted yet reads like a fever dream, sweeping and surreal. It will leave you aching -- Sarah Gerard, author ― Binary Star
Considering this book just as a story about a vegetarian is a mistake. It is rather a meticulously constructed and haunting novel. Right at the moment you turn the last page, you'll feel grateful for your ordinary life -- Kyung-Sook Shin, Man Asian Literary Prize-winning author ― Please Look After Mom
Like a small seed, Han Kang's startling and unforgettable debut goes to work quietly, but insistently. Her prose is so balanced, so elegant and assured, you might overlook the depths of this novel's darkness - do so at your own peril -- Colin Winnette, author ― Haints Stay and Coyote
Brutal and beautiful - the translation alone is a work of art - this is a book for anyone who believes that the novel's job is to turn its reader inside out -- Eimear McBride, ‘Summer Read’ ― Guardian Published On: 2015-07-11
Subtle, provocative... a beautiful book -- Chad W Post ― Frankfurt Show Daily Published On: 2015-10-15
Immediately absorbing...It's the kind of story where every word matters -- Lesley McDowell ― Sunday Herald Published On: 2015-11-01
An irresistibly weird and sensuous story -- Daniel Hahn, Books of the Year ― New Statesman Published On: 2015-11-21
Han Kang's vivid and at times violent storytelling will wake up even the most jaded of literary palates ― Independent Published On: 2015-12-05
A transformative fable about desire, frustration and individual will -- Best Books of 2015 ― Guardian Published On: 2015-12-05
Paradoxically, both enlightening and incomprehensible. It is a strange book, with overtones of Kafka, and a plot that has no resolution. And yet it continues its reader, turning the seeming banality of a woman's decision not to eat meat into a surreal psychological odyssey -- Xenobe Purves ― Litro Published On: 2016-04-24
This compact, exquisite and disturbing book will linger long in the minds, and maybe the dreams, of its readers. -- Boyd Tonkin, chair of judges for Man Booker International Prize 2016
Split into three parts, Kang's narrative dances tantalisingly around her central character, the too-often silent Yeong-hye... As a character she appears the twisted product of the multitude of watchful eyes, the switching preoccupations, and the opinions of those around her. She herself remains mysteriously elusive, her own thoughts only ever revealed in sparing flashes interspersed throughout the narrative... Teetering between explanations both 'ordinary' and 'extra-ordinary', she leaves no room for certainty, constantly teasing the reader, and the ambiguity that remains both torments and delights. This masterpiece of Korean fiction is finally made available to English readers in Deborah Smith's achingly elegant prose, the first of Han Kang's novels to be translated. Thankfully I am certain it will not be the last. -- Thea Hawlin ― London Magazine Published On: 2016-05-15
While the narrative exposes the plight of women in a male-dominated Korean society, it also takes a broader, philosophical look at suffering and grief, loneliness and the death of hope. It explores the brutal power shifts in relationships. On all levels, artistic and moral, it is a remarkable meditation with universal resonance. At its heart is the individual trying, and failing, to live. Deborah Smith's translation, magnificently alert to the sensitive, sophisticated nuances and tonal variations, can only be described as inspired. -- Eileen Battersby ― Irish Times Published On: 2016-04-17
A truly memorable novel [with] visceral and unfaltering writing that is innately uneasy to read [...] Han Kang expertly structures the novel around the three long chapters that explore the voices around Yeong-Hye. Though the narrative is never hers, Yeong-Hye remains the focus of the novel throughout. Each chapter features dream sequences which blur the everyday and ethereal and provide the reader with rich and dynamic prose. The fact that these sequences work so well in The Vegetarian is a huge credit to the work of Deborah Smith who achieves a translation that is wonderfully readable in English whilst at the same time profoundly different to English language novels. ― Words Shortlist Published On: 2016-05-22
One of the most erotic literary novels of the season... The Vegetarian has been praised on both sides of the Atlantic as strange visionary and transgressive. ― Economist Published On: 2016-05-20
A haunting, hypnotic read, Han Kang's novel is a bold example of what world literature has to offer us here in Britain. -- Erica Wagner ― Harper's Bazaar Published On: 2016-05-18
The winner of the 2016 Man International Booker Prize is an unsettling, sensual and surreal novel about a dutiful wife who rebels against her stultifying marriage. ― i Published On: 2016-06-11
No blurb that I have read for this book does it justice. That's because the premise is peculiar; an unremarkable man meets an unremarkable woman and they get married. Their lives are ordinary, until one day she has a dream that compels her to become a vegetarian. At which point the tale goes nuclear. -- Summer books round up ― The Times Published On: 2016-07-02
Intriguing -- Charlotte Mendelson, summer books round up ― Observer Published On: 2016-07-10
At once dreamy and nightmarish, a beautiful horror and easily one of the best books I've read in years. -- Lisa McInerney ― Guardian Published On: 2016-07-09
[An] engrossing read which takes you deep into the fascinating and complex world of another culture, South Korea. The harrowing but beautifully told story of a woman who would not conform. -- Top ten books chart ― Western Morning News Published On: 2016-07-09
Fraught, disturbing and beautiful, The Vegetarian is a novel about shame, desire and our faltering attempts to understand others. ― Western Morning News Published On: 2016-07-15
Kang has crafted a wounding, unsettling book. The fantastical imagery of plants, trees and flowers reinforce Yeong-hye's purity. The book is a journey in trying to understand her and the reactions she inspires in others... Han Kang's great achievement is crafting a small tale from which great things grow ― Irish Examiner Published On: 2016-10-08
A violent, magical and surreal tale... Unforgettable -- Fiona Wilson, Best Books of 2016 ― The Times Published On: 2016-11-26
I loved this haunting [novel] -- Lionel Shriver, Best Books of 2016 ― Observer Published On: 2016-11-27
Visceral -- Best Books of 2016 ― Financial Times Published On: 2016-12-03
This slim novel from South Korea is one of the most erotic literary novels of the season -- Best Books of 2016 ― Economist Published On: 2016-12-10
[An] unsettling novel... This spare and elegant translation renders the original Korean in pointed and vivid English, preserving Han's exploration of whether true innocence is possible in a vicious and bloody world -- The Ten Best Books of 2016 ― New York Times Published On: 2016-12-10
Scary and sad, but also deeply tender. It made me question my autonomy, which is exactly what I look for in a book -- Brie Larson ― Stylist Published On: 2019-02-27
A disturbingly cerebral analysis of conformity, autonomy and patriarchy ― Dumfries and Galloway Life
[An] eerie modern classic ― Metro
About the Author
Han Kang was born in Gwangju, South Korea, and moved to Seoul at the age of ten. She studied Korean literature at Yonsei University. Her writing has won the Yi Sang Literary Prize, the Today's Young Artist Award, and the Korean Literature Novel Award. She currently teaches creative writing at the Seoul Institute of the Arts. Deborah Smith is working on a PhD in Korean literature at SOAS, University of London. She translated The Essayist's Desk by Bae Suah, as well as short stories by Kim Kyung-uk and Kim Ae-ran.
Product details
Publisher : Portobello Pb; 1st edition (27 January 2016)
Language : English
Paperback : 160 pages
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From Australia
Steve P
4.0 out of 5 stars A fascinating, dark readReviewed in Australia on 12 December 2017
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A fascinating read. Very different to anything I've read before. I had no idea where it was headed and had to keep turning the pages on a very strange and tragic journey. Explores some pretty deep and dark themes - mental illness, anorexia, and the way we relate to people who make choices that are different to ours. A difficult but rewarding read.
3 people found this helpful
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Charlie
3.0 out of 5 stars InterestingReviewed in Australia on 7 April 2017
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I started reading this book with delight and had a chuckle at how ridiculous the family was of not understanding someone's need to be a vegetarian. Sadly the medical fraternity failed her and I expected them to be more understanding of people with mental illness and anorexia. There were two main issues here mental illness and anorexia and in that the author did well to capture this well and I expected a bit more depth to these two issues. Anyway it was a very good light read that I didn't want to put the book down as I was expecting to find more to the story but was to be. I still do recommend it.
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K Green
5.0 out of 5 stars DeliciousReviewed in Australia on 14 March 2023
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This was so much fun. I had heard a lot of good things but I wasn't prepared for how clever and visceral this book is. All the food is described in this way that's simultaneously tantalizing and disgusting which really works. The world is so vivid and rich and immersive you just sink into it. I really loved that the book isn't necessarily about vegetarianism. It's about how decisions and boundaries women make, especially in traditional societies, disrupt the men around them who want to be able to commodify them easily
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Amazon Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars Draws you inReviewed in Australia on 24 April 2017
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Interesting. Unsure where it will take you. Thought provoking. Worth reading. Explores Interesting aspects of and insights into Korean culture and norms.
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Richard Naughton
3.0 out of 5 stars Imaginative, thoughtful, provocativeReviewed in Australia on 21 May 2016
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Generally recommended especially to readers who might be interested in understanding how Asian societies might write and think. I had never read a Korean novel.
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Keegan
5.0 out of 5 stars Great readReviewed in Australia on 30 January 2019
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Another beautifully written book about terrible men doing terrible things to women. Quite reminiscent of Murakami in the imagery of food and nature. A very interesting take on trauma and mental health.
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Kerrie Dodds
1.0 out of 5 stars Not my sort of book. SorryReviewed in Australia on 6 June 2017
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Thought concept was great in principle.. not for me. Too much waffle in terms of explaining emotions ... don't want to call it anything bad nor good. Good luck
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Marian Parkinson
4.0 out of 5 stars Four StarsReviewed in Australia on 29 July 2016
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Amazing, sad and disturbing read.
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Robyn Friend
5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful.Reviewed in Australia on 22 January 2019
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Superb prose, touching and delicate with characters that I cared about. One of the best novels I've read in a very long time.
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Phil Simmons
5.0 out of 5 stars Tough but rewarding readReviewed in Australia on 2 February 2018
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At times gruelling, it kept me riveted watching the tragedies of a sick woman and her carer sister in a harsh world. Also, beautifully written, in parts lyrical.
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