
The Vegetarian: A Novel (Paperback)
Han Kang (author), Deborah Smith (translator)- 10+ in stock
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.
Publisher: Granta Books
ISBN: 9781846276033
Number of pages: 192
Weight: 140 g
Dimensions: 198 x 129 x 11 mm
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“Brilliantly bizarre”
Who knew that becoming a vegetarian in South Korea could lead to such shocking instances of abuse and loss of control? Kang's liquid, surreal narrative explores the bizarre and troubling world of a woman whose... More
“Powerful and Transfixing!”
I absolutely loved the experience of reading this novel and yet it is so incredibly difficult to articulate why. It is completely different to the bestselling books of the moment and I have found myself continuing to... More
“Truly a Thing of Beauty”
For me this was as much a 'reading experience' as it was a beautiful, thought-provoking and moving novel. So many themes are explored - from love, desire and belonging to marriage, patriarchy, misogyny and... More
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