Book Talk: The Vegetarian 🌱 (aka "That escalated kind of quickly")

[@boom_handled]

"it's also irritating that you kind of want to know more, but since the person that we focus on doesn't try to understand her, you basically have no chance of understanding her either" Yes, it's so frustrating when someone's understanding is dependable on someone elses interests and choices.

[@픽맨-l9h]

I wonder how the dad of sisters was portraited in English version. In Korean version, the father had served for Vietnam war and killed many Vietnamese and his violence continues after the war hitting his children and killing a dog and letting her eat it. He was very authorative. That's why the girls are all passive. The elder sister adjusted to the situation but the younger sister was not strong enough to endure the violence and just wanted to be a plant than to be a human eating meat. I am sorry for my poor english.

[@HanKangofficial]

원더풀 독자 여러분, 제 작업에 대한 여러분의 성원과 열정에 진심으로 감사의 말씀을 전하고 싶습니다. 여러분의 말과 격려가 매일 저에게 영감을 줍니다. 저와 함께 이 여정에 동참해 주셔서 감사합니다. 이렇게 열정적인 독자들이 있다는 것에 진심으로 감사드립니다. 진심으로 감사드립니다, 한강

[@ishasolanki9437]

Is the violence Yeong Hye faced in her childhood through her father the reason of her condition? I want to know more about the father

[@danske2]

Sounds like a rough, although strangely realistic read granted the strange situation of the main character. It's strange how a book can be written extremely well, just to evoke a sense of incredible uncomfortableness in the reader. Thanks for sharing!

[@patriciafay-f9l]

I finished the book for a book group just a few days ago. This is a compelling story with some dark underpinnings of control and obsession. Yeong-Hye's anexoria is a message that no one hears except perhaps her sister at the end. I will re-read it but not soon. I too want to read more South Korean novels; I really enjoyed "Kim Ji-young: Born 1982" by Cho Nam-Jo which explored patriarchy and societal norms for women but was much more hopeful

[@dianehong1217]

Sadly, this story or family is not so fictional. This is normal life in a korean family. The drama is this book is almost exactly what i experienced. The violence against women and children is part of the culture. It is a sick and problematic society.

[@gustavocarvalho3976]

What a great review! Thank you!

[@nilsanieves3457]

It’s an excellent book, deserving to be in everyone’s library. You will want to read it more than once.

[@imarobot8204]

In this book Kevin eats the broccoli

[@FeuerundFilme]

Thank you for this great in depth analysis. Sounds like an interesting book I would never read. So I liked hearing about it from you. What I want to ask you from just hearing the plot from you: do you think the book ist successful in portraying the subject of patriarchy, as well as delivering an emotional characterstory? I have to confess that I am not a big fan of story's where all men are nothing but monsters, especially because I think that strips reality down to clichés, which in return undergoes the importance of the message. Is it understandable what I am trying to say? Same goes for every character in my opinion, doesn't matter which sex. For me a story like this would need complex Characters, with light and dark sides, to show, how shockingly normal the dark sides really are. You already say at the end that the book felt quite realistic, so I guess I have my answer there. Still, I wanted to share my thoughts. Still sounds like a fascinating, uncompromising read. So thanks again for sharing. Also: thanks for staring into my soul in the thumbnail :D

[@storyworldling7444]

Thank you so much for sharing you thoughts! And good question 🤔 I think my answer is yes, I would say the novel succeeds in delivering on both parts, although the emotional side of it didn't hit me until quite late and the book isn't too emotional in general. I have to say, the portrayal of both men didn't strike me as too much of a cliché, although they were narrated with a focus on their relation to the main character. But I think I understand what you mean, and I would say they were still complex characters. Also, no problem with the staring 🤣

[@ts_cohn]

I saw the movie when it came out 2009ish not knowing it was a book. Fast forward to 2024 and I read the book and by a few pages into part 1 I realized this book was the movie. The feminist leaning is strong, and the movie director didn't make the husband look as bad in the movie. I thought it was a complete failure to capture how much a feminist audience shouldn't like the guy. I really think the movie could have used TikTok to really visually put the thinking of a feminist on screen so we could counterbalance Han Kang to the birth of the husband and the artist. Based only on your review, I notice that the wife's "male gaze" wasn't included. While sister in part 3 is checking up on little sis, she briefly and I mean briefly looks at the doctor, but it's charactized differently from the guys. It's a book with cheap tricks. It's about as easy as using a gun to make an action scene in a movie. But in 2024, this is what's usually cranked out. Back when it came to Korea, maybe the liberal arts ideas from Harvard and Yale hadn't set in yet.

[@araucana1976]

Do you remember the name of the movie?

[@ts_cohn]

@araucana1976 same name just put "Korean film 2009" in parenthesis...perhaps