BOOK REVIEW-The Vegetarian by Han Kang

Since I read her name in the news for winning the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2024, I've wanted to read at least one of Han Kang's books. I held back from reading up on her works in the hope of learning about them firsthand. Finally, when I picked it up, it was not what I expected.

The title of the book, The Vegetarian, suggested to me a conventional story of a vegetarian convert navigating her change in diet in a predominantly non-vegetarian culture. But the first few chapters shook me out of all my assumptions. It took me a short while to get my head around what I was reading. How the term 'Vegetarian' and everything connected with it was explored and presented symbolically, artistically, and psychologically in the novel had me dizzy for a second. Yet, I continued reading as my mind played with those images to understand and feel the ideas presented.

I would be lying if I said it was an easy read for me. I had to consciously keep at bay the moral police within me at some points. I had to learn to adjust my perceptions to look beyond the surface and into the symbolic, emotional, and even spiritual depth of the happenings. There are so many facets to this artistic creation. One reading would not suffice.

When I finished reading, I was unsure of how I felt about it. I almost feel a bit uneasy, but I can't dislike it either. The central idea presented here is so alluring but bizarre all the same. And it is still churning in my mind even though I finished the book a few weeks back. Though the book is over, I guess I'm not done with it. So yeah, read it for yourself and let me know how it goes.

Leave Note :

My exams are starting next week, so I won't be posting for a while. But I will be back in full swing after the war is won. So, wish me luck!