The Vegetarian

The Vegetarian by Han Kang

The Vegetarian by Han Kang is about a young Korean housewife, Kim Yeong-hye, who becomes a vegetarian after having a disturbing dream about walking through a place full of meat and blood. There are three chapters each told from a different point of view: her husband, her brother-in-law, and, finally, her sister. Each tells about their interactions with her, and their stories are sequential, rather than describing the same incidents from three points of view. We watch the destructive effect on Yeong-hye as society and family fail to understand and reject her choice. As a person who has chosen to live with a plant-based diet I was attracted to this story when it was first published and am happy that I have gotten a chance to read it. It is not an upbeat, feel good novel about food choice and many will find it disturbing and even miss the point.