September 10th, 2020
Yesterday, I spent my day reading The Vegetarian γμ±μμ£Όμμγ by Kang Han, which also won the 2016 Man Booker International Prize. I went into it having no idea as to what the plot was, beyond: a man's wife, Yeong Hye, was an incredibly plain woman until her choice to become vegetarian changed things forever. What followed was an incredibly dark, explicit and disturbing tale that brought to light questions surrounding mental health, society, and deep-rooted existentialism.
Kang brings up the timeless debate of nature versus nurture with her vivid and grotesque imagery of the human being as an animalistic, contaminated being. She also alludes to the human body as a vessel that bears the marks of strife and physical abuse wrought on by the darkest parts of our humanity. Vegetarianism plays into this novel so interestingly, not only as a symbol of a reach for purity and freedom, but also of a path rejected by traditional society - this is particularly interesting as the novel is set in Asia, where meat consumption remains a strong indicator of class.
The book is divided into three parts, and the three perspectives of Yeong Hye's various family members - husband, brother in-law, older sister. It was quite perturbing to see how Yeong Hye was abused and dismissed in the context of Korean societal tradition, and further juxtaposed to her three family members, who were using Yeong Hye and her body to fulfill a narrative of their own. Though Yeong Hye was made out to be the star of the book, she seemed to end up a vessel and instigator (excuse, perhaps?) in and of herself, for the peripheral characters to make the (truly f-ed up) choices they do.
I finished the book feeling quite unsettled yet incredibly admirative of Kang's work - she uses dark and visceral imagery that really cut against the surface-level stereotype of a middle-class Korean family. It really felt like she was dredging up these uncomfortable themes from the parts of our minds that we have refused to confront (which is also why they're all hastily stuffed in those recesses in the first place).
There are honestly so many questions and issues Kang brilliantly brings up, which offer the true convoluted picture of the human being, which is perhaps impossible to untangle from our best selves. I think everyone has a different type of trauma or plight to hone in on and really reflect on, well after the book is put back on the (electronic, in my case) shelf.
4/5 Fridges full of meat discarded