Review first posted October 6, 2017
The Vegetarian by Han Kang (October 30, 2007) Hogarth
I think of Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis. Yeong-Hye stops eating meat and soon imagines herself one with the plant world, needing only sunlight. But her body remains the same, a human body needing food, even if meat-free. (publisher)
I am not sure if this book is a psychological study of extreme delusion or a study of a woman reacting to the strictures of a patriarchal world and a society with strict laws, especially when it comes to women's status. It could be both.
The story is told from three points of view - that of Yeong-Hye; of her brother-in-law who becomes obsessed with her; and of her older sister, the supposedly responsible, sane sister in the family. It's a bit disturbing, this story, but with a lot to ponder.
Book beginning:
Before my wife turned vegetarian, I'd had always thought of her as completely unremarkable in every way. To be frank, the first time I met her I wasn't even attracted to her. Middling height, bobbed hair neither long nor short; jaundiced, sickly-looking skin, somewhat prominent cheekbones; her timid, sallow cheekbones told me all I needed to know. As she came up to the table where I was waiting, I couldn't help but notice her shoes - the plainest black shoes imaginable. And that walk of hers - neither fast nor slow, striding nor mincing.
Her other book, Human Acts, deals with an historic event - a violent student uprising against political oppression in South Korea and the bloody putdown and massacre that ensued.
from English Literature
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Another memorable author from South Korea is known for her novel, Please Look After Mom, which I reviewed May 16, 2011
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Please Look After Mom: a Novel by Kyung-Sook Shin tells us about the children of a Korean woman whose mother is missing after being separated from her husband on a visit to the big city in the crowded and unfamiliar subway.
The mother is elderly and becoming disoriented and forgetful; her daughter has only recently realized that her mother cannot read or write. They don't know how to go about finding the mother, apart from posting newspaper notices, searching through the streets, and passing out leaflets with her picture.
During their search, the children find out more about their mother and each member of the family gradually comes to have a deeper understanding of her and the life of sacrifice she has lived.
Set in Korea, I find the novel both culturally revealing and haunting in its view of a family's dynamics and a mother's relationship with her children and husband.
“Either a mother and daughter know each other very well or they are strangers.”
― Please Look After Mom
What are you reading/watching this week?
I haven't read a lot of Korean authored books, and the Nobel Prize winning one sounds "interesting". I'm going to add it to my list because I like stories that are out of the box. Thanks for visiting my blog. hugs-Erika
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing! -Christine cmlk79.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteI was surprised to see that Han Kang had won the Nobel Prize for Literature. She has only published two books, I think. I haven't read The Vegetarian, but it seems like it must be a powerful story. I'm glad to see how thoughtful you found it to be.
ReplyDeleteI like it that this author is from South Korea. It seems like the focus for great literature often misses literature from areas outside America and Europe.
She has written at least six books, including Human Acts, which deals with the violent student protests in Korea that resulted in massacre and violence. I believe the violent put down of protests on Jeju Island was covered in Lisa See's The Island of Sea Women, and in Netflix K drama, Welcome to Samdal-ri.
DeleteI was impressed and moved by this quote from Human Acts that helps explain her interest in "historical trauma and the fragility of human life."
Delete“After you died I could not hold a funeral,
And so my life became a funeral.”
― Han Kang, Human Acts
Kang is quite an amazing writer and a worthy recipient of the Nobel.
ReplyDeleteGreat idea to reread The Vegetarian, as you mentioned on my blog. I want to try Greek Lessons
ReplyDeleteI loved Please Look After Mom but for the life of me I couldn't get into Vegetarian. It sucks when I can't get into a book no matter how much I want to read it. LOL
ReplyDelete