The Vegetarian: A Novel
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.99 (643 Votes) |
| Asin | : | B00X2F7NRI |
| Format Type | : | |
| Number of Pages | : | 225 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2015-06-21 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
Depressing, But Worth It Blake Fraina Han Kang’s novel, The Vegetarian, tells the story of Yeong-hye, a non-descript South Korean housewife who, after a disturbing dream, stops eating meat as well as all animal-derived products. The novel is divided into three parts, each told from the point of view of a person who is impacted in some way by her decision. The first part is narrated by her husband, a callous, uncaring salary-man, who chose her specifically because she was unremarkable in every possible way. In the second part we see her through the eyes of her brother-in-law, an unsuccessful video artist, struggling to realize some vague porno. "Stop eating meat, and the world will devour you whole." This is a taut novella, about 190 pages, divided into 3 parts, written in lapidary precision, evident even in the translation. The first part is told from the husband’s point of view: He watches in horror as his quiet, conventional life is disrupted by his wife’s refusal to eat meat. Her vegetarian lifestyle is prompted at first by a dream, but strengthened by flashbacks of cruelty toward animals that she has witnessed in her childhood. The husband is a scoundrel. He possesses a cold rational aspiration toward mediocrity and does not want his masculinity challenged by an assertive woman, so he seeks. DanD said A unique, interesting, unsettling little novel. Yeong-hye is a plain ordinary housewife. That's why her husband married her. But one night, she has a vivid nightmare, and the next day she swears off meat entirely. This decision wreaks drastic changes on her health and family life, with sometimes violent repercussions.THE VEGETARIAN is a hard novel to describe. It's probably easiest to relate to in a grad school sort of way: a novel of how a woman's identity is beaten down by the people around her. But there's more to it than that. It's a very visceral novel at times; you feel it under your skin, you think about it afterwards. And yet, the plot moves sluggish
She currently works as a professor in the Department of Creative Writing at the Seoul Institute of the Arts.writerhankangFrom the Hardcover edition.. A participant of the Iowa Writers' Workshop, Han has won the Man Booker International Prize, the Yi Sang Literary Prize, the Today's Young Artist Award, and the Manhae Literary Prize. In 1993 she made her literary debut as a poet, and was first published as novelist in 1994. Han Kang was born in
Soon their attempts turn desperate, subjecting first her mind, and then her body, to ever more intrusive and perverse violations, sending Yeong-hye spiraling into a dangerous, bizarre estrangement, not only from those closest to her, but also from herself. But the dreams—invasive images of blood and brutality—torture her, driving Yeong-hye to purge her mind and renounce eating meat altogether. As her husband, her brother-in-law and sister each fight to reassert their control, Yeong-hye obsessively defends the choice that’s become sacred to her. It’s a small act of independence, but it interrupts her marriage and sets into motion an increasingly grotesque chain of events at home. Celebrated by critics around the world, The Vegetarian is a darkly allegorical, Kafka-esque tale of power, obsession, and one woman’s struggle to break free from the violence both without and within her.From the Hardcover edition.. Winner of the 2016 Man Booker International PrizeONE OF ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY’S “BEST BOOKS OF 2016 SO FAR”ONE OF TIME’S “BEST BOOKS OF 2016 SO FAR”A beautiful, unsettling novel about rebellion and taboo, violence and eroticism, and the twisting meta
“SurrealA mesmerizing mix of sex and violencevivid, chiseledLike a cursed madwoman in classical myth, Yeong-hye seems both eerily prophetic and increasingly unhinged.” —Alexandra Alter, The New York Times“FerociousHan Kang has been rightfully celebrated as a visionary in South Korea… Han’s glorious treatments of agency, personal choice, submission and subversion find form in the parable. Fans of authors as diverse as Mary Karr and Haruki Murakami won't be able to turn away."—Library Journal (starred review)“Korean writer Han Kang’s elegant yet unsettling prose conveys her protagonist’s brother-in-law’s