The Vegetarian by Han Kang translated into English by Deborah Smith was a thought-provoking and interesting read. This is not a book I would recommend to all as I feel like this is the kind of book you both have to be interested in and open-minded enough; to be able to fully consider Han Kang's nuanced approach to critiquing society. I have seen people describe it as strange, odd, disturbing and so on. However, the book at it's core is an exploration of societal expectations in South Korea. It examines the body, social attitudes, mental health and shame. Han Kang unpicks how social relationships are fraught with standards and expectations and how we shame that which we consider to be "other" or different. Therefore, the reason I do not want to label this book as strange, odd, disturbing, etc is because that would be to "other" this book. This book is clever, it's insightful and ultimately quite different to most books I've read.

She was no longer able to cope with all that her sister reminded her of. She'd been unable to forgive her for soaring alone over a boundary she herself could never bring herself to cross, unable to forgive that magnifiient irresponsibility that had enabled Yeong-hye to shuck off social constraints and leave her behind, still a prisoner. And before Yeong-hye had broken those bars, she'd never even known they were there.

The book follows Yeong-hye who is a married South Korean woman that after a dream-or better considered, a nightmare-decides to become vegetarian. Up until this point, Yeong-hye is perceived to be a fine submissive wife, who follows her husbands desires and is 'perfectly ordinary'. This is really the tipping point of the novel as we see how Yeong-hye's decision to become a vegetarian unsettles her marriage, her family dynamics and causes huge changes in her own life. This decision to become vegetarian is closely aligned with Yeong-hye's spiral into erratic behaviour and mental illness.

My main problem with the novel was that Yeong-hye's voice throughout was absent. The Vegetarian is her story and is about her life and choices and how cultural and social expectations in her family have weighed upon her. However, we never really hear her voice. The first chapter follows her husband, the second chapter follows her brother-in-law and the final chapter follows her sister. I think this was a powerful and purposeful style that Han Kang adopted to show that Yeong-hye's voices and choices were being overpowered by those around her. However, it did frustrate me a little as beyond the short dream scene interludes we never really understood Yeong-hye.

For me, the most powerful elements of this book were the focus on shame, mental health and women's position in South Korea. These themes were all interwoven with Yeong-hye's journey to becoming vegetarian. We saw how both her husband, father, brother and family expected her to obey their decisions about her diet and lifestyle, and when she refused their actions this was seen as very shameful and disrespectful. She was perceived by them to have no choices in her own actions and decisions. I thought it was interesting how Han Kang used this as a plot development point to really incite Yeong-hye's spiral into mental health issues. In the final chapter, In-Hye, Yeong-hye's sister really highlighted the pressures on women in South Korea and the pain that can cause. It really showed how submissive/innocent victims can suffer under the hands of others.

Only yeong-hye, docile and naive, had been unable to deflect their father's temper or put up any form of resistance. Instead, she had merely absorbed all her suffering, inside her, deep into the marrow of her bones. Now, with the benefit of hindsight, In-hye could see that the role that she had adopted back then of the hard-working, self-sacrificing eldest daughter had been a sign not of maturity but of cowardice. It had been a survival tactic.

Overall, I thought this book was powerful and thought-provoking. I will definitely be reading more by Han Kang.