“This was the body of a beautiful young woman, conventionally an object of desire, and yet it was a body from which all desire had been eliminated … what she had renounced was the very life that her body represented.”

I’m someone who enjoys books that force me outside of my comfort zone and challenges me to examine my way of thinking, and the Vegatarian did just that.

In this story set in modern day South Korea we follow a young, married woman who has decided to become a vegetarian largely going against the beliefs of the culture surrounding her. It is then that we as readers start to witness a stark, disturbing, yet engrossing descend of our main character - Yeong-hye as she refuses to conform to the world around her.

I would be lying if I didn’t admit that after I finished the book I felt like something was missing. Like I just didn’t “get it”. However, after doing some research- the message became much more clear. I often do this when reading non-western books as a way to help me give a well rounded review and avoid rating a book poorly simply because I don’t understand.

What I liked about this book is that it is broken into 3 parts each of which showcase the POV of prominent individuals surrounding the “main charecter”: her husband, her brother in law, and her sister. However, we never actually get the story from her point of view, which I believe was tactfully done.

We watch as Yeong-hye starts to slowly reject the norms, which is represented through her rejection of herself. She challenges what it means to be human and begins to reject humanity.

As she descends we get a glimpse into some Korean beliefs, family dynamics, and some questionable behaviors that made me hate the male characters storylines.

As the story draws to an end, the reader is left with more questions than answers that almost mirrors the state of the main character.

I really enjoyed this book, and could not put it down. It was not an easy read, but it was one that had a big impact.

Although disturbing in its delivery, The Vegetarian is not a book I will not soon forget. I will forever question what it truly means to be a human.