Just finished Han Kang's The Vegetarian, a short but powerful book that received the 2024 Nobel Prize for literature. I really enjoyed it – well, maybe "enjoyed" is not the right word but it's definitely a story I'll be thinking about for a while and would love to discuss here.
Given the abstract, symbolic nature of the story, I'm sure there are probably many different interpretations of it. How I took it was as a commentary on the pressures of conforming to societal norms and the subsequent ostracization and dehumanization when you fail to do so. It feels especially pertinent considering the story takes place in South Korea, an extremely homogenous and rigid country when it comes to social conformity.
The story isn't really about vegetarianism – it's just used as a conduit for showing Yeong-hye's attempts at rebellion against a world she feels lost and adrift in. I say attempt because ultimately it's a failed pushback and rebellion. Her gradual descent into complete passivity and inaction, thinking of herself as a tree, seems like a metaphor for giving up in the face of the crushing social prejudice she faces.
I think Yeong-hye's lack of personality and development is by design, as she just becomes more and more like a vessel for the other characters' insecurities, whether it's the brother-in-law using her to fulfill his voyeuristic fantasies disgusting themselves as art or her sister examining her own lost childhood. There's also a fair bit of pointed commentary on the patriarchal nature of Korea, especially in the form of Yeong-hye's father and husband.
I've read some stuff online about Han Kang stating that the book is an exploration on human capacity for violence and the impossibility of innocence, which I can kinda see as well – by rejecting meat – something that's only possible through a form of violence – and transforming herself into a tree, Yeong-hye would be able to achieve true innocence.
Regardless of the meaning and/or themes, this is a compelling story that's really stuck with me. I don't know if I would necessarily recommend to everyone given how strange and off-putting it can be, but it's definitely worth a read.
by keepfighting90