The Vegetarian
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The Vegetarian
Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?
The Vegetarian
Included in the BEST OF GRANTA launch list for 2023 and WINNER OF THE INTERNATIONAL BOOKER PRIZE 2016: an exhilarating, unsettling modern classic about patriarchy and rebellion, eroticism and the body, and one woman's desire for another mode of existence. WINNER OF THE 2024 NOBEL PRIZE IN LITERATURE.
WINNER OF THE 2024 NOBEL PRIZE IN LITERATURE: this haunting masterpiece is a beautiful, unsettling novel in three acts which won the Man Booker International Prize has become a modern classic.
WINNER OF THE INTERNATIONAL BOOKER PRIZE
'A strange, painfully tender exploration of the brutality of desire indulged and the fatality of desire ignored... Exquisite.' Eimear McBride
Yeong-hye and her husband are ordinary people—dutiful wife and mild-mannered office worker. One day, prompted by grotesque recurring nightmares, Yeong-hye decides to become a vegetarian. But in South Korea, where vegetarianism is almost unheard-of and societal mores are strictly obeyed, it is a shocking act of subversion.
Yeong-hye's passive rebellion rapidly manifests in ever more bizarre and frightening forms, from sexual sadism to attempted suicide, and in increasingly erotic and unhinged artworks, as all the while she spirals further into her fantasies...
Disturbing and beautiful by turns, The Vegetarian is a revelatory novel about modern day South Korea; a tale of shame, desire and our faltering attempts to understand others.
Series: Best of Granta
View allBook Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?
The Vegetarian by Han Kang is frequently praised for its unsettling and hypnotic narrative, which delves into themes of desire, rebellion, and cultural norms. The novel is recognised for its elegant yet stark prose, especially through Deborah Smith's translation, which captures the psychological intricacies and surreal elements of the story. Critics highlight its visceral exploration of the societal and personal turmoil experienced by the protagonist, as well as its haunting, almost phantasmagorical quality that challenges readers' perceptions and evokes deep reflection.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9781803510057
Publisher: Granta Books
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 17 August 2023
Country: United Kingdom
Imprint: Granta Books
Contributors:
- Translated by Deborah Smith
- Translated by Deborah Smith
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Spine width: 10.0mm
Width: 129.0mm
Height: 198.0mm
Weight: 138g
Pages: 192
About the Author
Han Kang was born in Gwangju, South Korea, and moved to Seoul at the age of ten. She studied Korean literature at Yonsei University. Her writing has won the Yi Sang Literary Prize, the Today's Young Artist Award, and the Korean Literature Novel Award. The Vegetarian, her first novel to be translated into English, was published by Portobello Books in 2015 and won the 2016 Man Booker International Prize. She is also the author of Human Acts (Portobello, 2016) and The White Book (Portobello, forthcoming 2017). She is based in Seoul.
Also by Han Kang
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