The Vegetarian
Yeong-hye and her husband are ordinary people. He is an office worker with moderate ambitions and mild manners; she is an uninspired but dutiful wife. The acceptable flatline of their marriage is interrupted when Yeong-hye, seeking a more 'plant-like' existence, decides to become a vegetarian, prompted by grotesque recurring nightmares.
In South Korea, where vegetarianism is almost unheard-of and societal mores are strictly obeyed, Yeong-hye's decision is a shocking act of subversion. Her passive rebellion manifests in ever more bizarre and frightening forms, leading her bland husband to self-justified acts of sexual sadism. His cruelties drive her towards attempted suicide and hospitalisation.
She unknowingly captivates her sister's husband, a video artist. She becomes the focus of his increasingly erotic and unhinged artworks, while spiralling further and further into her fantasies of abandoning her fleshly prison and becoming - impossibly, ecstatically - a tree. Fraught, disturbing and beautiful, The Vegetarian is a novel about modern day South Korea, but also a novel about shame, desire and our faltering attempts to understand others, from one imprisoned body to another.
- Pages
- 188
- Audiobook
- 5 hr 13 min
- First published
- February 2, 2016
- Language
- English
- Edition
- Audiobook
Narrators (2)
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1 audiobook edition · 5 hr 13 min · en
Shelved by 8 Litcadians
Reviews
Finished March 12, 2025
“Time was a wave, almost cruel in its relentlessness as it whisked her life downstream, a life she had to constantly strain to keep from breaking apart.” 💭 My thoughts This is a hard one to rate because while the writing was beautiful and the moral is thought-provoking and important, I didn't necessarily enjoy it. So, I think with a book like this you can't rate based on the enjoyment, but instead on the basis of how the topic was represented. The title itself doesn’t represent the horror within. We’re not dealing with monsters or criminals. It’s a horror that makes your skin crawl and feels so viscerally true to life. Though it felt much longer, there is much to unpack in this 188 pages that will undoubtedly leave you unsatisfied. Highly recommend this read if you don’t mind feeling a bit uncomfortable and can appreciate a book with rawness. ⚠️ Trigger warnings Graphic: Eating disorder, Rape, Mental illness Moderate: Suicide attempt, Sexual assault, Self harm Minor: Vomit, Child abuse, Blood [Follow my Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/inkstainedemotions?igsh=aTh6eTZ6dGwxMXpy&utm_source=qr)
Started March 14, 2025 · Finished March 14, 2025
This was… super weird… in a good way. Weird isn’t necessarily bad, in this case, it’s unique, unsettling, and deeply thought-provoking. The writing is poetic at times, confusing at others, and hard to look away from, where some scenes were very much uneasy others were downright artistic. As a vegetarian, it became clear early on that this isn’t a book about dietary choices—it’s about so much more. It delves into themes of mental illness, trauma, bodily autonomy, and societal expectations. The FMCs decision to not eat meat isn’t just about rejecting food… her quiet rebellion is creepy, nutritionally bad and at times, a bit unnerving how she reacts and everyone around her processes that - or doesnt. I appreciated that her sister remained a source of support despite some things I wont mention here, and her own mental struggles with life. 🌶️ 1.5/5 – I wasn’t expecting any spice in this, and I’m not saying it was good lol… but it was definitely something.
Finished March 11, 2025
Started February 7, 2025 · Finished February 10, 2025
Finished August 22, 2026
