Die Vegetarierin

Yeong-hye is an unremarkable South Korean housewife until a violent dream leads her to stop eating meat and clear the animal products out of her kitchen. Her husband, Mr. Cheong, narrates the first part and is mostly annoyed. The second follows her brother-in-law, a video artist who becomes fixated on her, and the third follows her sister In-hye. Han Kang tells the story only from the outside, so Yeong-hye's own reasons stay unspoken.

A short, strange novel about family pressure, bodily autonomy and what happens when someone refuses a social rule without explaining herself. It is quiet, disturbing and easy to finish in a sitting or two.

Deep, inward-looking, open-ended and thought-provoking; a moderate read.

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