Set in a Korean backdrop, THE VEGETARIAN is a poetically written depressing story from Han Kang. Though it appears to be about a Korean house wife who wants to give up non-vegetarian food , it is basically about a person's fight with the family and society to do something which is default right as a human being.
The book is presented in 3 acts, each from a different person's point of view . The beauty of the book lies in the fact that it tells all about the protagonist from other's point of view without ever telling from her point of view. In a way, this also symbolizes the main idea of the book that different people have different views about a person according to their sensibilities and never bother to understand that person's thoughts or actions. Turning vegetarian is a fashion among people in predominantly meat eating countries these days, but giving a peculiar reason to that decision and explaining the ordeals one has to go through physically and emotionally to keep up the decision is what sets this book apart from the others. The basic concept of the book is not new, the characters are what you see in daily life and the unfolding drama is not a surprise, but how it is beautifully presented to the reader makes it spacial.
This book is not for debutante readers. It is pretty slow in narration with lot of detailing about the thoughts and less of drama . Nevertheless, every act / scene / page is like a beautifully crafted painting on the canvas of life's basic necessity - emotion. Once completed, this book will definitely leave you with numerous thoughts to ponder about and unsettles your mind . It makes a very good read and is very much worth the BOOKERS prize it has won.
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