The Vegetarian
When I ordered "The Vegetarian" by Han Kang from @amazondotin, I was excited at the prospect of reading a book which dived into the difficult and highly debated topic of Vegetarianism, especially the struggle in converting to one. Given that this story is based in a predominantly meat eating country like Korea, I assumed the book would dwell on both sides of the topic. I had imagined it to be a lengthy tome drawing out on a deeper connection of vegetarianism with health and spirituality. Given that I ordered it online, I had no clue about the size of the book and was expecting to spend a good one week with a 400-500 paged book.
I was disappointed and bewildered when the parcel arrived and I unwrapped a 180 odd paged feather light book alluding rather obviously to its cover image. It took me 3 hours spread across two flight journeys to finish this book. Narrated in 3 parts by the 3 key characters in the book, this book courses across the protagonist's choice of becoming a vegetarian and the impact it has on her family. It challenges some deep rooted social practices as the decision begins to slowly affect and destroy her family one by one. Disturbing at times and provoking at others, this book left me wanting for more.
Translated into English by Deborah Smith and the winner of the Man booked International Prize 2016, I really felt the essence of the original Korean book was lost somewhere in transit. While I have no way of knowing that, I definitely felt that a narrative dedicated to the lead character would have brought this book to its natural conclusion.
Nevertheless, a good lightweight reading companion for short trips.
When I ordered "The Vegetarian" by Han Kang from @amazondotin, I was excited at the prospect of reading a book which dived into the difficult and highly debated topic of Vegetarianism, especially the struggle in converting to one. Given that this story is based in a predominantly meat eating country like Korea, I assumed the book would dwell on both sides of the topic. I had imagined it to be a lengthy tome drawing out on a deeper connection of vegetarianism with health and spirituality. Given that I ordered it online, I had no clue about the size of the book and was expecting to spend a good one week with a 400-500 paged book.
I was disappointed and bewildered when the parcel arrived and I unwrapped a 180 odd paged feather light book alluding rather obviously to its cover image. It took me 3 hours spread across two flight journeys to finish this book. Narrated in 3 parts by the 3 key characters in the book, this book courses across the protagonist's choice of becoming a vegetarian and the impact it has on her family. It challenges some deep rooted social practices as the decision begins to slowly affect and destroy her family one by one. Disturbing at times and provoking at others, this book left me wanting for more.
Translated into English by Deborah Smith and the winner of the Man booked International Prize 2016, I really felt the essence of the original Korean book was lost somewhere in transit. While I have no way of knowing that, I definitely felt that a narrative dedicated to the lead character would have brought this book to its natural conclusion.
Nevertheless, a good lightweight reading companion for short trips.
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