The Vegetarian

I had placed a library hold on this for several weeks till I finally got my hands on this book. The moment I started this book, I felt discomfort reading it. The characters are not likable or maybe I didn't understand them well. Whatever it was, the fact that this book won the Nobel prize for literature is very surprising to me.

The story is about the main character who wakes up one day from a dream and decides to become a vegetarian. What follows is a surreal story of the character's descent into madness. Where she tries to starve herself to death and soaks in the sun by undressing herself, as if she wants to undergo photosynthesis. The other characters too are very complex and difficult to follow. Their actions and motives are unclear.

The only thing I liked about this book is the writing style and the author's unusual way of narration. I'd have given it 2.25 stars but that extra half star is for effortless writing.

This book will make you feel unpleasant things and if you're looking for something existential to shake up your soul, I'd suggest going for it. If not, avoid reading this altogether.

I have had my share of bleak existential fiction books from Sartre to Kafka and Nietzsche to Camus. But I feel I'm past that phase now to find the idea of death as something fascinating. Will I pick up any other books by Han Kang? Not likely though. Not in the near future.