The Vegetarian

A Novel

By: Han Kang

Narrated by: Deborah Smith, Janet Song, Stephen Park

FROM HAN KANG, WINNER OF THE 2024 NOBEL PRIZE IN LITERATURE

“[Han Kang writes in] intense poetic prose that . . . exposes the fragility of human life.”—from the Nobel Prize citation

WINNER OF THE INTERNATIONAL BOOKER PRIZE • “Kang viscerally explores the limits of what a human brain and body can endure, and the strange beauty that can be found in even the most extreme forms of renunciation.”—Entertainment Weekly

One of the New York Times’s 100 Best Books of the 21st Century

“Ferocious.”—The New York Times Book Review (Ten Best Books of the Year)

“Both terrifying and terrific.”—Lauren Groff

“Provocative [and] shocking.”—The Washington Post

Before the nightmares began, Yeong-hye and her husband lived an ordinary, controlled life. But the dreams—invasive images of blood and brutality—torture her, driving Yeong-hye to purge her mind and renounce eating meat altogether. It’s a small act of independence, but it interrupts her marriage and sets into motion an increasingly grotesque chain of events at home. As her husband, her brother-in-law and sister each fight to reassert their control, Yeong-hye obsessively defends the choice that’s become sacred to her. Soon their attempts turn desperate, subjecting first her mind, and then her body, to ever more intrusive and perverse violations, sending Yeong-hye spiraling into a dangerous, bizarre estrangement, not only from those closest to her, but also from herself.

Celebrated by critics around the world, The Vegetarian is a darkly allegorical, Kafka-esque tale of power, obsession, and one woman’s struggle to break free from the violence both without and within her.

A Best Book of the Year: BuzzFeed, Entertainment Weekly, Wall Street Journal, Time, Elle, The Economist, HuffPost, Slate, Bustle, The St. Louis Dispatch, Electric Literature, Publishers Weekly

©2016 Han Kang (P)2016 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“Surreal . . . [A] mesmerizing mix of sex and violence .”—Alexandra Alter, The New York Times

“[Han Kang] has been rightfully celebrated as a visionary in South Korea . . . Han’s glorious treatments of agency, personal choice, submission and subversion find form in the parable. . . . Ultimately, though, how could we not go back to Kafka? More than The Metamorphosis, Kafka’s journals and ‘A Hunger Artist’ haunt this text.”—Porochista Khakpour, New York Times Book Review

“Indebted to Kafka, this story of a South Korean woman’s radical transformation, which begins after she forsakes meat, will have you reading with your hand over your mouth in shock.”—O: The Oprah Magazine

Great Storytelling

Where does The Vegetarian rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

The Vegetarian is a beautifully written book. The performances of Janet Song and Stephen Park bring you into the middle of the troubled life of Korean woman and her family. They make you feel as though you are listening to a great movie. The book is among the best that I've listened to so far.

What did you like best about this story?

The author draws you into the story of a woman unravelling in a restricted relationship and society, For an American listener, it provided a glimpse of Korean life.

What does Janet Song and Stephen Park bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Janet Song and Stephen Park made the characters come alive. The actors created a world that complemented and enriched the story.

If you could rename The Vegetarian, what would you call it?

Alone

Weird Novel

Would you consider the audio edition of The Vegetarian to be better than the print version?

I don't know if I would say that the audio is better because I would have liked to re-read a couple of passages a couple of times.

Would you recommend The Vegetarian to your friends? Why or why not?

It's difficult to say if I would recommend this to a friends because of how challenging the novel can be. There are some graphic content that would make me hesitant recommending it.

Have you listened to any of Janet Song and Stephen Park ’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

This is the first performance I've heard from them and they were very good.

Who was the most memorable character of The Vegetarian and why?

The Main character is definitely the most memorable because of the situations and scenes that happens in her life.

Masterpiece

smooth, intelligent and piece of Art. The focus on different characters is super. Highly recommends

A twisted ride

I was worried about the audio after reading the reviews but I’m glad I gave this book a chance. It is beautifully written and the story pulls you in. I finished it in one sitting. The only negative is the female narrator is sooo slow.

Wondrously horrific

Beautifully written and narrated, the spiraling undoing of reality and relationships. Brilliant and utterly absorbing.

Dark, non-linear, and very unique

This won’t be for everyone. But it is a very unique story told through the eyes of several people surrounding the main character. Good for those who like suspense or thrillers, but not exactly in that genre.

The craziness of the Young woman

I found this to be a disturbing book I am not sure what the author was really looking to say.

Hunger's Artist

"She had never lived. Even as a child, as far back as she could remember, she had done nothing but endure."
-- Han Kang, The Vegetarian

A short novel made up of three inter-related stories of three related family members (a sister/vegetarian, her sister/responsible one, her sister's husband/artist). The stories revolve around dreams, food, existence, art and nature. The book did give hints of an erotic Kafka's A Hunger Artist. No, not erotic, not really, just modern and sensual and transformative. I liked it, but just didn't love it. I thought there were elements of beauty certainly and a strange hallucinogenic quality to it that reminded me a bit of Murakami. The tension around food, art, family, and sex were developed well, but still there just seemed something missing.

dark, haunting, obsessive, freeing

Any additional comments?

This book is... disturbing. This book is.... allegorical. This book is... modern art in prose form. This book is.... worth it. Agency, Submission, Personal Choice and Subversion are closely examined through three narratives about one woman's descent into vegetarianism, an allegorical struggle against violence, repression, loneliness and depression. The protagonist's husband, brother-in-law and sister describe her choice to become a vegetarian in a meat-centric, meal-centric culture. What follows is dark, horrifying and graphic but ultimately peaceful and uplifting. Striving to become a tree, one is left wondering, "Is what she is doing so bad? Is dying truly worse than engaging with her life?" This is a short book, readable in an afternoon. make sure to enlist a good friend or two to join in your journey; the discussions will be glorious.

Very Dark

I'm not sure what I was expecting but found this very dark and depressing. I'm not altogether sure I understand the point the author was trying to make