My Rating: 3/5
I have watched a lot of Korean movies in the past, and I must say I enjoyed them too for their bizarre ways and on your face acts, they literally do not shy away from showing what they actually want the audience to see, just don't care if it goes beyond the digestion level of audience and thats why it makes them a unique experience. Also, I have read quite a few Murakami books in the last few years, so I am kind of prepared not to understand a book, and again well prepared for no ending, as it happens in most of his books, and Japan and Korea are not that far apart when it comes to movies and books both. So, this was my first experience of reading a Korean book, that too an acclaimed one, which ended up winning the Man Booker International Prize in 2016. After reading quite a few reviews which came with stern warnings that this one isn't for faint hearted, I still took a plunge as I got it in my little gem of a library last week. I must say this turned out to be the best Mind F*** that I have ever read in the history of my reading. A very simple story of one very unremarkable run-of-the-mill woman(as per her husband) who, overnight, decides to become a vegetarian because of a dream that she had. How her life turns upside down, and all hell breaks loose in her family, is the story all about. And of course, as I mentioned, this is a Korean story, so they had to multiply it all ten times before serving it to me, the faint-hearted reader (who didn’t sleep a few nights after reading The Shining). How is her good-for-nothing husband, who had a crush on his sister-in-law in the first place, letting her family take care of her whims, on top of that, her father actually beats her up and tries to force-feed meat to her (unbelievable). The entire family is insane, as the same sister-in-law’s husband has a crush on her, who happens to be some kind of artist who is dependent on her wife’s income to survive. What he does with this woman, as her husband abandons her, is the second part of the story. Like the entire story is so bizzare and unbelievable yet pretty engaging to read as the curios reader in me wanted to know where it is going and how it all will end, in my heart I am always ready for a shock, but to know if it did gave me a shock you need to read this one and decide for yourself if it works or not.
Even after finishing the book, I am still in awe of it and undecided if I liked it or not, because the way the entire story turns out, especially the ease with which the main characters do what they do, was something that was hard to digest but not totally unbelievable. For example, the brother-in-law who falls for the protagonist and decides to make her a model for his artwork and takes it gradually to the next level was totally shocking (in the name of art), even knowing that he is going to screw up his own life with a wife and a young kid. It was heart-touching to see her sister coming to her rescue when everybody abandoned her, but the outcome left me again with a lot of confusion and made me scratch my head. What did I just read? Is this really it? Or did my copy of the book miss a few pages? There is no dearth of nudity, sex, marital rape and even a sort of pornography in the book; how the author doesn't shy away from showing what she actually wanted to portray in the most sublime on your face way and on top of that, she ends up winning the highest accolade for her book was beyond me. I am now really curious to pick a few from other Korean writers to check if that's how it is in their part of the world, or if Han Kang is a unique writer.
Also, this book reminded me (rather disgusted me to the extent) of Lolita and Lord of the Flies level. Have you read The Vegetarian and liked it? Do let me know if it has worked for you or if you have a favourite Han Kang book to suggest. I am looking forward to reading a few from her counterparts for sure in the very near future.
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