Vegetarian -

Han Kang

Portobello Books

2015

183 páginas

6h 6m

ISBN-13: 9781846276033

A beautiful, unsettling novel in three acts, about rebellion and taboo, violence and eroticism, and the twisting metamorphosis of a soulYeong-hye and her husband are ordinary people. He is an office worker with moderate ambitions and mild manners; she is an uninspired but dutiful wife. The acceptable flatline of their marriage is interrupted when Yeong-hye, seeking a more 'plant-like' existence, decides to become a vegetarian, prompted by grotesque recurring nightmares. In South Korea, where vegetarianism is almost unheard-of and societal mores are strictly obeyed, Yeong-hye's decision is a shocking act of subversion. Her passive rebellion manifests in ever more bizarre and frightening forms, leading her bland husband to self-justified acts of sexual sadism. His cruelties drive her towards attempted suicide and hospitalisation. She unknowingly captivates her sister's husband, a video artist. She becomes the focus of his increasingly erotic and unhinged artworks, while spiralling further and further into her fantasies of abandoning her fleshly prison and becoming - impossibly, ecstatically - a tree.Fraught, disturbing and beautiful, The Vegetarian is a novel about modern day South Korea, but also a novel about shame, desire and our faltering attempts to understand others, from one imprisoned body to another.

Resenhas (2)

4 (Muito bom)

Me surpreendeu

Comecei a ler esse livro porque sou vegetariana e achei a sinopse engraçada, mas ele foi uma enorme surpresa. Ele fala muito mais do que o que aparenta e acaba virando uma trama envolvente e com um quê enigmático. Gostei que o livro é dividido em três partes e cada uma é narrada por um personagem, mas nunca pela protagonista.

Confesso que quando terminei, nem sei se entendi de fato a história e a trama como um todo e, na verdade, acho que essa é a melhor parte do livro.

Recomendo a leitura, porém apenas para pessoas que não gostam de histórias clichês e convencionais.