Some art house books throw an explosive idea at us and make it a great read. Some other books might be good, but find it difficult to connect. That is the usual nature of art-house movies as well as books. I was instantly attracted by the blurb given in the story and the contradicting book cover.
Yeong-hye is a homemaker and part-time graphic designer who leads a normal life with her husband in South Korea. Life goes on uneventfully for them until she starts getting recurrent dreams. The dreams prompt her to turn a vegetarian totally staying off meat and animal-based products. This angers her family and everyone around her and she is branded as crazy. Her husband leaves her and she spends her time at the asylum, at her sisters, and then alone. What happens in her life narrated from the perspective of three different characters - husband, sister, and sister's husband form the crux of the story.
The first thing that struck me is how fresh the concept is. I did not quite understand why turning vegetarian is such a big deal in the story. But then I was thinking about it from India where vegetarianism is so common. It seems that vegetarianism is almost unheard of in South Korea. The story was totally told from the perspective of three characters other than the main character. This gives a look at how people perceive others even inside the family. The husband starts the story by telling them they are leading a normal life and that Yeong-hye is a normal wife. But the moment she goes against society's norms they brand her crazy. This can be easily related across the globe. Whenever a woman in a family or as a matter of fact anyone in society starts doing something different from the prevalent norms there; they are viewed as rebels or crazy. I really like the allegory of vegetarianism used to drive the point.
The father and husband indicate the patriarchal setup of the society and make sure their point is driven home in their own authoritative way. The mother in spite of being a woman has been living in a society subjected to the age-old practices could not digest the fact that her daughter is different. Then there is the character of her sister and her husband. The sister's husband is an interesting character bringing out his sexual repression and being an artist he is more of a free mind trying to break free from the shackles of society. The sister is another interesting character who is the only character who seems to have some concern for Yeong-hye. She is the one who sees what Yeong-hye thinks; with an open mind and finally sort of understanding Yeong-Hye's feelings and the world around her. This we can relate to when she realizes what her husband had done and how she shaped her view from what she thought initially. This way I liked how the writer is able to link the many faces that we see in any society across the world. Whether conservative or rebel in nature, each and every society have all these characters to this date. I really like the way the book started and how it ended. The inner turmoils and dreams of Yeong-hye are well written and the writer is successful in making us feel the same. The metamorphosis that happens at the end is rather shocking. The ending is sort of open and inconclusive and each user will be having their own interpretations.
In short a shockingly fresh read that I have read in 2021. I am not sure if this is everyone's cup of tea. But there are many interpretations that we can come up with as we progress through the story. This is the recipient of the prestigious Booker Prize. A good and quick read for people who like art-house sort of books.
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