Reading notes: The Vegetarian
The Vegetarian is a deeply weird and uncomfortable book. The three-act structure, with changing main characters each having their own kind of mental issues, but all surrounding the relation with Yeong-Hye, give it a deeply depression feeling. There is a hopelessness or fatalism imbued in the text, where the events seem unavoidable and nothing can be done to resolve or improve the state the characters are inching towards.
The writing itself switches styles significantly, changing perspective between chapters, and even the prose takes on a very different style. The third chapter in particular takes on a beautifully descriptive form, especially when describing the woods of the mental hospital Yeong-Hye is admitted into.
The book doesn't focus on a larger narrative or is working towards any conclusion. It's more episodic than that, which time-skips between chapters. It's almost a vignette into the lives of this terribly afflicted family. There are clear themes of bodily autonomy, oppressive and patriarchal Korean culture, and obviously mental health.
While not the most enjoyable book to read, it is deeply impactful and has an emotional weight few other books share. It was hard to keep reading at times, but I'm glad to have gone through it.