Discussion Questions

[Tessa, Founder + Curator]

The Vegetarian is a complex read, sure to bring out a variety of opinions and feelings. Here are some questions to consider once you've finished the novel!

- Did you like the novel? How would you rate it and why?

- What do you think of Yeong-hye’s relationship with the other characters?

- Do you think the characters’ reactions to Yeong-hye’s vegetarianism is accurate? Did you receive similar questions/criticisms?

- What do you make of the different narrators/points-of-view? Does it enhance the story?

- The novel was first published in South Korea, and the (English) translation has been criticized. Do you think things could have gotten lost in translation?

- Though titled The Vegetarian, Yeong-hye’s refusal to eat meat is only a part of the novel. What do you think the novel is saying?

- The novel ends pretty ambiguously. What do you think happens to Yeong-hye? To In-hye? To the other characters?

[Tessa, Founder + Curator]

1. So I'm still trying to figure out if I liked the novel or not. I certainly didn't *enjoy* reading it, but the fact that I'm still thinking about it must mean something. I gave it 3 (maybe 3.5) stars on here, but it was hard for me to go any higher because it made me so uneasy.

2. God, I felt so bad for Yeong-hye having most of those people in her life. Her sister at least had regrets. She at least felt like she could have helped more or just done more in general - all as a way to protect Yeong-hye from her husband and other family. It's sad. It's really sad.

3. Obviously, I found some people to have unnecessarily extreme reactions, but at the same time, her father's actions might not be that far-fetched in abusive households.

4. Personally, I prefer stories that are told either in first-person or at least are more in the main character's head. But I understand why it was told by three different people.

5. There were some parts of the novel that I found confusing/odd as I read, which I chalked up to the translation.

6. I think it speaks largely about the patriarchy's affect on women. Both Yeong-hye and In-hye's lives are negatively impacted by the men in their lives asserting their dominance, so to speak. Women are treated with such cruelty, much like animals, and it's even worse when they subvert the norms.

7. On one hand, I like to think Yeong-hye gets better and lives a healthy life, perhaps living with In-hye as the two of them reclaim their lives - together. But on the other hand, I want her to be free from suffering. Is death the solution? Is that her happy ending? I want In-hye to live for herself and not feel like she has to be everything for everybody all the time. I don't care at all what happens to either sister's husband. They're both disgusting.

[Marga]

1. I liked reading it but I didn't enjoy it. I'm also still looking for a deeper meaning to it. I don't think the message, if any, is clear and I didn't enjoy it from an aesthetic point of view. I didn't identify with any of the characters. 3 out of 5 because it made me uneasy although it is nicely written.

2. She had a lot of awful people around with unsolved issues. I feel sorry for her, she could have been luckier and able to grow up as a person. She had her own income, I don't know why she stayed with her husband. She became isolated from her family and the world.

3. I think their reactions were extremely violent. The violence was nasty but those who helped her father were even worse, they should have stopped him. I didn't know that Korean dishes were so based on meat.

4. I liked the idea because it made me want to hear her point of view at the beginning, but I didn't identify with any of the characters. Not as successful as in some other novels.

5. I don't know as I read it in Catalan, the translation seemed to be quite good.

6. I agree with you, it speaks about patriarchy. In the edition I read, the author says that Yeong-hye's vegetarianism is a fight or a response against violence in the world. This violence could be represented by the consumption of meat, by force-feeding people, by patriarchy and violence against women (physical, acting as if wives and daughters belong to men, cheating, sexual abuse, ... ).

7. I think Yeong-hye dies. She cannot cope with the world anymore. I want to think that her sister rethinks her life and starts a new life with her kid away from that awful husband she had. The others keep on having void lives, as an unsuccessful artist or a boring widower. I would like Yeong-hye's father to open his eyes to her daughter's suffering but, probably, he will feel ashamed of his daughter.

Now that I have finished I'm glad I read it but I don't consider it as a must, I don't understand why it is so famous.