The Vegetarian

A Novel

De: Han Kang

Narrado por: Deborah Smith, Janet Song, Stephen Park

FROM HAN KANG, WINNER OF THE 2024 NOBEL PRIZE IN LITERATURE

“[Han Kang writes in] intense poetic prose that . . . exposes the fragility of human life.”—from the Nobel Prize citation

WINNER OF THE INTERNATIONAL BOOKER PRIZE • “Kang viscerally explores the limits of what a human brain and body can endure, and the strange beauty that can be found in even the most extreme forms of renunciation.”—Entertainment Weekly

One of the New York Times’s 100 Best Books of the 21st Century

“Ferocious.”—The New York Times Book Review (Ten Best Books of the Year)

“Both terrifying and terrific.”—Lauren Groff

“Provocative [and] shocking.”—The Washington Post

Before the nightmares began, Yeong-hye and her husband lived an ordinary, controlled life. But the dreams—invasive images of blood and brutality—torture her, driving Yeong-hye to purge her mind and renounce eating meat altogether. It’s a small act of independence, but it interrupts her marriage and sets into motion an increasingly grotesque chain of events at home. As her husband, her brother-in-law and sister each fight to reassert their control, Yeong-hye obsessively defends the choice that’s become sacred to her. Soon their attempts turn desperate, subjecting first her mind, and then her body, to ever more intrusive and perverse violations, sending Yeong-hye spiraling into a dangerous, bizarre estrangement, not only from those closest to her, but also from herself.

Celebrated by critics around the world, The Vegetarian is a darkly allegorical, Kafka-esque tale of power, obsession, and one woman’s struggle to break free from the violence both without and within her.

A Best Book of the Year: BuzzFeed, Entertainment Weekly, Wall Street Journal, Time, Elle, The Economist, HuffPost, Slate, Bustle, The St. Louis Dispatch, Electric Literature, Publishers Weekly

©2016 Han Kang (P)2016 Random House Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

“Surreal . . . [A] mesmerizing mix of sex and violence .”—Alexandra Alter, The New York Times

“[Han Kang] has been rightfully celebrated as a visionary in South Korea . . . Han’s glorious treatments of agency, personal choice, submission and subversion find form in the parable. . . . Ultimately, though, how could we not go back to Kafka? More than The Metamorphosis, Kafka’s journals and ‘A Hunger Artist’ haunt this text.”—Porochista Khakpour, New York Times Book Review

“Indebted to Kafka, this story of a South Korean woman’s radical transformation, which begins after she forsakes meat, will have you reading with your hand over your mouth in shock.”—O: The Oprah Magazine

Great Storytelling

Where does The Vegetarian rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

The Vegetarian is a beautifully written book. The performances of Janet Song and Stephen Park bring you into the middle of the troubled life of Korean woman and her family. They make you feel as though you are listening to a great movie. The book is among the best that I've listened to so far.

What did you like best about this story?

The author draws you into the story of a woman unravelling in a restricted relationship and society, For an American listener, it provided a glimpse of Korean life.

What does Janet Song and Stephen Park bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Janet Song and Stephen Park made the characters come alive. The actors created a world that complemented and enriched the story.

If you could rename The Vegetarian, what would you call it?

Alone

Relevant

Relevant to the traumatic and development of a mental condition that festers before your very ears. The health care workers don't care.

Food for thought

The review makes a lot of questions it doesn't end up answering leaving the reader with multiple conflicts in their head.

Wonderful novel, bad readers

This is a fantastic, if challenging, novel that is utterly hamstrung by a poor performance. I am a fan of Stephen Park but he was a poor choice for this role and the random sentences thrown in read by Janet Song are so weirdly jarring. I have no idea what the director for this audio recording was thinking. Do yourself a favor and just read it, it's not long.

Weird Novel

Would you consider the audio edition of The Vegetarian to be better than the print version?

I don't know if I would say that the audio is better because I would have liked to re-read a couple of passages a couple of times.

Would you recommend The Vegetarian to your friends? Why or why not?

It's difficult to say if I would recommend this to a friends because of how challenging the novel can be. There are some graphic content that would make me hesitant recommending it.

Have you listened to any of Janet Song and Stephen Park ’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

This is the first performance I've heard from them and they were very good.

Who was the most memorable character of The Vegetarian and why?

The Main character is definitely the most memorable because of the situations and scenes that happens in her life.

Masterpiece

smooth, intelligent and piece of Art. The focus on different characters is super. Highly recommends

A twisted ride

I was worried about the audio after reading the reviews but I’m glad I gave this book a chance. It is beautifully written and the story pulls you in. I finished it in one sitting. The only negative is the female narrator is sooo slow.

Wondrously horrific

Beautifully written and narrated, the spiraling undoing of reality and relationships. Brilliant and utterly absorbing.

Dark, non-linear, and very unique

This won’t be for everyone. But it is a very unique story told through the eyes of several people surrounding the main character. Good for those who like suspense or thrillers, but not exactly in that genre.

The craziness of the Young woman

I found this to be a disturbing book I am not sure what the author was really looking to say.