vegetarian
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Description
Book Introduction
- A word from MD
-
Han River's masterpiece that has caught the attention of the world[2024 Nobel Prize in Literature] A full-length novel that won the 2016 International Booker Prize and is the representative work of novelist Han Kang.
The delicate sentences and groundbreaking content that express the invisible pain of the soul with plant-like imagination create a great resonance.
The story of a woman who wanted to break the cycle of violence and overcome human limitations to become a tree.
October 11, 2024. Novel/Poetry PD Kim Yu-ri
Winner of the International Booker Prize and the San Clemente Literary Award
Revisiting Han Kang's masterpiece, which captured the world's attention
Han Kang's novel, "The Vegetarian," which won the 2016 International Booker Prize and further expanded the status of Korean literature, is presented with a new cover after 15 years.
This work, which displays the intense combination of the pain of a wounded soul and the vegetal imagination through elaborate composition and captivating prose, is a masterpiece that perfects the aesthetics of eerie beauty in Han Kang's own way.
The Vegetarian, which won the International Booker Prize and was praised as “a solid, sophisticated and shocking work that will linger in readers’ hearts and perhaps their dreams,” received international reviews such as “It looks set to resonate with readers while sending ripples through the American literary world” (The New York Times) and “The combination of stunningly beautiful prose and incredibly violent content is shocking” (The Guardian). It also received an enthusiastic response from around the world, including winning the San Clemente Literary Award in Spain in 2018.
"The Vegetarian" is a novel that centers around Young-hye, who begins to refuse to eat meat one day and begins to have conflicts with her family.
However, the novel is narrated from the perspectives of the three characters surrounding Yeong-hye: her husband, brother-in-law, and older sister, and Yeong-hye never once takes the position of the main narrator.
The patriarchal violence perpetrated in the name of family, and the vegetative imagination displayed by Yeong-hye, who resists that violence by fasting and shedding her animal nature to become a tree, will resonate even more deeply with readers of all generations.
Revisiting Han Kang's masterpiece, which captured the world's attention
Han Kang's novel, "The Vegetarian," which won the 2016 International Booker Prize and further expanded the status of Korean literature, is presented with a new cover after 15 years.
This work, which displays the intense combination of the pain of a wounded soul and the vegetal imagination through elaborate composition and captivating prose, is a masterpiece that perfects the aesthetics of eerie beauty in Han Kang's own way.
The Vegetarian, which won the International Booker Prize and was praised as “a solid, sophisticated and shocking work that will linger in readers’ hearts and perhaps their dreams,” received international reviews such as “It looks set to resonate with readers while sending ripples through the American literary world” (The New York Times) and “The combination of stunningly beautiful prose and incredibly violent content is shocking” (The Guardian). It also received an enthusiastic response from around the world, including winning the San Clemente Literary Award in Spain in 2018.
"The Vegetarian" is a novel that centers around Young-hye, who begins to refuse to eat meat one day and begins to have conflicts with her family.
However, the novel is narrated from the perspectives of the three characters surrounding Yeong-hye: her husband, brother-in-law, and older sister, and Yeong-hye never once takes the position of the main narrator.
The patriarchal violence perpetrated in the name of family, and the vegetative imagination displayed by Yeong-hye, who resists that violence by fasting and shedding her animal nature to become a tree, will resonate even more deeply with readers of all generations.
- You can preview some of the book's contents.
Preview
index
vegetarian
Mongolian spot
wood flame
New author's note
Author's Note
Announcement page of included works
Mongolian spot
wood flame
New author's note
Author's Note
Announcement page of included works
Detailed image
Into the book
All I trust is my heart.
I like my breasts.
Because breasts can't kill anything.
Hands, feet, teeth, tongue, even gaze, they are all weapons that can kill and harm anything.
But not the chest.
As long as I have these round breasts, I'm fine.
It's still okay.
But why does my chest keep getting thinner?
It's not round anymore.
Why?
Why am I so skinny?
What are you trying to stab with that makes it so sharp?
--- p.50~51
Some screams, some cries, layer upon layer, are stuck there.
It's because of the meat.
I ate too much meat.
Those lives are hanging in there.
No doubt.
The blood and flesh are all digested and scattered to every corner of the body, and the waste is excreted, but the lives are tenaciously clinging to the spleen.
I want to shout out loud just once, just once.
I want to run out the dark window.
Then will this lump jump out of the body?
Could that be possible?
--- p.72
She, who was quietly accepting all of this, felt like some kind of sacred being, neither human nor beast, but a strange being that was a plant, an animal, a human, or something in between.
--- p.128
Sister.
A faint smell of naphthalene wafted from Young-hye's old black sweater.
When she didn't answer, Young-hye whispered again, "Sister."
Sister.
… … All the trees in the world are like brothers.
--- p.210
She was surprised to suddenly feel that she had never lived in this world before.
It was true.
She had never lived.
Since my childhood, as far back as I can remember, I've just endured it.
She believed she was a good person and, true to her belief, never harmed anyone.
He was honest, successful in his own way, and always would be.
But it was something I couldn't understand.
Before that dilapidated building and the overgrown grass, she was nothing more than a child who had never lived before.
I like my breasts.
Because breasts can't kill anything.
Hands, feet, teeth, tongue, even gaze, they are all weapons that can kill and harm anything.
But not the chest.
As long as I have these round breasts, I'm fine.
It's still okay.
But why does my chest keep getting thinner?
It's not round anymore.
Why?
Why am I so skinny?
What are you trying to stab with that makes it so sharp?
--- p.50~51
Some screams, some cries, layer upon layer, are stuck there.
It's because of the meat.
I ate too much meat.
Those lives are hanging in there.
No doubt.
The blood and flesh are all digested and scattered to every corner of the body, and the waste is excreted, but the lives are tenaciously clinging to the spleen.
I want to shout out loud just once, just once.
I want to run out the dark window.
Then will this lump jump out of the body?
Could that be possible?
--- p.72
She, who was quietly accepting all of this, felt like some kind of sacred being, neither human nor beast, but a strange being that was a plant, an animal, a human, or something in between.
--- p.128
Sister.
A faint smell of naphthalene wafted from Young-hye's old black sweater.
When she didn't answer, Young-hye whispered again, "Sister."
Sister.
… … All the trees in the world are like brothers.
--- p.210
She was surprised to suddenly feel that she had never lived in this world before.
It was true.
She had never lived.
Since my childhood, as far back as I can remember, I've just endured it.
She believed she was a good person and, true to her belief, never harmed anyone.
He was honest, successful in his own way, and always would be.
But it was something I couldn't understand.
Before that dilapidated building and the overgrown grass, she was nothing more than a child who had never lived before.
--- p.237
Publisher's Review
The desperate coexistence of violence and beauty
The power of Han Kang's novels, still refreshing to read
Published by Changbi in 2007, 『The Vegetarian』 has been translated and published in various countries, including Japan, China, and France, since 2010. After the prestigious literary publisher Portobello published an English version in 2015, it garnered much attention, reaching number one in the top 10 novels section of Foyles Bookstore in the UK.
After the American edition was published in 2016 by Hogarth, a literary imprint of Penguin Random House Group, one of the largest publishing groups in the United States, it received favorable reviews from numerous influential media outlets, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, and The Library Journal.
The publishing magazine Publisher's Weekly quickly put The Vegetarian at the center of attention, even listing it as the number one novel to watch for in the spring of 2016.
And finally, in 2016, it won the International Booker Prize, establishing itself as a truly world-renowned work.
Part 1 of "The Vegetarian", "The Vegetarian", is narrated from the perspective of "I", Young-hye's husband.
Yeong-hye, who has a childhood memory of killing a dog that bit her leg, begins to avoid meat after being haunted by a horrific image that appears in her dream one day.
Unable to understand Young-hye's actions, 'I' mobilizes the family to try to stop Young-hye.
At Yeong-hye's older sister In-hye's housewarming party, Yeong-hye refuses to eat meat again, and when her displeased father-in-law tries to force meat into her mouth, Yeong-hye slits her wrists on the spot.
Part 2, “Mongolian Spot,” is told from the perspective of video artist “Na,” Inhye’s husband and Yeonghye’s brother-in-law.
After hearing from his wife Inhye that Younghye still has a Mongolian spot on her buttocks, 'I' begins to desire Younghye's body.
'I' go to Yeong-hye and ask her to be a model for a video work.
'I' eventually draws flowers on his body, has sex with Yeong-hye, and films a video. The next day, his wife discovers the two of them naked.
Part 3, "The Tree Flame," is told from the perspective of In-hye, who must take care of Young-hye's illness, as her entire family turns their backs on her.
Inhye meets Yeonghye, who has stopped eating and drinking and is not even taking an IV drip, and is drying up like a tree branch. Yeonghye tells her that she will soon become a tree.
Young-hye, who dreams of becoming a tree and completely refuses to eat meat due to the memories of violence imprinted on her as a child, seems to dream of breaking the vicious cycle of violence and becoming a harmless being who does not harm other living beings.
The author, who has been constantly questioning the nature of humanity and delving into the subject of ‘pain,’ said upon publishing this revised edition, “I must confess that I had mixed feelings about this book.
(…) But now that my hair is graying and my mind is clearer than ever, I have the strength to embrace this novel.
He also revealed that “this book is still full of vivid pain and questions” (in a new author’s note).
Meanwhile, 『The Vegetarian』 has been exported to over 40 countries.
This September, it will be produced as a play and performed on the National Theater Company stage, and it will also meet international audiences at the Theatre de Liège in Belgium in December.
Author's Note
When I heard that a revised edition of this book was being published, the first thing that came to mind was the feeling of those autumn and winter nights that year.
Nights when I (hopelessly) mentally rolled over a list of novels I wanted to write once my body recovered.
At that time, The Vegetarian was already a novel in three parts, and had the same or very similar titles as it does now.
After three years, I started writing the first part and was able to finish it two years later.
I remember naming the file "Pain Trilogy" when I was writing "Tree Flame" at the end.
Over the fifteen years since its publication, I must confess that I have harbored complex feelings about this book.
The public's attention and misunderstandings were so intense and sharp that there were times when I felt as if I had become detached from the truth of the moments when I was writing this novel alone.
But now, with my hair graying and my mind clearer than ever, I have the strength to embrace this novel.
This book is still full of vivid pain and questions.
To those who created the revised edition,
I would like to express my gratitude and warm greetings to the readers I will be meeting for the first time.
In early spring 2022
Han River
The power of Han Kang's novels, still refreshing to read
Published by Changbi in 2007, 『The Vegetarian』 has been translated and published in various countries, including Japan, China, and France, since 2010. After the prestigious literary publisher Portobello published an English version in 2015, it garnered much attention, reaching number one in the top 10 novels section of Foyles Bookstore in the UK.
After the American edition was published in 2016 by Hogarth, a literary imprint of Penguin Random House Group, one of the largest publishing groups in the United States, it received favorable reviews from numerous influential media outlets, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, and The Library Journal.
The publishing magazine Publisher's Weekly quickly put The Vegetarian at the center of attention, even listing it as the number one novel to watch for in the spring of 2016.
And finally, in 2016, it won the International Booker Prize, establishing itself as a truly world-renowned work.
Part 1 of "The Vegetarian", "The Vegetarian", is narrated from the perspective of "I", Young-hye's husband.
Yeong-hye, who has a childhood memory of killing a dog that bit her leg, begins to avoid meat after being haunted by a horrific image that appears in her dream one day.
Unable to understand Young-hye's actions, 'I' mobilizes the family to try to stop Young-hye.
At Yeong-hye's older sister In-hye's housewarming party, Yeong-hye refuses to eat meat again, and when her displeased father-in-law tries to force meat into her mouth, Yeong-hye slits her wrists on the spot.
Part 2, “Mongolian Spot,” is told from the perspective of video artist “Na,” Inhye’s husband and Yeonghye’s brother-in-law.
After hearing from his wife Inhye that Younghye still has a Mongolian spot on her buttocks, 'I' begins to desire Younghye's body.
'I' go to Yeong-hye and ask her to be a model for a video work.
'I' eventually draws flowers on his body, has sex with Yeong-hye, and films a video. The next day, his wife discovers the two of them naked.
Part 3, "The Tree Flame," is told from the perspective of In-hye, who must take care of Young-hye's illness, as her entire family turns their backs on her.
Inhye meets Yeonghye, who has stopped eating and drinking and is not even taking an IV drip, and is drying up like a tree branch. Yeonghye tells her that she will soon become a tree.
Young-hye, who dreams of becoming a tree and completely refuses to eat meat due to the memories of violence imprinted on her as a child, seems to dream of breaking the vicious cycle of violence and becoming a harmless being who does not harm other living beings.
The author, who has been constantly questioning the nature of humanity and delving into the subject of ‘pain,’ said upon publishing this revised edition, “I must confess that I had mixed feelings about this book.
(…) But now that my hair is graying and my mind is clearer than ever, I have the strength to embrace this novel.
He also revealed that “this book is still full of vivid pain and questions” (in a new author’s note).
Meanwhile, 『The Vegetarian』 has been exported to over 40 countries.
This September, it will be produced as a play and performed on the National Theater Company stage, and it will also meet international audiences at the Theatre de Liège in Belgium in December.
Author's Note
When I heard that a revised edition of this book was being published, the first thing that came to mind was the feeling of those autumn and winter nights that year.
Nights when I (hopelessly) mentally rolled over a list of novels I wanted to write once my body recovered.
At that time, The Vegetarian was already a novel in three parts, and had the same or very similar titles as it does now.
After three years, I started writing the first part and was able to finish it two years later.
I remember naming the file "Pain Trilogy" when I was writing "Tree Flame" at the end.
Over the fifteen years since its publication, I must confess that I have harbored complex feelings about this book.
The public's attention and misunderstandings were so intense and sharp that there were times when I felt as if I had become detached from the truth of the moments when I was writing this novel alone.
But now, with my hair graying and my mind clearer than ever, I have the strength to embrace this novel.
This book is still full of vivid pain and questions.
To those who created the revised edition,
I would like to express my gratitude and warm greetings to the readers I will be meeting for the first time.
In early spring 2022
Han River
GOODS SPECIFICS
- Publication date: March 28, 2022
- Format: Hardcover book binding method guide
- Page count, weight, size: 276 pages | 358g | 128*194*20mm
- ISBN13: 9788936434595
- ISBN10: 8936434594
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