The Vegetarian

***This excerpt is from an advance uncorrected proof***

Copyright © 2015 Han Kang



1

The Vegetarian

Before my wife turned vegetarian, I d always thought of her as completely unremarkable in every way. To be frank, the rst time I met her I wasn t even attracted to her. Middling height; bobbed hair neither long nor short; jaundiced, sickly-looking skin; somewhat prominent cheekbones; her timid, sallow aspect told me all I needed to know. As she came up to the table where I was waiting, I couldn t help but notice her shoes the plainest black shoes imaginable. And that walk of hers neither fast nor slow, striding nor mincing.

However, if there wasn t any special attraction, nor did any particular drawbacks present themselves, and therefore there was no reason for the two of us not to get married. The passive personality of this woman in whom I could detect neither freshness nor charm, or anything especially re ned, suited me down to the ground. There was no need to affect intellectual leanings in order to win her over, or to worry that she might be comparing me to the preening men who pose in fashion catalogues, and she didn t get worked up if I happened to be late for one of our meetings. The paunch that started appearing in my mid-twenties, my skinny legs and forearms that steadfastly refused to bulk up in spite of my best efforts, the inferiority complex I used to have about the size of my penis I could rest assured that I wouldn t have to fret about such things on her account.

I ve always inclined towards the middle course in life. At school I chose to boss around those who were two or three years my junior, and with whom I could act the ringleader, rather than take my chances with those my own age, and later I chose which college to apply to based on my chances of obtaining a scholarship large enough for my needs. Ultimately, I settled for a job where I would be provided with a decent monthly salary in return

Han Kang

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

The Vegetarian has an eerie universality that gets under your skin and stays put irrespective of nation or gender. Laura Miller, Slate

Slim and spiky and extremely disturbing . . . I find myself thinking about it weeks after I finished. Jennifer Weiner, PopSugar

It takes a gifted storyteller to get you feeling ill at ease in your own body. Yet Han Kang often set me squirming with her first novel in English, at once claustrophobic and transcendent. Chicago Tribune

"Compelling . . . [A] seamless union of the visceral and the surreal. Los Angeles Review of Books

A complex, terrifying look at how seemingly simple decisions can affect multiple lives . . . In a world where women s bodies are constantly under scrutiny, the protagonist s desire to disappear inside of herself feels scarily familiar. Vanity Fair

Elegant . . . a stripped-down, thoughtful narrative . . . about human psychology and physiology. HuffPost

This elegant-yet-twisted horror story is all about power and its relationship with identity. It's chilling in the best ways, so buckle in and turn down the lights. Elle

This haunting, original tale explores the eros, isolation and outer limits of a gripping metamorphosis that happens in plain