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MischaS_'s Reviews > The Vegetarian
The Vegetarian
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Honestly? I don't know what to say. This was one of the hardest books to read, ever.
I started once a few months ago, and at the scene where (view spoiler), I broke. I could not continue. It was so painful. And I could not imagine the horror of your own family doing that to you.
The story is about Yeong-here but except for little snippets (dreams), we follow it through different POV. It had a certain feeling to it like she was degraded from being an adult, a person who can decide for herself.
The only thing I really disliked about this book that a)she was not a vegetarian, I'm not even sure that you could call her a vegan, she was very extreme. b)it very much shows her "plant diet" as a mental illness. Yes, she was ill. However, her diet did not cause it, same with anorexia or bulimia, that's usually not the illness, it's how it manifests!
Unfortunately, people read this, and some people look at anyone not eating meat and think that they are sick. And some people already told me: "see, she starved because she did not eat meat. And she went crazy! You should get a steak!"
FYI, if you have any good book (fiction) with a good representation of people on a plant-based diet, please, write the recommendation in the comments!
(Bought in Berlin)
I started once a few months ago, and at the scene where (view spoiler), I broke. I could not continue. It was so painful. And I could not imagine the horror of your own family doing that to you.
The story is about Yeong-here but except for little snippets (dreams), we follow it through different POV. It had a certain feeling to it like she was degraded from being an adult, a person who can decide for herself.
The only thing I really disliked about this book that a)she was not a vegetarian, I'm not even sure that you could call her a vegan, she was very extreme. b)it very much shows her "plant diet" as a mental illness. Yes, she was ill. However, her diet did not cause it, same with anorexia or bulimia, that's usually not the illness, it's how it manifests!
Unfortunately, people read this, and some people look at anyone not eating meat and think that they are sick. And some people already told me: "see, she starved because she did not eat meat. And she went crazy! You should get a steak!"
FYI, if you have any good book (fiction) with a good representation of people on a plant-based diet, please, write the recommendation in the comments!
(Bought in Berlin)
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Reading Progress
July 24, 2016
– Shelved
(Hardcover Edition)
December 19, 2016
– Shelved
March 29, 2017
–
Started Reading
April 11, 2017
–
Finished Reading
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MissBecka
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Jun 19, 2019 05:25AM
Great review Mischa! Sorry I don't have any rec's for veggie based books :(
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Some of Scarlett Thomas’ novels have protagonists who have plant-based diets to some extent; I think Tragic Universe and Popco both do. Thanks for the great review!
I DNF'ed at the scene where she's held and forced to eat meat, I also found the vegan representation to be a bit extreme but I think it was intentional either to exaggerate society's reaction to it or to show how desperate the character was to change her situation
