The Vegetarian by Han Kang: Flesh and Blood of The Past

Mr. Cheong lives an unremarkable life: applied a college which he knew he would be approved in, got a conventional job, then married an indefferent woman named Yeong-hye. He believes that marrying her is a perfect decision. The only unusual thing about her is only that she doesn’t like wearing bra no matter where and what occasion. Apart from it, years of their marriage seemed just like what he thought: predictable—if not mediocre—as he always expects.

Until one day, his wife decided to stop eating meat right after having a bad dream. It’s really odd, because she and her family are really good at serving meaty South Korean dishes and it is one of the things that comes out of his mind while thinking about his family-in-law. How eloquent his wife’s and sister-in-law hands while cutting meats. That one bad dream leads to series of bloody nightmares which in turn distance her both to the world and her sense of self.