What are your thoughts on vegetarianism? Do you think The Vegetarian is truly about the act of not eating meat, or is vegetarianism used as a metaphor for something else? If so, what do you think the novel is really about?

The novel opens with a line from Yeong-hye’s husband, Mr. Cheong: “Before my wife turned vegetarian, I’d always thought of her as completely unremarkable in every way.” What does Mr. Cheong mean when he states his wife is ‘unremarkable’ and why is this act of ‘turning vegetarian’ so shocking to him?

Han Kang presents Yeong-hye’s decision to stop eating meat as an act of personal autonomy, feminist resistance, and a rejection of patriarchal control. However, could her choice also be interpreted in other ways? For example, might it reflect psychological distress, a form of self-punishment, or a spiritual transformation?

The novel is filled with graphic depictions of sex and violence. Did you find these depictions to be shocking, repulsive, or thought-provoking? Why do you think Han Kang includes so much physicality?

The novel is structured in a triptych format, with each section narrated by a family member who reacts to and interacts with Yeong-hye. As the three narrators confront her deepening madness, each also comes face to face with his/her own desires. What do they each come to understand about themselves and what they want from life? In what way are they transformed?

• Mr. Cheong?

• Yeong-hye’s brother in law?

• In-hye?

Yeong-hye’s perspective is largely absent from the narration, aside from brief, dream-like monologues. Why do you think Han Kang chose to tell her story through the perspectives of others? How does this narrative choice affect our understanding of Yeong-hye and the themes of the novel?

By the end of the novel, Yeong-hye is confined to a mental asylum. Do you think she has truly descended into 'madness,' or is she consciously resisting the constraints imposed on her? How does Han Kang blur the line between madness and sanity, and what does the novel suggest about societal perceptions of both?

In-hye reflects that she had "never really lived in this world […] as far back as she could remember, she had done nothing but endure." What do you think she means by this? To what extent is this novel about a human being pushed beyond their limits, and how does it explore the consequences of that breaking point?

Told within In-hye’s story, the ending of The Vegetarian is deliberately ambiguous. In-hye stares out of an ambulance window, while trees pass her by. What meaning did you take from the novel’s final scenes? What do you think the author left unwritten?

Deborah Smith’s translation of The Vegetarian has been criticised with some commentators saying the novel contained embellishments and mistranslations. Would this controversy make you curious to read the original Korean text if you could?