I think the last chapter was my favorite, but it's also such a strange chapter. It was the most ambiguous, but it was also the chapter that gave the most insight into Yeong-hye. Like if it had just been the first two chapters, you would know so much less about her, even though her sister doesn't really understand her sister much more than we do. It was also the most uncomfortable to read for me, but I think its necessity just outweighs all that somehow.
I really liked that last part, too. I found the insight into how the two sisters viewed their place in the world, especially in the context of their father, was really important. I find the way we learn things about Yeong-hye through the observations of others to be a really unique insight into her character.
Whenever I see this book at libraries I always tell myself I should pick it up... I think you framed it in a different way that made me want to actually get to it. Definitely exploring gender norms and deviancy sounds the most fascinating to me (I thought it was more about mental illness in terms of its focus on food and didn't know it touched on gender). Your mention of it feeling surreal is also something I think I would get a lot out of.
I mean, mental illness is also a really large theme, although I think it is difficult to talk about a lot without going into spoilery territory. I'm also just naturally inclined to think about gender representation for whatever I'm reading, so those themes may have jumped out to me more than they have for others. They're definitely there though if you want to look for them and think about them! :)
I must have heard like 30 people talk bout this book, but you brought up some really interesting points that I haven't heard discussed before. I'm one of the few who hasn't read it yet, but I'm having a hard time deciding whether I should read the English translation or the Swedish. Anyways, fantastic review as always! :)
Interesting! I am getting ready to read this within the next couple of weeks. Often, a book has to ripen a couple of years beyond the initial hype before the more sber reviews start appearing. Korea is actually a progressive type of country, and I am guessing, mind that I have not read it yet, but I am guessing there's a lot of symbolism about double edged conformity. I can't wait to read it now.
I just read this book last week. I really enjoyed the first part from the husband's perspective. I liked the second part from the brother in law's perspective but found it had nothing to do with what I was expecting the book to be about. By the third perspective of the sister, I just wanted the book to end. I agree it was written beautifully, the translation was very good. But I was disappointed in the overall story, especially the third part when I was going into it for different reasons. That being said, I plan on reading Human Acts because I again feel Han Kang is a talented author.
The third part did feel really different, but I really enjoyed the valuable insight it gave me about the sister's relationship with one another, as well as with their father. It did get a bit strange and ambiguous, so I can see how it wouldn't work for everyone. It certainly didn't go where I thought it was going to go, either.
Hmm I don’t know. I read this last month and was bored out of my mind, listening to you I wonder how much of what your saying is truly mirrored in the plot and how much is just conjecture. I can see how this book relates to mental illness and slightly touches on some of the other issues you mentioned. But totally didn’t get the conformity vibe you are talking about. It reads to me more as a ‘whoa you totally changed your personality overnight and we are all trying to figure out why’. I don’t know overall I found the book pretty overhyped and boring.
