The Vegetarian

Before the nightmares began, Yeong-hye and her husband led an ordinary, orderly life. But when violent dreams filled with blood and brutality invade her sleep, Yeong-hye resolves to cleanse herself—first by refusing meat, then by rejecting the constraints of her existence altogether. What begins as a small act of defiance soon fractures her marriage and triggers a disturbing chain of events at home.

As her husband, her brother-in-law, and her sister each struggle to reassert control, Yeong-hye clings fiercely to the decision that has come to define her. Their desperation grows, turning their interventions into acts of violation—of her mind, her body, and her autonomy. Gradually, Yeong-hye slips into a strange, perilous estrangement, not only from the people around her but from her own humanity.

Winner of the International Booker Prize. One of the New York Times’s 100 Best Books of the 21st Century.