About this episode

Jeff and Rebecca discuss Han Kang's unsettling novel The Vegetarian, exploring themes of freedom, autonomy, and cultural context.

Jeff and Rebecca take on one of the most transgressive and unsettling novels of the 21st century so far, Nobel Prize winner Han Kang's The Vegetarian. They discuss the use of art to explore questions about freedom, self-determination, sex, violence, and the limits of autonomy; the surprising public response to such a challenging literary work; and what Western readers might not understand about the story that has its roots in Korean history. Subscribe to our free newsletter, and become a member for access to early, ad-free listening and bonus content. Follow Zero to Well-Read on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. Email us: zerotowellread@bookriot.com Thank you to ThriftBooks for being the presenting sponsor of this season of Zero to Well-Read! Zero to Well-Read is a proud member of the Airwave Podcast Network. This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission. Get 15% off your first order plus free shipping at BollAndBranch.com/wellread with code wellread. Exclusions apply. Go to quince.com/wellread for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada and the UK, too. Today's episode is…

People in this episode

Hosts: Jeff, Rebecca

Topics covered

• transgressive literature
• Korean history
• freedom and autonomy
• public response to literature
• art and self-determination

Keywords

• The Vegetarian
• Han Kang
• literary analysis
• Korean literature
• Nobel Prize
• autonomy
• violence
• self-determination

Sponsors

ThriftBooks, BollAndBranch.com, quince.com, Vinted

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Han Kang, Airwave Podcast Network

Books & works: The Vegetarian

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