Very dark, sad, frustrating book. Split into 3 parts and narrated by 3 different characters who speak about Yeong-Hye. I hated the male characters from the first two parts, they’re repulsive and incredibly misogynistic and selfish. However it was like a car crash, I didn’t want to look away and it held my attention the most compared to part 3. The third part had me confused where the story was going and then disappointed by the end. I felt really disconnected from the characters and wanted to know more about what “the dream” was and what was going on in Yeong-Hye’s own mind.

I did love that Kang, in a small way, has her other books connect. She mentions both Jeju island (which is a main setting in her latest novel) and the May Massacre which is a main plot point of Human Acts! Both of which came out later compared to this book but I kind of loved that nod to her future works (or for me the works I read first).

Overall while I do still enjoy Kang’s prose, it feels as if I got more questions than answers and had that “what was the point of this? What the fuck did I even read” moment upon closing the book. I wanted more and guess I just “didn’t get it.” Maybe it sticks with me but maybe it’s forgettable? Only time will tell but for now I just feel like it was an average read. Also minor thing but this should really be called The Vegan!