Book Box | Why we need to read Nobel laureate Han Kang
From unsettling truths to brilliantly bizarre storytelling, here are seven reasons why the newest Nobel laureate is a must-read
Dear Reader,
It isn’t easy to read Han Kang. Yet as I read her, I find myself grateful to the Nobel committee for granting recognition to this remarkable Asian voice, whose prose they term as "tender and brutal". Kang has the power to shake us out of our comfort zone. If this is not reason enough to read her, here are seven more reasons for you.
- For a different kind of storytelling: Han Kang is the Picasso of novel writing. She takes the realistic novel, subverting it to make it her own. When she uses the bizarre and grotesque, she is doing so in a Kafka-esque way, telling truths about the human condition, revealing the underlying rottenness of systems, and capturing an essence that simply cannot be depicted in a realistic rendition.
- To see how a story can shake an entire power structure: Kang’s stories document the physical and psychological damage that a capitalistic and patriarchal system can do to us in a way that is impossible to ignore, they also examine our own propensity for violence.
- To marvel at a skilfully constructed narrative: “It was late May when I first saw the bruises on my wife’s body" is the opening line of The Vegetarian and I am hooked. Kang's stories are page-turners. Like a musical maestro, she begins slowly, building up to a crescendo. Take the rebellion of the wife Yeong-hye — it begins in a gentle way. At the start of the novel, we are told by the husband, “The only respect in which my wife was at all unusual was that she didn’t like wearing a bra”. When he tells her off, she says she doesn’t like wearing a bra “because of the way it squeezed her breasts, and that I’d never worn one myself so I couldn’t understand how constricting it felt”, a sentiment endorsed by millions of women around the world, one which shows up in many viral Instagram reels as well! Having to be corseted up is just one aspect of a society which can be throttled, and you may be allowed to protest mildly against it. But amplify your protest and see what happens. Kang does this for us, as she skilfully propels the narrative forward, documenting the inevitable fall of a rebel in a way that is brilliant, breathtaking and goosebump-making.
- To reflect on the role of creative people: "This isn’t living.. it only looks like it," says the wife in the short story The Fruit of My Woman. There are just a few people who can look beyond such superficial surfaces — the poet, the writer, the artist. But their ability to look beyond the surface of people and relationships comes with its own price, as Kang shows us. In The Vegetarian, we see this up close, as an artist draws creative inspiration from the misery around him to create exceptional art. And yet the process of making such art ends up destroying him as well. Read Kang to discover more of this.
- To examine the power of food in protest: People have starved themselves as a form of protest many times in human history. There are moving accounts of such fasts — like that of the suffragettes in Difficult Women, of Irish protestors in Say Nothing, and a Tamil Tiger in Brotherless Night. Read Kang’s stories for a similar yet entirely different manner of protest; there is none of the spirited flamboyance of a rebel fighter here, only a quiet despair that is even more chilling.
- For a masterclass in brilliantly constructed scenes: Staying on the subject of food, consider communal eating, usually an occasion for togetherness and warmth. What makes such a nourishing occasion turn into a nightmare? In The Vegetarian, two communal eating scenes stand out — the dinner party episode and then the family meal at the wife Yeong-hye’s house, each a set piece in brilliant scene creation.
- Finally, read Kang because she is the winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, and thereby also connect with the many readers around the world who will now be reading this Nobel laureate.
There is so much more to say, but the drums of the Dussehra procession are calling and I must stop for now. In the meantime, check out The Many Ramayanas for festive reading and, of course, read Han Kang. I plan to read her Greek Lessons, a novel on language and human connection, and I Do Not Bid Farewell, the story of a novelist who travels to Jeju to rescue a bird. Until next week, happy reading.
Sonya Dutta Choudhury is a Mumbai-based journalist and the founder of Sonya’s Book Box, a bespoke book service. Each week, she brings you specially curated books to give you an immersive understanding of people and places. If you have any reading recommendations or suggestions, write to her at sonyasbookbox@gmail.com
The views expressed are personal
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