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Fiction

THE VEGETARIAN

Han Kang

Publisher: Portobello Books

Published: 2015

Translated into English from Korean by Deborah Smith

Pages: 183, paperback

In the opening sentence of Han Kang’s ‘The Vegetarian’, Yeo­ng-hye is described as someone who is “completely unremarkable in every way”. And it is this ordi­nary woman who, one day, throws away all the meat from the freezer because she has had a ‘dream’ and announces that she is going to become a vegetarian. Things quickly spiral out of con­trol from there on as her husband, unable to understand her choices, drags in her whole family to try and ‘solve’ the ‘problem’. Yeong-hye’s father even tries to force a piece of pork into her mouth and she stabs herself in retaliation. But despite all the chaos that ensues, Yeong-hye’s decision remains rock solid.

The story is structured in three acts. The first part is about Yeo­ng-hye’s decision and her family’s reaction to it, the second mainly revolves around her artist brother-in-law who becomes increasingly obsessed with her body, and the final one is about Yeong-hye’s sister, In-hye, who tries to help Yeong-hye even as her own family is falling apart in the process.

‘The Vegetarian’ is disturbing. It’s a little gory too. While reading it, sometimes you will squirm, ill at ease in your own body. But it’s easily one of the best books you will ever come across. The story, with all its wild concepts and ideas, has a cer­tain appeal that makes it seem more like a work of abstract art rather than a neatly crafted fiction.

Thus it manages to stay in your mind long after, making you rethink and question everything you believed to be true, challenging con­formism and making you wonder why the society puts such strict code of conduct on sex when it is the very basis of evolution.

But think and ponder all you want, you will, at the end of the book, still struggle to make sense of it in its entirety or you will take away multiple (often contradictory) mes­sages. And it’s perhaps this churning of the story in your mind that makes this little novella so special, willing you to return to it in anticipation of a different take on it altogether this time around.

Café Soma’s Baluwatar branch is probably the best breakfast destination this side of the Bag­mati, the other being at its Lalitpur branch. Come Saturday and the café opposite the Russian Embassy in Baluwatar is filled with early morning birds in search of the best bites to break their fasts. The smell of coffee blended with fresh eggs, sau­sages, bacons, hash browns and all give the place an enigmatic aroma in the mornings, enough to create hunger pangs in anyone.With options for both indoor and outdoor seating, Café Soma serves breakfast, lunch and early dinner to its guests who comprise of expats and locals alike. A little bit on the higher side in terms of prices, the eatery reimburses every penny to its guests through its scrumptious food. Worth a try if you’re looking for a non-conventional cuisine in a calm and peace­ful setting, and on being served with gratitude.

THE MENU

Chef’s Special:-

Crispy Chicken Burger

Soma Burger

Full Soma Breakfast

Opening hours : 8 am-8 pm

Location: Baluwatar

Cards : Accepted

Meal for two:  Rs 3,000

Reservation: 4415792

Fiction

HOT MILK

Deborah Levy

Publisher: Hamish Hamilton

Published: 2016

Pages: 218, paperback

We meet the heroine of Deb­orah Levy’s new novel ‘Hot Milk’ right after she drops her laptop on the floor, shattering its screen and thus her life, or so she feels. And you quickly realize she isn’t exaggerating when she says so because as you get to know the 25-year-old Sofia Papastergiadis better, you find there really isn’t much to her life that largely revolves around taking care of her mother’s petulant demands. In the novel, Sofia and her mother, Rose, have come to Spain in what is a final effort to find a cure for a universe of bizarre ailments (mostly imagined) that plague Rose. Sofia has her own set of ailments, most of which are psychological, and are probably a result of her terrible relationship with her mother. Back home in Britain, she is a barista, with a degree in anthropology and an abandoned PhD. Forever shad­owed by her ungrateful mother, she has sort of stopped seeing her life as hers alone. But Hot Milk isn’t a story about sadness and lament, though there is plenty of that too.

At its heart, the book is basically about how Sofia fights the odds and, through her anthropological training, begins to examine her life and those around her, to undo the shackles that are holding her back and rebuild her life. As she learns to take risks, and behave however she wants to, she morphs into someone very unlike the Sofia you meet at the start who was just floating through life without much control over it. And it is this transformation that is so organic and, hence, believable, and which makes Hot Milk such a delightful read.

If you think it sounds like another coming-of-age story, you couldn’t be more wrong. Sofia is unlike any other character you have met and it feels wonderful to see the world through her eyes. She, in her weird ways, teaches you to look at life’s little wonders and take pleasure in them. Also, it helps that the lan­guage is beautifully crafted, making you want to reread certain passages over and over again.

Though Hot Milk isn’t a long novel, you will want to take your time with it because it’s almost like poetry, where each line can have many meanings and insinuations. And there’s a little bit of Greek myth thrown in, as an interesting side plot to an already wonderful narrative.

Sometimes you don’t want to eat within the confined walls. But then you also don’t want to drive to the outskirts of the busy city just for a meal close to nature. This is when you can go to The Yard by Oasis Garden Homes at Sanepa and enjoy delicious food while marveling a beautiful garden. Located in the quiet neighborhood of Sanepa (near Nick Simmons Institute) The Yard is a continental cafe serving delicious Mediterranean and Continental cuisines. A cozy patio and picnic benches make for a casual setting for The Yard, which grows its own herbs and organic vegetables. These in turn are turned into mouth-watering dishes by its female chef Senu Ranjeet Shrestha, one of the very few women heading a restaurant kitchen in Nepal.

THE MENU

Chef’s Special:

Grilled Salmon fillet with pesto sauce

Peri Peri Chicken Wings

Chicken Scallopini

Opening hours: 12 pm-10 pm

Location: Sanepa

Cards: Accepted

Meal for 2: Rs 2,500

Reservations: 5532965/9851095046