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‘The Vegetarian,’ by Han Kang

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By Porochista Khakpour

• Feb. 2, 2016

Last August, Anne Rice posted a call to arms — on Facebook, of course — warning that political correctness was going to bring on literary end times: banned books, destroyed authors, “a new era of censorship.” “We must stand up for fiction as a place where transgressive behavior and ideas can be explored,” she proclaimed. “I think we have to be willing to stand up for the despised.” I, a fan of transgressive literature, could not pinpoint why I found her post to be so much more vexing than the usual battle cries of P.C.-paranoiacs. I finally had my answer after reading Han Kang’s novel “The Vegetarian”: What if “the despised” can stand up on their own?

All the trigger warnings on earth cannot prepare a reader for the traumas of this Korean author’s translated debut in the Anglophone world. At first, you might eye the title and scan the first innocuous sentence — “Before my wife turned vegetarian, I thought of her as completely unremarkable in every way” — and think that the biggest risk here might be converting to vegetarianism. (I myself converted, again; we’ll see if it lasts.) But there is no end to the horrors that rattle in and out of this ferocious, magnificently death-affirming novel.

When Yeong-hye awoke one morning from troubled dreams, she found herself changed into a monstrous . . . vegetarian. And that’s where the misleadingly simple echoes of a certain classic premise end. Han’s novella-in-three-parts zigzags between domestic thriller, transformation parable and arborphiliac meditation, told from the points of view of her lousy husband, who works at an office (Part I); her obsessive brother-in-law, who is an artist (Part II); and her overburdened older sister, who manages a cosmetics store (Part III). These three characters are largely defined by what they do for a living, whereas Yeong-hye stops doing much of anything altogether. “I had a dream,” she says in one of her rare moments of direct dialogue, her only explanation of her newfound herbivorism. At first she is met with casual disdain by family and friends; a dinner acquaintance passive-aggressively declares, “I’d hate to share a meal with someone who considers eating meat repulsive, just because that’s how they themselves personally feel . . . don’t you agree?” But soon her physical form creates the very negative space those close to her fear: weight loss, insomnia, diminished libido and the eventual abandonment of everyday “civilized” life.

An ascetic tome this is not: The novel is full of sex of dubious consent, all sorts of force-feeding and purging — essentially sexual assault and eating disorders, but never by name in Han’s universe. A family gathering where Yeong-hye is attacked by her own father over meat-eating ­spirals several layers darker into self-harm, though it won’t be the last time a man (or she herself, for that matter) violates her body. Violation of the mind, however, is a different issue. “The Vegetarian” needs all this bloodletting because in its universe, violence is connected with physical sustenance — in meat-eating, sex-having, even care-taking. Outside intervention, from family and friends and doctors, works to moderate the reality of this story, but their efforts are in the end as anemic as Anne Rice’s rescue of “the despised.” After all, who is the victim here? You can’t save a soul if it becomes something beyond ­salvation.

We get brief italicized sequences that describe Yeong-hye’s thoughts, which range from diarylike internal monologues to something approaching a post-language state. A passage begins: “Can only trust my breasts now. I like my breasts; nothing can be killed by them. Hand, foot, tongue, gaze, all weapons from which nothing is safe,” and then melts into the sudden realization that her old self is disappearing: “Why am I changing like this? Why are all my edges sharpening — what am I going to gouge?” At other times the language of devastation needs only the sensory details: a dying bird hidden in a clenched fist, an IV bag half full of blood, painted flowers on a naked body, the unremitting stench of sizzling meat.

Originally published in South Korea in 2007 and inspired by the author’s short story “The Fruit of My Woman,” “The Vegetarian” was the first of Han’s works to be made into a feature film. (A second film, based on another novella, was released in 2011.) She has been rightfully celebrated as a visionary in South Korea and has been published around the world, but it took the enthusiasm of her translator, Deborah Smith, to bring “The Vegetarian” to publishing homes in Britain and the United States. Smith learned Korean only about six years ago, mastering it through the process of translating this book. She inhabits the prose’s terrible serenity and glacial horror — the translator’s hand never overwhelms or underperforms. Both lithe and sharp, syntax and diction never become mechanical and obtuse the way bad translations often render something “foreign.”

For a danger here would be to focus only on the ethnographic and sociological. In Britain, where “The Vegetarian” landed on The Evening Standard’s best-seller list, reviews tried to make sense of its strangeness by attributing it to the culture. “The narrative makes it clear it is the crushing pressure of Korean etiquette which murders them,” The Independent daftly concluded. Other British reviewers tried to emphasize that vegetarianism is impossible in South Korea. Likewise, a contemporary Western feminist lens could also yield a condemnation of the novel as an exercise in female debasement or “torture porn.” But this would again assume a problematic normalcy and measure the book against it. There is an entire world of literature outside the West that is not adapted to our markets, in debt to our trends or in pursuit of our politics.

Rather, Han’s glorious treatments of agency, personal choice, submission and subversion find form in the parable. There is something about short literary forms — this novel is under 200 pages — in which the allegorical and the violent gain special potency from their small packages. “The Vegetarian” feels related to slender works as diverse as Ceridwen Dovey’s 2007 novella “Blood Kin” and Melville’s “Bartleby, the Scrivener.” I was also reminded of the Iranian author Sadegh Hedayat’s 1937 cult horror masterpiece, “The Blind Owl.” (Hedayat himself was a vegetarian, and there are cyclical scenes in his nightmarish landscapes in which the killing of animals is positioned as the root of madness.) Ultimately, though, how could we not go back to Kafka? More than “The Metamorphosis,” Kafka’s journals and “A Hunger Artist” haunt this text. And Kafka is perhaps the most famous vegetarian in literary history; he apparently once declared to a fish in an aquarium, “Now at last I can look at you in peace; I don’t eat you anymore.”

Still, Han Kang’s is not some cautionary tale for the omnivorous, as Yeong-hye’s vegetarian journey is far from a happy one. Abstaining from eating living things doesn’t lead to enlightenment. As ­Yeong-hye fades further and further from the living, our author, like a true god, lets us struggle with the question of whether we should root for our hero to survive or to die. With that question comes another, the ultimate question we never quite want to contemplate. “Why, is it such a bad thing to die?” Yeong-hye asks at the end of one section. The next section simply echoes back: “Why, is it such a bad thing to die?”

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The Vegetarian : Book summary and reviews of The Vegetarian by Han Kang

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The Vegetarian

by Han Kang

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Published Feb 2016 192 pages Genre: Literary Fiction Publication Information

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About this book

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Fraught, disturbing and beautiful, The Vegetarian is a novel about modern day South Korea, and the irreconcilable conflict between our two selves: one greedy, primitive; the other accountable to family and society. Winner of the 2016 Man Booker International Prize.

Before the nightmare, Yeong-hye and her husband lived an ordinary life. But when splintering, blood-soaked images start haunting her thoughts, Yeong-hye decides to purge her mind and renounce eating meat. In a country where societal mores are strictly obeyed, Yeong-hye's decision to embrace a more "plant-like" existence is a shocking act of subversion. And as her passive rebellion manifests in ever more extreme and frightening forms, scandal, abuse, and estrangement begin to send Yeong-hye spiraling deep into the spaces of her fantasy. In a complete metamorphosis of both mind and body, her now dangerous endeavor will take Yeong-hye - impossibly, ecstatically, tragically - far from her once-known self altogether. A disturbing, yet beautifully composed narrative told in three parts, The Vegetarian is an allegorical novel about modern day South Korea, but also a story of obsession, choice, and our faltering attempts to understand others, from one imprisoned body to another.

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Reader reviews.

"Starred Review. This is an ingenious, upsetting, and unforgettable novel." - Publishers Weekly "Starred Review. In a culture in which mental illness is met too often with dismissal or denial, Kang's novel is sure to draw both scrutiny and applause, in no small part owing to London-based Smith's seamless translation. Family dysfunction amid cultural suffocation is presented with elegant precision, transforming readers into complicit voyeurs. Fans of authors as diverse as Mary Karr and Haruki Murakami won't be able to turn away." - Library Journal "The book insists on a reader's attention, with an almost hypnotically serene atmosphere interrupted by surreal images and frighteningly recognizable moments of ordinary despair ... An unusual and mesmerizing novel, gracefully written and deeply disturbing." - Kirkus "Dark dreams, simmering tensions, chilling violence…This South Korean novel is a feast…It is sensual, provocative and violent, ripe with potent images, startling colors and disturbing questions…Sentence by sentence, The Vegetarian is an extraordinary experience… [It] will be hard to beat." - The Guardian (UK) "This short novel is one of the most startling I have read… Exciting and imaginative…The author reveals how nature, sex and art crash through this polite society…It is the women who are killed for daring to establish their own identity. The narrative makes it clear it is the crushing pressure of Korean etiquette which murders them…[A] disturbing book." - The Independent (UK) " The Vegetarian is a book about the failures of language and the mysteries of the physical. Yet its message should not undermine Han's achievement as a writer. Like its anti-protagonist, The Vegetarian whispers so clearly, it can be heard across the room, insistently and with devastating, quiet violence." - The New Statesman (UK) "[A] strange and ethereal fable, rendered stranger still by the cool precision of the prose… What is ultimately most troubling about Yeong-hye's post-human fantasies is that they appear to be a reasonable alternative to the world of repression and denial in which everyone around her exists." - Times Literary Supplement (UK) " The Vegetarian combines human violence and the possibility of innocence...[A] frightening beauty of a novel." - British Council Literature (UK) "Shocking...The writing throughout is precise and spare, with not a word wasted. There are no tricks. Han holds the reader in a vice grip...It is about escape and how a dreamer takes flight. Most of all, it is about the emptiness and rage of discovering there is nothing to be done when all hope and comfort fails...A work of savage beauty and unnerving physicality." - Irish Times (Eire) "Uncanny." - The Australian (Australia) "Kang belongs to a generation of writers that aim to discover secret drives, ambitions, and miseries behind one's personal destiny...[ The Vegetarian ] deals with violence, sanity, cultural limits, and the value of the human body as the last refuge and private space." -Tiempo Argentino (Argentina) "The almost perverse seduction of this book originates in the poetry of the images. They are violently erotic and rather nightmarish; the novel is like a room full of large flowers, where the musky odour takes you by the throat." - De Groene Amsterdammer (Holland) "Starred Review. For the fans of Haruki Murakami." - Gazet van Antwerpen (Holland) "Starred Review. The Vegetarian has an odd kind of silent power, which makes you want to finish it in one go and continue to think about it." - nrc Handelsblad (Holland) "Starred Review. The Vegetarian is exciting and original." - De Standaard der Letteren (Holland)

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Han Kang Author Biography

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Han Kang was born in Gwangju, South Korea, in 1970. Since the age of ten, She grew up in Suyuri, Seoul after her family moved there. A recipient of the Yi Sang Literary Award, the Today's Young Artist Award, and the Manhae Prize for Literature, she is the author of The Vegetarian , winner of the International Booker Prize, Human Acts , and The White Book .

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THE VEGETARIAN

by Han Kang ; translated by Deborah Smith ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 2, 2016

An unusual and mesmerizing novel, gracefully written and deeply disturbing.

In her first novel to be published in English, South Korean writer Han divides a story about strange obsessions and metamorphosis into three parts, each with a distinct voice.

Yeong-hye and her husband drift through calm, unexceptional lives devoid of passion or anything that might disrupt their domestic routine until the day that Yeong-hye takes every piece of meat from the refrigerator, throws it away, and announces that she's become a vegetarian. Her decision is sudden and rigid, inexplicable to her family and a society where unconventional choices elicit distaste and concern that borders on fear. Yeong-hye tries to explain that she had a dream, a horrifying nightmare of bloody, intimate violence, and that's why she won't eat meat, but her husband and family remain perplexed and disturbed. As Yeong-hye sinks further into both nightmares and the conviction that she must transform herself into a different kind of being, her condition alters the lives of three members of her family—her husband, brother-in-law, and sister—forcing them to confront unsettling desires and the alarming possibility that even with the closest familiarity, people remain strangers. Each of these relatives claims a section of the novel, and each section is strikingly written, equally absorbing whether lush or emotionally bleak. The book insists on a reader’s attention, with an almost hypnotically serene atmosphere interrupted by surreal images and frighteningly recognizable moments of ordinary despair. Han writes convincingly of the disruptive power of longing and the choice to either embrace or deny it, using details that are nearly fantastical in their strangeness to cut to the heart of the very human experience of discovering that one is no longer content with life as it is.

Pub Date: Feb. 2, 2016

ISBN: 978-0-553-44818-4

Page Count: 192

Publisher: Hogarth

Review Posted Online: Oct. 19, 2015

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2015

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BOOK REVIEW

by Han Kang ; translated by Deborah Smith & Emily Yae Won

by Han Kang translated by Deborah Smith

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Kirkus Prize winner

National Book Award Finalist

A LITTLE LIFE

by Hanya Yanagihara ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 10, 2015

The phrase “tour de force” could have been invented for this audacious novel.

Four men who meet as college roommates move to New York and spend the next three decades gaining renown in their professions—as an architect, painter, actor and lawyer—and struggling with demons in their intertwined personal lives.

Yanagihara ( The People in the Trees , 2013) takes the still-bold leap of writing about characters who don’t share her background; in addition to being male, JB is African-American, Malcolm has a black father and white mother, Willem is white, and “Jude’s race was undetermined”—deserted at birth, he was raised in a monastery and had an unspeakably traumatic childhood that’s revealed slowly over the course of the book. Two of them are gay, one straight and one bisexual. There isn’t a single significant female character, and for a long novel, there isn’t much plot. There aren’t even many markers of what’s happening in the outside world; Jude moves to a loft in SoHo as a young man, but we don’t see the neighborhood change from gritty artists’ enclave to glitzy tourist destination. What we get instead is an intensely interior look at the friends’ psyches and relationships, and it’s utterly enthralling. The four men think about work and creativity and success and failure; they cook for each other, compete with each other and jostle for each other’s affection. JB bases his entire artistic career on painting portraits of his friends, while Malcolm takes care of them by designing their apartments and houses. When Jude, as an adult, is adopted by his favorite Harvard law professor, his friends join him for Thanksgiving in Cambridge every year. And when Willem becomes a movie star, they all bask in his glow. Eventually, the tone darkens and the story narrows to focus on Jude as the pain of his past cuts deep into his carefully constructed life.  

Pub Date: March 10, 2015

ISBN: 978-0-385-53925-8

Page Count: 720

Publisher: Doubleday

Review Posted Online: Dec. 21, 2014

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2015

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by Hanya Yanagihara

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PERSPECTIVES

by Elin Hilderbrand ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 16, 2015

Once again, Hilderbrand displays her gift for making us care most about her least likable characters.

Hilderbrand’s latest cautionary tale exposes the toxic—and hilarious—impact of gossip on even the most sophisticated of islands.

Eddie and Grace Pancik are known for their beautiful Nantucket home and grounds, financed with the profits from Eddie’s thriving real estate company (thriving before the crash of 2008, that is). Grace raises pedigreed hens and, with the help of hunky landscape architect Benton Coe, has achieved a lush paradise of fowl-friendly foliage. The Panciks’ teenage girls, Allegra and Hope, suffer invidious comparisons of their looks and sex appeal, although they're identical twins. The Panciks’ friends the Llewellyns (Madeline, a blocked novelist, and her airline-pilot husband, Trevor) invested $50,000, the lion’s share of Madeline’s last advance, in Eddie’s latest development. But Madeline, hard-pressed to come up with catalog copy, much less a new novel, is living in increasingly straightened circumstances, at least by Nantucket standards: she can only afford $2,000 per month on the apartment she rents in desperate hope that “a room of her own” will prime the creative pump. Construction on Eddie’s spec houses has stalled, thanks to the aforementioned crash. Grace, who has been nursing a crush on Benton for some time, gives in and a torrid affair ensues, which she ill-advisedly confides to Madeline after too many glasses of Screaming Eagle. With her agent and publisher dropping dire hints about clawing back her advance and Eddie “temporarily” unable to return the 50K, what’s a writer to do but to appropriate Grace’s adultery as fictional fodder? When Eddie is seen entering her apartment (to ask why she rented from a rival realtor), rumors spread about him and Madeline, and after the rival realtor sneaks a look at Madeline’s rough draft (which New York is hotly anticipating as “the Playboy Channel meets HGTV”), the island threatens to implode with prurient snark. No one is spared, not even Hilderbrand herself, “that other Nantucket novelist,” nor this magazine, “the notoriously cranky Kirkus.”

Pub Date: June 16, 2015

ISBN: 978-0-316-33452-5

Page Count: 384

Publisher: Little, Brown

Review Posted Online: May 20, 2015

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2015

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by Elin Hilderbrand

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The Vegetarian

By han kang, by han kang read by janet song and stephen park, category: literary fiction, category: literary fiction | audiobooks.

Aug 23, 2016 | ISBN 9781101906118 | 5-3/16 x 8 --> | ISBN 9781101906118 --> Buy

Feb 02, 2016 | ISBN 9780553448184 | 5-5/8 x 8-1/4 --> | ISBN 9780553448184 --> Buy

Feb 02, 2016 | ISBN 9780553448191 | ISBN 9780553448191 --> Buy

Feb 02, 2016 | 315 Minutes | ISBN 9780399566998 --> Buy

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Aug 23, 2016 | ISBN 9781101906118

Feb 02, 2016 | ISBN 9780553448184

Feb 02, 2016 | ISBN 9780553448191

Feb 02, 2016 | ISBN 9780399566998

315 Minutes

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About The Vegetarian

WINNER OF THE INTERNATIONAL BOOKER PRIZE • “[Han] Kang viscerally explores the limits of what a human brain and body can endure, and the strange beauty that can be found in even the most extreme forms of renunciation.”— Entertainment Weekly “Ferocious.”— The New York Times Book Review (Ten Best Books of the Year) “Both terrifying and terrific.”—Lauren Groff “Provocative [and] shocking.”— The Washington Post Before the nightmares began, Yeong-hye and her husband lived an ordinary, controlled life. But the dreams—invasive images of blood and brutality—torture her, driving Yeong-hye to purge her mind and renounce eating meat altogether. It’s a small act of independence, but it interrupts her marriage and sets into motion an increasingly grotesque chain of events at home. As her husband, her brother-in-law and sister each fight to reassert their control, Yeong-hye obsessively defends the choice that’s become sacred to her. Soon their attempts turn desperate, subjecting first her mind, and then her body, to ever more intrusive and perverse violations, sending Yeong-hye spiraling into a dangerous, bizarre estrangement, not only from those closest to her, but also from herself.    Celebrated by critics around the world, The Vegetarian is a darkly allegorical, Kafka-esque tale of power, obsession, and one woman’s struggle to break free from the violence both without and within her. One of the Best Books of the Year— BuzzFeed, Entertainment Weekly, Wall Street Journal, Time, Elle, The Economist, HuffPost, Slate, Bustle, The St. Louis Dispatch, Electric Literature, Publishers Weekly

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About Han Kang

Han Kang was born in 1970 in South Korea. A recipient of the Yi Sang Literary Award, the Today’s Young Artist Award, and the Manhae Prize for Literature, she is the author of The Vegetarian, winner of the International Booker Prize;… More about Han Kang

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“Surreal . . . [A] mesmerizing mix of sex and violence .” —Alexandra Alter, The New York Times “[Han Kang] has been rightfully celebrated as a visionary in South Korea . . . Han’s glorious treatments of agency, personal choice, submission and subversion find form in the parable. . . . Ultimately, though, how could we not go back to Kafka? More than The Metamorphosis , Kafka’s journals and ‘A Hunger Artist’ haunt this text.” —Porochista Khakpour, New York Times Book Review “Indebted to Kafka, this story of a South Korean woman’s radical transformation, which begins after she forsakes meat, will have you reading with your hand over your mouth in shock.” — O: The Oprah Magazine “ The Vegetarian has an eerie universality that gets under your skin and stays put irrespective of nation or gender .”—Laura Miller, Slate “Slim and spiky and extremely disturbing . . . I find myself thinking about it weeks after I finished.” Jennifer Weiner, PopSugar “It takes a gifted storyteller to get you feeling ill at ease in your own body. Yet Han Kang often set me squirming with her first novel in English, at once claustrophobic and transcendent.” — Chicago Tribune “Compelling . . . [A] seamless union of the visceral and the surreal.”— Los Angeles Review of Books “A complex, terrifying look at how seemingly simple decisions can affect multiple lives . . . In a world where women’s bodies are constantly under scrutiny, the protagonist’s desire to disappear inside of herself feels scarily familiar.”— Vanity Fair “Elegant . . . a stripped-down, thoughtful narrative . . . about human psychology and physiology.”— HuffPost “This elegant-yet-twisted horror story is all about power and its relationship with identity. It’s chilling in the best ways, so buckle in and turn down the lights.”— Elle “This haunting, original tale explores the eros, isolation and outer limits of a gripping metamorphosis that happens in plain sight. . . . Han Kang has written a remarkable novel with universal themes about isolation, obsession, duty and desire.” — Minneapolis Star Tribune “Complex and strange . . . Han’s prose moves swiftly, riveted on the scene unfolding in a way that makes this story compulsively readable. . . . [ The Vegetarian ] demands you to ask important questions, and its vivid images will be hard to shake. This is a book that will stay with you.” — St. Louis Post-Dispatch “Dark dreams, simmering tensions, chilling violence . . . This South Korean novel is a feast. . . . It is sensual, provocative and violent, ripe with potent images, startling colors and disturbing questions. . . . Sentence by sentence, The Vegetarian is an extraordinary experience.”— The Guardian

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“I’m Not an Animal Anymore”

Han kang’s mystifying, ecstatic the vegetarian..

Nick Drnaso

A rule of thumb: The more avidly you want an explanation of the meaning behind a powerful and cryptic work of art—from David Lynch’s Mullholland Drive to Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis— the less satisfying and comprehensive the answer can ever be. Sometimes how a book or a film puzzles you—how it may mystify even its own creator—is the main point. The way it keeps slithering out of your grasp. The way it chats with you in the parlor even as it drags something nameless and heavy through the woods out back. The person who made it went off into the dark somewhere and came back holding this beautiful thing, a genuine souvenir. But can even she understand exactly what it is or what it’s for? Relax: You’ll never know. You can never know.

That’s the spirit in which to approach The Vegetarian , a novel by the South Korean writer Han Kang originally published as three linked novellas in her homeland in 2007, and now available in a pristine English translation by Deborah Smith. Although the title character, Yeong-hye, is a woman who suddenly stops eating meat one day, setting off a chain of catastrophes in her otherwise ordinary extended family, The Vegetarian is by no means a book about vegetarianism or the people who practice it and why. What The Vegetarian is about (always keeping in mind the caveat above) is abstention. Yeong-hye would prefer not to . At first she rejects meat, but eventually she will excuse herself from a number of other common human activities, as well. At last she refuses humanity itself.

The first part of this story is narrated by Mr. Cheong, Yeong-hye’s husband, an imperious dullard fully at peace with his own mediocrity. He chooses Yeong-hye because she strikes him as “completely unremarkable in any way” and because he correctly perceives that she will fulfill the duties of a wife without expecting anything more than the perfunctory obligations of a husband in return. She spends most of her time in her room reading. Then one night he finds her standing rapt before the fridge, pulling all of the fleshly contents out of its depths and dumping them into the trash. The only reason Yeong-hye offers for this radical decision: “I had a dream.” His wife’s refusal to eat, to cook, or to permit meat in her house persists to the point that Mr. Cheong fears she is hampering his unbrilliant career, so he appeals to her family. A dreadful scene ensues and Yeong-hye ends up in a psychiatric hospital.

The second part of The Vegetarian is told from the perspective of Yeong-hye’s brother-in-law, a painter and video artist who becomes obsessed with a vision, “the image of a man and woman, their bodies made brilliant with painted flowers, having sex against a background of unutterable silence. … One stripped-down, drawn-out moment of quiet purification, extremity sublimated into some kind of peace.” When he learns that Yeong-hye has a blue birthmark the size and shape of petal, he decides she must be the woman in this dream, and he develops a fixation on her that is equal parts creative and erotic. This shatters his marriage. The last section of the book, viewed through the eyes of Yeong-hye’s older sister, follows the vegetarian’s descent into full-blown madness and the ecstatic belief that she is in the process of becoming a tree.

Perhaps it’s just my own Western upbringing, but the structure of The Vegetarian registers as devotional, a triptych that moves its title character closer and closer to a destructive transcendence that, in turn, infects those closest to her. Yeong-hye’s brother-in-law (never named) irritably vows that the images he wants to make will be much less carnal than an orgiastic video made by the Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama , but the aesthetic of Kusama’s late work haunts The Vegetarian. Kusama makes objects and spaces that look as if they’re in the process of being devoured by biomorphic growths, as well as images in which a figure (usually herself) appears dressed in a seething pattern exactly reproduced in the background behind her. It becomes impossible to detect the borders between one object and another or a person and the space he inhabits . The Vegetarian portrays this sensation intensified to the point of total ego meltdown: How liberating to dissolve into the vast vegetable kingdom, and yet, how frightening.

Park Jaehong

The effect of Kang’s prose is difficult to convey. I’ve scoured The Vegetarian in vain for a passage to quote that will illustrate how the novel transmits a feeling of great stillness even as its characters undergo convulsions of rage, sorrow, and lust. Plucked out of context, however, the sentences look bald and workmanlike: “He was honest to the point of seeming naive; exaggeration or flattery was entirely beyond him. But to her he was always kind, never once raised his voice in anger, and indeed would sometimes give her a look of great respect.” While the characters often don’t understand the source or meaning of their own feelings, they can always identify them, and Kang states them in a straightforward style that will remind many of Haruki Murakami. She also shares with Murakami a fundamental resistance to explanation underlying her propensity for plain talk.

Some reviews of The Vegetarian have insisted on viewing the novel as a piece of social protest, but this seems beside the point, unless the protest is against existence itself. Yeong-hye progresses through three stages of detachment, shedding herself first of the imperative to live up to empty convention, then of desire, and finally of the most primal attachments of blood and compassion. By the time her sister sits down in a hospital chair beside her haggard frame, and Yeong-hye triumphantly announces, “I’m not an animal anymore,” she has gone far past fretting about the pressures on women in Korean society, or any society for that matter. The Vegetarian has an eerie universality that gets under your skin and stays put irrespective of nation or gender. But exactly what its business is there, I would not presume to say.

The Vegetarian by Han Kang, translated by Deborah Smith. Hogarth.

See all the pieces in  the Slate Book Review .

Review: ‘The Vegetarian’ by Han Kang

The Vegetarian by Han Kang, recently published in English translation by Deborah Smith, is an intriguing novella: part cultural survey of modern South Korea, and part investigation of the human agent and its inherent connection to nature. The narrative explores the relationship between Mr Cheong and his wife, Yeong-hye, which becomes more disparate than ever when the latter suddenly elects to rid the house of all meat and become a vegetarian, after having a vivid dream which is slowly revealed to the reader. This dream is just the first of a series of incidents which lead Yeong-hye to disconnect with her family, from whom she becomes gradually isolated due to their disapproval with her increasingly extreme lifestyle choices. The origins of Yeong-hye’s conversion to vegetarianism and the repercussions it has upon herself and those around her remain the central focus across the novel’s three parts. The sections, entitled The Vegetarian , Mongolian Mark , and Flaming Trees , are narrated by the protagonist’s husband, her brother-in-law, and her sister respectively, and each offers a unique dialogue pertaining to Yeong-hye’s actions. Indeed, while this is a novel ostensibly about the vegetarianism of the protagonist, its range extends far further into the lives of her narrating family members, offering musings on their own personal crises and conflicts. What Kang has produced here is a novel that envisions familial conflict within the broader question of human identity, questioning the proximity of mankind to our environment, and the significance of the human body as an object of art.

[The novel] envisions familial conflict within the broader question of human identity, questioning the proximity of mankind to our environment, and the significance of the human body as an object of art

Most significantly, The Vegetarian emerges as a novella of ideas, its wild and beautiful concepts being central to its appeal, and leading it to appear more as work of art than work of fiction. In particular, the mid-section of the novel, Mongolian Mark , is a startlingly beautiful, although also unsettling, exploration of the sensuality of the human form. It takes as its focal point Yeong-hye’s brother-in-law painting with flowers her naked body, in an elaborate representation of her increasing closeness to the natural world. By placing such exquisite and moving images of the human body at the centre of the work, much about Yeong-hye is inferred from the vivid images Kang evokes, instead of emerging more typically through the narrative revelations of other characters. What proves slightly problematic, however, is the ways in which these ingenious concepts and images are played out on the page, with the fixation upon few key concepts occasionally seeming to come at the expense of sophisticated narrative structure. To Kang’s merit, this issue is largely overcome through the tripartite structure, which creates the effect of a series of vignettes, a form generally better suited to the extended elucidation of a central creative idea, removing the need for pace and plot progression. With the suitability of the vignette form in mind, it is of great interest that in recent editions of The Vegetarian the main text has also been accompanied by The Fruit of My Woman , Kang’s short-story precursor to the novel, which considers very similar ideas across only thirty pages. The result is less-impressive than the novella itself, mainly because of the far greater reliance upon the supernatural, and the restrictive brevity of the form, but nevertheless the tale is significant in offering a vision of what The Vegetarian might otherwise have been.

However, for all that The Fruit of My Woman offers a supernatural alternative to the main novella – as Deborah Smith explicitly notes in the introduction to her translation – a palpable otherworldliness is felt across both texts. In spite of the realism of The Vegetarian in terms of plot, it retains the inherent mysticism of its short-story counterpart. There is something about the artistry of the plot, the civility of even the most sensual imagery, that imbues the work with a poetic quality that hints at the fantastical. Kang’s examination of the naked human form and its intimacy with the natural environment is also awarded a magical execution, explored through such curious and unusual images that it truly challenges the limits of the imagination. No doubt the cultural exchange of translation also contributes to the fantasy-feel of this novella in English, offering an unfamiliar, if realistic, setting which spatially distances the Western reader, defying their expectations of realism to offer a new unfamiliar reality.

A conceptual work of art, based around a single compelling idea, The Vegetarian is as beguiling and enticing as it is perplexing and unexpected. Presented with a creative concept overflowing the confines of its novella form, readers will undoubtedly long, as I did, for this intriguing vision of humanity to continue a little longer, yearning for yet more exquisite detail in the artwork Kang weaves.

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The Oxford Culture Review

"i have nothing to say, and i am saying it" – john cage, review: ‘the vegetarian’.

“Before my wife turned vegetarian, I’d always thought of her as completely unremarkable in every way.”

This three-part novel is fairly short. In a sense, it is just about the right length: it is an intense, powerful, and somewhat outlandish story, which has the potential to overwhelm the reader. However, Han’s superb control of the narrative, masterfully conveyed by Smith’s translation, keeps the novel from falling into an overdramatic and crude tone. Three different voices narrate the story: Yeong-hye’s husband, her brother-in-law, and her sister, In-hye. The novel is very much centred around the private, the family environment. If it tells us something about Korean society, it does so by way of reflection: the relationship between Yeong-hye and her husband, as well as between In-hye and hers, give us an idea of a close, patriarchal society, in which social conventions and etiquette are of almost suffocating importance. However, Han herself states , “I feel this novel is more universal, is not protesting Korean society… I just wanted to deal with human violence and the attempt to be purely innocent”.

From the very beginning Yeong-hye is presented as an extremely quiet and almost unnoticeable person. This causes many communication issues between the characters in the novel. Not only Yeong-hye and her husband, but also the rest of her family, including her sister In-hye and her husband, are solitary figures, isolated by the impossibility of communication. This is also one of the reasons why the three parts of the novel felt more connected in my mind than they were on the page: transitions from one part to the other are very abrupt, such that it takes a few pages to realise who is speaking. Strikingly, Yeong-hye has no voice in the novel: silence is her distinctive feature, a condition to which she is relegated. But it’s also one which she chooses, partly creating other people’s inability to understand her.

Her silence is lacerating: it forces the reader to actively try to understand Yeong-hye, just like every other character in the novel tries to do. Silence also influences style: Han Kang’s prose is matter-of-fact, characterised by short and concise sentences. However, precisely because of this concision, it is lyrical and tragic, each sentence carrying a strong, almost epigrammatic force.

The Vegetarian is by no means an easy read. It is a fine, sophisticated novel with a story that is disturbing, troubling, and disquieting, forcing the reader to question the very nature of human life and character. In this sense, The Vegetarian is truly spellbinding and unputdownable: it is gripping and dismaying at the same time, mixing sheer aesthetic beauty and utter psychological and physical distress.

Francesca Beretta

‘The Vegetarian’ is published by Portobello Books, RRP £7.99

We are on Twitter @Oxford_Culture , and on Facebook

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The Best Vegetarian and Vegan Cookbooks, According to Vegetarian and Vegan Chefs

Maybe you’re finally feeling ready to eat a more plant-based diet , but aren’t sure how to prepare vegetables without being totally boring. Perhaps you’ve decided to purge all animal products from your diet, but aren’t sure where to start. Or maybe you’re a longtime vegetarian or vegan who’s just trying to shake up your routine and get a few new recipes under your belt. Whatever your reason for wanting to prepare more plant-based meals, there’s a cookbook that can help, no matter your skill level. To find the best vegetarian and vegan cookbooks , we spoke with plant-focused chefs and cookbook authors about their favorites. We’ve separated their recommendations below into two categories — vegetarian and vegan cookbooks — and each begins with the titles that came up the most before going onto more niche recommendations.

Best vegetarian cookbooks

Best overall vegetarian cookbook.

The recipes by Israeli-born British chef Yotam Ottolenghi were mentioned by a couple of our chefs, including David Lee of Planta , in Miami Beach, and Stacy Seebode , a Michelin-trained private chef, who particularly loves this cookbook. It’s co-authored by Ixta Belfrage, one of Ottolenghi’s former test-kitchen staff, and Seebode explains that “it is truly globally forward and flavored: You will see Korean and Syrian ingredients living harmoniously together, all with texture and ‘of the season’ highlights in one recipe.” She adds: “We have so many similar ingredients (i.e. the French use Espelette, Spanish use Pimenton, Koreans use Gochugaru), and this book reflects exactly that — plant-based dishes with creative, delicious marriages.”

More recommended vegetarian cookbooks

Bryant Terry, the chef-in-residence at San Francisco’s Museum of the African Diaspora and author of Vegetable Kingdom: The Abundant World of Vegan Recipes , told us this cookbook by Deborah Madison was his “go-to reference for meat-free cooking,” when he moved to Brooklyn in 1997 (the same year the cookbook came out). He says it’s just as influential now as it was then: “Madison’s modern approach to working with vegetables continues to inspire my cookbook writing.” Terry started using it as a culinary student and notes the cookbook is great for new and experienced chefs alike. With more than 1,600 recipes, it “provides enough unfussy tips and tools to give culinary novices the confidence to dive into vegetarian cooking, and it is a valuable resource for experienced chefs as well,” according to him. Terry adds that he’s given it as a gift to “to dozens of friends — omnivores, vegetarians, and vegans — and they all have only good things to say about it.”

Seebode’s other favorite vegetarian cookbook is this 2020 one by Shin Kim. “Many people assume Korean cooking is fish- and meat-based and don’t realize that most Korean cooking has roots in solely vegetarian, temple food,” she explains, adding that Kim’s “lack of pretension and minimalist ingredient-list approach” are two things that make the book stand out. “She really has a way of making Korean staple vegetables like perilla, young radish, and eggplant sing,” Seebode says of Kim’s recipes.

Clara Polito Robinson, the author of vegan-dessert cookbook Clara Cakes: Delicious and Simple Vegan Desserts for Everyone! , swears by this Alice Waters tome, calling it “the most resourceful vegetable-cooking dictionary.” Organized alphabetically by vegetable, she says the cookbook makes “creating meals that would be traditionally meat-centric with vegetables less challenging and more exciting.”

“Easy and fantastic” is how chef and restaurateur David Laris describes Allison Day’s bowl-based cookbook. “I am a big fan of the one-bowl dish, especially for lunch, and this is the book for that,” he promises. “It is for people who want to put together great meals on a regular basis and draw from ingredients they should have in a healthy fridge.”

Amy Chaplin’s 2019 cookbook, on the other hand, seems ideal for those who like to entertain. “It’s a bada-bing, bada-boom moment that puts on a show,” according to Claire Olshan, the founder of snack company DADA Daily . The 250 plant-based recipes within are not only gluten-, dairy-, and refined sugar-free, but also happen to look impressive on a plate. “Amy’s recipes bring out the full potential in plant-based food, both aesthetically and culinarily,” says Olshan, who assures they’re “easy to make,” too. Some of her favorites include the dill, mint, and lime zucchini, artichoke tarragon, fennel cilantro, sweet corn and basil, and golden cashew dip with chili and lime. She adds: “My go-to ‘Amy’ entertaining move is to go to the market and buy beautiful and colorful crudite — radishes, baby bok choy, baby fennel, gem lettuces, carrots — and pair it with all the colorful dips she has in the book.”

Chaplin herself, meanwhile, recommends Heidi Swanson’s 2015 book to anyone who sees cooking as a form of travel. “When looking through a cookbook, I want to be transported — whether it be into someone else’s kitchen or to another place entirely. Near and Far does both,” she says. “Heidi takes you to Morocco, Japan, Italy, France, and India, making recipes inspired by the flavors in each country, then brings you back to her kitchen in San Francisco.” Chaplin, a Food52 resident , adds that she has relied on the recipes in this book for more than a decade, telling us they “strike the right balance between decadence and health.”

Amanda Cohen, the chef behind Manhattan’s vegetable-focused restaurant Dirt Candy , says “no one cooking vegetables can afford not to read” The Moosewood Cookbook , which author Mollie Katzen first self-published in 1974. Cohen started using it in college, telling us, “Its approachable recipes were a great way to ease me into the kitchen.” The book, she adds, doubles as a sort of historical document that shows how far vegetarian cooking has come since it debuted. Reflecting on her years spent cooking the book’s recipes “page by page, trying to figure out how to tweak the dishes to make them better,” Cohen told us that “without even knowing it, I became a chef.”

This 2017 book from Jeremy Fox, known for his work at Napa Valley’s Michelin-starred restaurant Ubuntu, includes 160 recipes and is a favorite of Adriana Urbina , a Venezuelan chef and three-time winner of Food Network’s Chopped . “It is very creative and the recipes, ingredients, and plating are inspiring,” she says. Each recipe incorporates “mind-blowing flavors and seasonal ingredients” and is accompanied by “gorgeous photography” that she promises “will make you want to cook every dish you see.” Those recipes, though, “take time and require a bit of prep work,” which is why Urbina recommends it to “more advanced cooks who want to make elevated, vegetable-forward dishes at home.”

Cohen describes this book as less one you can cook your way through and more one you can use to elevate your vegetarian cooking techniques. “I wouldn’t recommend it for first-timers, but if you really want to step up your game, Vegetarian Flavor Bible is what you need,” she says. “It focuses on flavor pairings, like explaining why grapefruit pairs with fennel and arugula, which is the kind of thing that I find invaluable when thinking about recipes.” (Another pairing tidbit from the book that she was especially intrigued by: achiote seeds with coriander.) Putting it another way, Cohen says Page’s 2014 book “rewires how you create dishes — the focus is not on slavishly following steps and measurements, but forcing you to dissect flavor and mouthfeel and making you really think about your food.”

Best vegan cookbooks

Best overall vegan cookbook.

When it comes to vegan cookbooks, two of the chefs we spoke to recommend Raw , which was co-written by Charlie Trotter and Roxanne Klein. One of those chefs is Eric Ripert , a co-owner of Manhattan’s Le Bernardin, who calls the vegan and raw recipes within “special and interesting.” Ripert explains that “it was the first book of its kind that I ever saw use basic techniques for raw vegetables,” adding that its authors “were revolutionary, ahead of their time, and extremely creative.” Raw ’s other fan is the late Tony Mongeluzzi, the former chef at Manhattan vegan restaurant Avant Garden , who recommended this book to us before he died in 2018. When we spoke to him, Mongeluzzi told us he especially appreciated “the skill and technique used in making the recipes” because “it is difficult to make raw food taste good.”

More recommended vegan cookbooks

Adam Sobel, the vegan chef behind the (now-shuttered) Cinnamon Snail food truck , says this cookbook by Robin Robertson is one that any aspiring vegan should check out. “I always direct people who are new to vegan cooking to it because the recipes are so easy to work with and the final results always knock it out of the park,” he says. Even the least experienced vegan cook will find it useful, Sobel assures. “Robin’s recipes make very clever and innately desirable combinations of ingredients and are usually very simple to prepare.”

Another beginner-friendly option for vegan cooks is this collection of Food52 dishes. David Rodriguez, a co-owner of the Butcher’s Daughter vegetarian restaurants, says “the recipes are simple, vibrant, and delicious.” One highlight, according to him, is “the miso soup recipe with shiitakes, soba, and asparagus,” which Rodriguez says “inspired us to bring something similar onto our menu.”

Jenné Claiborne’s book of recipes that put a vegan twist on soul food comes recommended by Isa Chandra Moskowitz, the chef-owner of Modern Love , a vegan restaurant in Brooklyn. “ Sweet Potato Soul includes whole, fresh ingredients — lots of grain, beans, veggies, and, yes, sweet potatoes,” explains Moskowitz, who calls the book “very accessible.” Aside from recipes, the cookbook includes stories and photos throughout, which Moskowitz says makes it fun to read, too. “Cookbooks are bedtime reading for a lot of people, and Jenné’s voice and the beautiful photos are perfect for flipping through when you’re in your jammies thinking about what you’d like to make for dinner.”

This cookbook is one Claiborne herself recommends. She says it “provides a fresh, colorful, and delicious vegan take on Mexican food,” with “easy and approachable recipes.” Three favorites of hers include the “cóctel de champiñón (mushroom cocktail), tacos de yaca al pastor (jackfruit al pastor tacos), and capirotada de xocolate (chocolate bread pudding).”

Moskowitz’s vegan cookbook Veganomicon (co-written with Terry Romero), which first came out in 2007, is a favorite of Canadian cookbook author and food personality Candice Hutchings , who has high praise: “This book taught me how to cook,” Hutchings told us. “It includes basic vegan cooking techniques and a wide range of recipes to suit every dish, flavor, ethnicity, and skill level. I have never had a recipe flop and it is always my go-to cookbook recommendation.” Hutchings explains that it isn’t the most modern approach to vegan cooking, but she still considers it a “vegan bible” that she will forever return to. Hutchings adds that the authors’ “sarcastic humor” makes the cookbook even more engaging.

According to chef Aspen Ng , this is another one of those cookbooks that’ll let vegan chefs travel the world without leaving their kitchens. “Each recipe states the country where the dish originated, so you can dine internationally each day,” he says, promising that “you will always find an interesting dish to try.” Echoing sentiments we’ve heard before, he refers to it as “a bible” that even beginners will find easy to follow. The book is organized by course and may be of particular interest to sweet-tooths because it has a comprehensive dessert section.

Robinson, who told us about Alice Waters’s vegetarian cookbook, says this is her go-to for vegan recipes. She told us the Vegan Stoner’s blog was a resource she relied on all the time when she first went vegan, and that this cookbook by the blog’s creators is “even more intriguing.” Inside are “affordable, delicious recipes and beautiful illustrations” that Robinson says “familiarized me with so many cooking-ingredient staples.” Perhaps not surprisingly, she adds that the cookbook contains “just enough comedic relief to loosen you up and have fun while you’re cooking.”

“Over-the-top, saucy, messy, in your face, and mouthwatering” is how vegan chef and author Chloe Coscarelli describes Dustin Harder’s 2019 book full of “good vegan food.” According to her, it “will make anyone who thinks vegan food is about sprout sandwiches and tofu stir-frys think twice.” That’s because Harder, the host and creator of the vegan culinary-travel series The Vegan Roadie , “matches the most crave-able traditional dishes and one-ups them with a vegan twist,” she explains.

Laris says vegan cooks who are looking to try recipes that are a bit more niche should consider this cookbook by Moon Juice founder Amanda Chantal Bacon . He says it is “so thoughtful and well put-together,” with 75 recipes for snacks, drinks, and sweets, many of which are versions of goodies she sells in her stores. “It not only looks at plant-based cooking but really opens up the reader to a world of so many new techniques and ingredients that should (and must) not only be part of plant-based-eating fans’ diets, but everyone’s.” (Those who really like the sound of it might also be interested in preordering Bacon’s second cookbook , which is set to release in October 2021.)

Brooks Headley, the chef-owner of vegetarian burger joint Superiority Burger, describes this decades-old cookbook much in the way that Cohen described The Moosewood Cookbook : less of a practical, step-by-step manual and more of a “hippie vegan cooking manifesto.” When it debuted in 1975, it was the first meat-, dairy-, and egg-free cookbook published in the United States. Created by members of The Farm, a community in rural Tennessee, Headley describes it as “a classic of the genre and a really fun time capsule of mid-1970s vegan cookery.” While he admits you will “probably need to zing up the recipes with supplemental olive oil, chili flakes, farmers’ market vegetables, and vinegar,” he says that the recipes within are “prepared with ingredients you understand and can recognize.”

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The 12 Best Vegetarian Cookbooks of All Time

By Ali Francis

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This list of the best vegetarian cookbooks of all time has been decades in the making. While meat and fish still reign supreme in many American households, chefs and cookbook authors around the country have increasingly been jumping on the veggie bandwagon—proving that plant-based cuisine can be more than those ’70s-bred, earthy stereotypes of dense carob chip muffins and seitan “bacon” would have us believe. 

Animal and environmental welfare, as well as general human health, are all good reasons for home cooks to eat less meat and experiment with veg and vegan cooking. But so is taste: As you cook your way through these exceptional plant-based recipes, you’ll learn to layer new and old techniques, textures, and flavor pairings to better harness the limitless potential of veggies. Full of wisdom and troves of practical information, they’re worthy of a spot in your cookbook collection—at the ready whenever you’re looking for an interesting way to prepare that rogue rutabaga in your crisper drawer or a make-ahead dinner party dish to feed a crowd. Read on for the 12 best vegetarian cookbooks, according to BA staff and contributors. 

World-of-the-East Vegetarian Cooking by Madhur Jaffrey

When I was just a young tween, I went through a samosa phase spurred by my Indian food fixation and the illustrated step-by-step guides in this 1981 book. The brilliant Madhur Jaffrey has authored 30 cookbooks (and some children’s books too—what can’t this woman do?), but somehow the one I own that’s cracked at the binding is her second, World-of-the-East Vegetarian Cooking . It covers an almost comically large swath of the planet, from Bali to Japan to India to Iran, making the meticulously researched headnotes and vegetarian dishes all the more amazing. Once I grew out of my samosa stage, I explored the rest of the table of contents—shredded cabbage with mustard seeds and fresh coconut, hijiki with sweet potatoes, and black-eyed pea pancakes. There are enough veg and vegan recipes in here to last me at least another 40 years. — Sarah Jampel, contributor

World-of-the-East Vegetarian Cooking

Tenderheart by Hetty Lui McKinnon

This approachable tome of vegetarian recipes will teach you how to make fruits and vegetables taste really, really good. The dishes are doable for just about every culinary skill level and use few ingredients—many of which are inspired by Lui McKinnon’s Chinese Australian upbringing. It’s also an ode to her late father and a moving reminder of the ways food helps us all stay connected to the ones we love most, especially when they’re gone. Weeknight-friendly hits like a flaky Asian greens galette topped with browned feta, a whole head of garlicky confit broccoli, and cheesy baked rice cakes with kale will satisfy your stomach, while musings on loss, grief, and family will fill up your heart. Packed with interesting-yet-approachable ways to use vegetables, this delicious book of true comfort food represents everything we’ve come to expect from Lui McKinnon’s coveted recipes . Whenever I’m in a cooking funk,  Tenderheart is the first place I’ll go for a jolt of inspiration. — Ali Francis, staff writer

Tenderheart

Afro-Vegan  by Bryant Terry

Bryant Terry’s mission —not just in this book but in his career as a whole—is to honor and shine light on the culinary history of the African diaspora and to show that African and Afro-diasporic ingredients and techniques are inherently healthy, no adaptation necessary. The whole food recipes in this book brilliantly fuse flavors and ingredients from Africa, the Caribbean, and the American South: Think tofu curry with mustard greens, muscovado-roasted plantains, chermoula tempeh bites, and curried scalloped potatoes with coconut milk. And since each recipe comes with a song, you don’t even have to think about your cooking playlist. — S.J.

Salad Seasons by Sheela Prakash

It’s true that I’ve been publicly critical of the humble salad in my time, triggered by too many sub-par bowls of flaccid leaves and flavorless tomatoes. But that’s well before I discovered food writer and registered dietician Sheela Prakash’s vibrant new book, which makes a compelling argument that the season for salad is…all of them. While not  strictly  meatless, fresh produce is the clear star of each recipe. From dead-of-winter cabbage to bursting summer sweetcorn,  Salad Seasons teaches you how to turn whatever produce is around into truly great dishes. This month, I’ll be making a herby ranch yogurt for my market haul of springy little gem lettuces and charring some leeks and asparagus to serve with jammy eggs . Yes, I have already earmarked the Mediterranean-style smoky grilled eggplant showered in feta and mint and the herb-packed farro tabbouleh piled high on a cloud of whipped tahini to make this summer. Salad, I’m sorry I ever doubted you. — A.F.

Salad Seasons

Fresh India  by Meera Sodha

A few years ago for my birthday, friends from many parts of my life came together to throw me a surprise party. Who, me?! I was shocked, thrilled, and grateful—even more so when I realized that everyone had cooked a dish from  Fresh India , a book I’ve been obsessed with since it was published in 2016. It’s like the vegetarian sequel to UK–based Meera Soha’s first book,  Made in India : a personal account of the fresh, easy recipes Sodha cooks at home. Favorites include the Goan butternut squash cafreal (which inspired this recipe for Squash With Yogurt Sauce and Frizzled Onions ); paneer butter masala; cauliflower korma with blackened raisins, and spinach, tomato; and chickpea curry. — S.J.

Fresh India

Plenty More by Yotam Ottolenghi

Israeli-born British chef, restaurateur, and food writer Yotam Ottolenghi has published enough cookbooks (10) to make him a household name, but it’s his 2014 hit,  Plenty More , that I cook from most. Whenever I’m hosting or bringing dishes to the house of a carnivorous friend, I know there’s something hearty, exciting, and crowd-pleasing to be found in those olive oil-stained pages. The book is organized by common cooking techniques, such as “Steamed,” “Baked,” or “Sweetened,” and brims with innovative tips that make for some seriously flavorful plant-based eating. After I’ve nailed the formulas for each globally-inspired dish—like my favorite bouncy, savory cauliflower cake or an Indian-inspired ratatouille with cardamom and curry leaves—I’ll make substitutions with whatever produce I have lying around. If you’re looking for recipes that’ll please omnivores and meat-abstainers alike, this book is for you. — A.F.

Plenty More

Power Vegetables!  by Peter Meehan and the Editors of Lucky Peach

R.I.P. Lucky Peach , and thank you so much for leaving us with this wacky, weird, and wonderful cookbook proving that, yes, vegetarian food can be fun, too. The LP team set some smart constraints that pushed them (and, me) to be more creative. Pastas and egg-on-it grain bowls were not permissible (I can figure those out myself), but fish (in the form of anchovies and fish sauce) and dairy were fair game. Now, I keep a bottle of pomegranate molasses in the pantry so I can make muhammara whenever I want it, and the pappa al pomodoro (made with dried-out English muffins!),  spanakorizo , and zucchini mujadara are in my regular plant-based cooking rotation. — S.J.

Lucky Peach Presents Power Vegetables!

Moosewood Cookbook: 40th Anniversary Edition  by Mollie Katzen

“Of a time” is how my parents always describe this book, which is a classic representation of a certain era of hippie-style, cottage cheese-heavy vegetarian meals in the US. First published in 1977 as a collection of recipes from the Moosewood Restaurant in Ithaca, New York, it’s handwritten and illustrated, with recipes like mushroom moussaka, broccoli strudel, and gado gado that draw from many parts of the world. So what if it’s not the most hyped-up, 2023-feeling cookbook; that’s what I like about it. It feels like I’m cooking from a zine. The food is neither too sexy, serious, nor sophisticated—it’s open to my tweaks and whimsies and perfect for cooking in sweatpants for my closest friends. — S.J.

The Moosewood Cookbook: 40th Anniversary Edition

The Mexican Vegetarian Cookbook  by Margarita Carrillo Arronte

Margarita Carrillo Arronte’s in-depth follow-up to  Mexico: The Cookbook features over 400 foolproof recipes that show how vegetable-diverse Mexican food is across every region. I made a homey and simple poblano and pea soup that I froze and defrost as a comfort lunch. I flagged an almond mole that you spoon over broiled portobello mushrooms. Spicy cauliflower enchiladas, bright green veggie pozole, savory carrot soufflé, a sweet tomatillo tart—I’ve got my year cut out for me. — Alex Beggs, contributor

The Mexican Vegetarian Cookbook: 400 Authentic Everyday Recipes for the Home Cook

The Modern Cook’s Year by Anna Jones

When I’m in a rut, this is first the book I flip through, knowing I’m guaranteed to land on something delicious-sounding. It’s organized by season, with 250 recipes for snacks, breakfasts, desserts, and, of course, dinners that run the gamut from aspirational (a “wedding-worthy” tomato tarte tatin) to more realistic (chard pasta with ricotta). There isn’t a recipe I haven’t bookmarked: pistachio and ricotta dumplings with peas and herbs; black sesame noodle bowls; miso-roasted squash and potatoes with kale; yellow split pea soup with green olives; chard, lentil, and bay leaf gratin; velvety squash broth with miso and soba. The recipes often rely a little on instinct—but with ideas and flavor combos this good, I’m happy to forgive a couple overlooked details. Just as valuable as the recipes are the supplementary informational spreads, like a guide to brewing herbal infusions , using the freezer to its full potential, making curry paste, assembling  sheet-pan dinners , and composing hearty salads. — S.J.

The Modern Cook's Year

Six Seasons: A New Way With Vegetables by Joshua McFadden

In McFadden’s book, mushrooms, cabbage, and even kohlrabi are described as “sexy.” An in-season tomato is capable of “moving your soul.” Yeah, there’s some meat in the mix, but the veggie flavors are big: Capers and garlic jump-start roasted turnips, and tomatoes are marinated in falafel spice and zapped with herb-packed yogurt. The recipes are layered and complex, despite their apparent simplicity. What will really change your vegetable cooking is McFadden’s approach to seasoning, learned in part from Mona Talbott at the American Academy in Rome: Add the acid and seasoning before the oil when making salads and many veg dishes, tasting and tinkering to get it just right before you stir in the lubricant to “carry and marry all the other flavors,” writes coauthor Martha Holmberg. Read this book and you’ll never look at cabbage the same way again. — Christine Muhlke, contributor

Six Seasons: A New Way with Vegetables

Power Plates  by Gena Hamshaw

I’ll argue with anyone who insists that a vegetarian diet can’t be a nutritionally-balanced one (I get enough protein, okay?). But I will concede that it does take a bit of mindfulness to make sure that a meat-free meal is satisfying; otherwise, I’ll eat a bowl of creamy pasta for dinner, then wonder why I’m hungry an hour later. Which is where Gena Hamshaw comes in. A registered dietician, Hamshaw offers 100 recipes that contain the right mix of macronutrients (protein, carbohydrates, fat) to feel nourishing. That means that when I make her smoky red lentil stew with chard or pudla with spicy sautéed spinach or charred broccoli salad with freekeh and spring herbs, I don’t have to make any additional elements—it’s all there. Even when I’m not cooking from Gena’s book, her voice (“does your meal include a fat, protein, and carbohydrate?”) gives me the direction I need to put together something smart. — S.J.

Power Plates

Looking for vegan cookbooks?

This article was originally published in 2020 and was updated in 2023.

A Book Review on Han Kang’s The Vegetarian

Through exploring the complexity of desires and individualism in the South Korean society, Han Kang questions human nature through a story about a woman who becomes a vegetarian.

If we reduce our desire, a medium for power and satisfaction, will we be able to avoid being controlled by it to the extent where we could harm others so that we could live a blameless life?

This is the question proposed by the South Korean author Han Kang in her novel, The Vegetarian . The story follows the life of Yeong-hye, a part-time graphic artist and housewife who wakes up one day and decides to stop eating meat after having nightmares about animals slaughter and human cruelty. This sudden change of lifestyle affects her relationships with the people in her life. Han Kang uses the action of quitting meat to question the concept of violence and if it is possible to put an end to human brutality. Instead of giving absolute answers, she tends to give the readers the space to decide for themselves.

The novel consists of three parts; “The Vegetarian”, “Mongolian Mark”, and “Flaming Trees”. Each part deals with Yeong-hye’s unsteady relationships with one of her family members. Han Kang purposely makes the three parts narrated by anyone but Yeong-hye herself even though it’s her own life we’re reading about. This storytelling method reinforces the lack of humans’ ability to have an objective perception regarding the people in their lives. We’re often caught up with ideas of other people that were created by our subconscious, fueled by our desires. Although desire makes us move forward and helps us find our direction and meaning for our lives, the paradoxical nature of desire isn’t something to overlook. It can make us ego-centric while attempting to satisfy it, as we can see while reading The Vegetarian .

Another topic questioned in the novel is individualism. Individualism is a complex dilemma within the South Korean society. Becoming a vegetarian is perceived as a disturbance of the harmony, rather than freedom of choice, in a society where meat plays an important role in its cuisine, and sharing meals nourishes intimate relationships. This is emphasized in the changes that occur to the relationship dynamics between Yeong-hye and her family members, especially her father, who resembles a traditional South Korean figure whose anger is triggered by his daughter’s individualistic decision.

Thus, individualism is usually threatened in a society like the South Korean, where the group’s welfare is highly prioritized. Such commitment to collectivism can force the person to hide their identity; otherwise, they’ll be subjected to criticism or violence, because their individualistic characteristics are deemed as an act of rejection of traditions and unity. According to the Korean Vegetarian Union, the number of vegetarians is estimated to be 1.5 million, which takes up about only 3% of the Korean population, making them a minority. Lee Won-bok, the head of the organization, said that he’d seen people quit their jobs or end their relationships since their decision to become a vegetarian makes them feel abandoned within the society [i] [ii] .

Having won the Man Booker International Prize in 2016 for The Vegetarian , Han Kang made a name for herself internationally despite having released the novel back in 2007, partly thanks to her English translator Deborah Smith.

References:

[i] https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2010/08/11/features/The-challenges-and-rewards-of-being-vegetarian-in-Korea/2924525.html

[ii] http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20170616000617#:~:text=%E2%80%9CWith%20the%20advent%20of%20the,of%20the%20Korea%20Vegetarian%20Union

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• What to Buy

The 11 Best Vegetarian Cookbooks of 2024

No meat? No problem

Spruce Eats / Jaclyn Mastropasua

With a planet full of fruits, veggies, nuts, beans, and grains to choose from, there are lots of different ways to eat vegetarian—and there are hundreds of vegetarian cookbooks out there for the aspiring plant-based cook, offering thousands of meatless recipes. It can be overwhelming, whether you're a dedicated full-time vegetarian or omnivore looking to enjoy meatless meals once in a while.

Well, we're here to help. We've assembled this list of some of the best vegetarian cookbooks, from an encyclopedic tome and an old-school classic to a marvel of 21st-century creativity and a fun guide for kids. These titles make plant-based eating simple and appealing for anyone.

• What to Look for

Why Trust The Spruce Eats?

Best overall, the complete vegetarian cookbook.

The always-reliable America’s Test Kitchen does it again with another comprehensive (700 recipes!) and trustworthy kitchen resource for meatless meals. To sweeten the deal, 300 of those dishes require 45 minutes or less, 500 are gluten-free, and 250 are vegan—all clearly labeled within the book. Packed full of photos, the book not only makes the recipes look delicious, but it also illustrates key techniques with step-by-step instructions.

The introduction details pantry and equipment essentials, offers knife lessons, and includes a lengthy produce guide. Whether you’re a strict vegetarian or not, recipes like summer vegetable gratin; twice-baked potatoes with broccoli, cheddar, and scallions; and frittata with asparagus and goat cheese will have you returning to this book time and time again.

Pages: 472 | Recipes: 700 | Published: 2015

As with all things kitchen-related, Martha Stewart’s guidance for meatless cooking is spot-on. The more than 200 recipes in this book are helpfully grouped into themed menus, which is a great help to choose a meal by mood or season. For example, the Fall Harvest Feast features stuffed acorn squash with quinoa and pistachios, plus mushroom, spinach, and scallion tart, while the Summer Farmer's Market Lunch offers smooth tomato gazpacho , and zucchini “pasta” with tomatoes and walnuts.

The book's informative introduction covers “protein powerhouses” to educate readers about the many sources of plant-based proteins , and every single recipe has a photo, which is helpful for the first time you make a dish and aren't quite sure what it's supposed to look like. Another nice feature is the extensive small-plates section: You're meant to mix and match these dips and apps to create multi-course meals.

Pages: 384 | Recipes: more than 200 | Published: 2013

Best New Release

Vegetarian soul food cookbook.

Soul food is comforting. A bowl of gumbo , red beans and rice, collards, or Brunswick stew is perfect for bad weather (or a bad mood). Those items all typically use pork for fat and flavor, but Alexia Wilkerson's vegetarian versions amp up taste without meat. The North Carolina–born, Atlanta-based YouTube star known as Just Lexx shares her authentically Southern recipes in this book. It's got everything from grits to mac and cheese , as well as some fun vegetarian swaps for mushroom-based fried "chicken," chickpea "meatloaf" and even "barbecue" sliders.

Pages: 134 | Recipes: 75 | Published: 2022

Best for Quick Meals

The 30-minute vegetarian cookbook.

For someone who loves to cook, spending hours in the kitchen working on a complex recipe can be a joy—when you have time to spend hours in the kitchen. That's not the case most weeknights, and this book's 100 recipes will ensure you have a satisfying meal on the table in under the titular half hour. The ingredients lists top out around 10 items, but there's an international variety of flavors including Caribbean sweet potato soup, Indian lemon dal, and Indonesian-style fried tempeh.

You'll find clever swaps such as spaghetti Bolognese made with mushrooms, and some extravagant creations like a jalapeño popper–topped pizza. The book doesn't even overlook dessert, with brownies, pistachio-cashew halva, and more. All the recipes here are vegetarian, and many are fully vegan , with easy-to-reference labels for other dietary preferences: gluten-free, soy-free, nut-free, dairy-free, etc.

Pages: 220 | Recipes: 100 | Published: 2019

Best for Beginners

Simply vegetarian cookbook.

The name of the game with this book is simplicity, because, as author Susan Pridmore puts it: “There are enough things to be stressed about in life. Dinner shouldn’t be one of them.” Instead of organizing by ingredient or cuisine, "Simply Vegetarian Cookbook" arranges its recipes by what makes them simple. There's a chapter for five-ingredient recipes and another for meals that take 30 minutes or less, as well as one-pot recipes and ones designed for slow cookers or pressure cookers (aka Instant Pots ).

A wide variety of international flavors are represented here, with dishes like chickpea gyros, cornbread-topped skillet chili, and butternut-barley risotto that will appeal to vegetarians and omnivores. An educational introduction also breaks down vegetarian protein sources , provides carb swaps, and includes a produce cooking guide.

Pages: 228 | Recipes: 100+ | Published: 2018

Best Mediterranean

Vegetarian mediterranean cookbook.

The Mediterranean diet emphasizes whole grains, fresh produce, and olive oil, so it's not hard to find flavorful vegetarian dishes from the region. This book's recipes demonstrate the true variety that can be found around the Mediterranean, however, with Moroccan tagines, Middle Eastern hummus, Italian pasta, and lots more. But it's also designed with ease in mind, using produce and pantry ingredients you should be able to find at any American supermarket.

Author Sanaa Abourezk is something of an expert on Mediterranean food, with four cookbooks under her belt, as well as a restaurant in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. In fact, she wrote an earlier book on gluten-free vegetarian Mediterranean food if you're looking for even more of her recipes.

Pages: 202 | Recipes: 125+ | Published: 2020

Best Fusion

Mumbai modern.

Mumbai-born Amisha Dodhia Gurbani is a recipe developer and food photographer who found online fame with her blog Jam Lab before publishing this debut cookbook. As the name suggests, it's a mix of flavors from two different west coasts: India's, where Gurbani grew up, and California's, where she's lived since 1999. Think combos like pudla (a thin Gujarati pancake made from chickpea flour) topped with fresh cabbage-carrot slaw, and tiramisu flavored with rose and masala chai.

Gurbani's unique perspective creates some truly inspired fusion dishes, including breakfast naan pizza, aloo tikki arancini with saffron aioli, and pear-masala cinnamon rolls; all the recipes being meatless is merely a side benefit. We love the personal touches in the cookbook, like stories of the author's mother and how she inspired (and passed down) many of the recipes. The numerous sumptuous photos are another big plus, and they were shot by Gurbani herself.

Pages: 400 | Recipes: 100+ | Published: 2021

Best Classic

The moosewood cookbook.

In 1974, the chef of a small vegetarian restaurant in Upstate New York hand-wrote, illustrated, and self-published a spiral-bound notebook of its recipes. Nearly half a century (and many, many printings) later, Mollie Katzen's "The Moosewood Cookbook" is an absolute classic, and one of the things that moved plant-based cooking into the American mainstream.

Known for its "crunchy" aesthetic, this book looks pure '70s. But the Moosewood philosophy was ahead of its time in its emphasis on fresh, local, and in-season produce as well as its use of tofu, non-dairy milks, miso, and other ingredients 21st-century vegetarians take for granted. This 40th-anniversary edition reproduces the original in all its hippy-dippy glory (except the spiral binding), with a new introduction from Katzen. It deserves a spot in any cookbook library next to other all-time favorites like "The Joy of Cooking."

Pages: 256 | Recipes: 200+ | Published: 2014

Best Photography

Plenty more.

Following up on the award-winning " Plenty ," London chef Yotam Ottolenghi's second meatless cookbook is packed with stunning, vibrant photography that will inspire anyone to get in the kitchen and eat more vegetables. Full of bold flavors from all over the planet, the book is cleverly organized by cooking method, with chapters including “Braised,” “Grilled,” and “Tossed."

Recipes such as ricotta pancakes with gooseberry relish create delicious ways to use fruits and veggies in early breakfasts, all the way until your evening dessert of meringue roulade with rose petals and fresh raspberries. These refined, elegant, and restaurant-worthy dishes will expand your horizon, showing vegetarianism goes way beyond basic salads.

Pages: 352 | Recipes: more than 150 | Published: 2014

"Remixed" is really a perfect word to describe the dishes in this cookbook from chef and food activist Bryant Terry. It takes ingredients and techniques from the African, Caribbean, and North American cuisines that all contribute to the food of the South and combines them in clever and tasty ways—no animal products required. Terry's flaky, coconut oil–based Jamaican patties are filled with maque choux, a Cajun mix of peppers, tomato, and sweet corn. Other recipes include a Moroccan tagine with America-native sweet potato and Lima beans, and black-eyed pea sliders with Ethiopian berbere spices.

But what we love perhaps just as much as the food is that each dish comes accompanied by one or more soundtrack suggestions. The cookbook doubles as a massive playlist including artists from all three regions it covers: Tinariwen, Bob Marley, A Tribe Called Quest, and lots more. Don't skip the dessert and drinks chapters at the end, either. The coconut rice pudding with nectarines and the sweet-spicy red summer watermelon cocktail are particular faves.

Pages: 224 | Recipes: 100+ | Published: 2014

Best for Kids

The vegetarian cookbook for kids.

One of the best ways to get kids (and even picky eaters) to love food is to get them in the kitchen to help cook it. In this book, former preschool teacher Jamaica Stevens offers dozens of meatless recipes that littles will not only enjoy, but can also cook by themselves. The book's step-by-step instructions are designed to give 8- to 12-year-olds the confidence and skills to make these dishes with minimal adult supervision. (Grown-ups can, of course, still help with more dangerous steps, like chopping and sautéing.)

Though the procedures and ingredients involved are fairly basic, the dishes get pretty fancy: Kids will be making baked frittata muffins , grilled cheese sandwiches with cauliflower soup, and even from-scratch veggie burgers . That said, there are simple meals, too, with plenty of recipes requiring under 30 minutes, fewer than five ingredients, or just one pot.

Pages: 122 | Recipes: 50+ | Published: 2021

The title of " The Complete Vegetarian Cookbook " absolutely does not lie: This comprehensive guide is our top recommendation. For creative Southern classics sans meat, the recently published " Vegetarian Soul Food Cookbook " is our favorite new book.

What to Look for in a Vegetarian Cookbook

As with any kind of cookbook, a vegetarian cookbook might be targeted at complete beginners, trained professionals, or anybody between. When choosing one, consider your own level of experience and the amount of time you want to dedicate to cooking: Are you looking for 10-minute one-pan dinners or weekend-long adventures? You can find both, but not likely in the same book.

Ingredient Restrictions

"Vegetarian" means different things to different people, so it's a good idea to make sure a cookbook's definition lines up with your own. None of the books above use meat in any form, but many do use eggs, milk, and cheese. It's easy enough to avoid individual recipes that call for ingredients you don't want to eat, but a vegetarian who avoids dairy probably won't be a big fan of a vegetarian cookbook that uses lots of dairy.

What exactly is a vegetarian diet?  

That varies from vegetarian to vegetarian! There's no one single definition, but in general, a vegetarian diet avoids meat, especially pork, lamb, and beef. Beyond that, there are lots of different forms of vegetarian diets. A vegan diet (more details below) is a strict form of vegetarianism that cuts out all animal products. Lacto-ovo-vegetarians consume dairy products and eggs, while lacto-vegetarians eat dairy but not eggs, and ovo-vegetarians eat eggs but not dairy. Other vegetarian -ish diets allow certain types of meat: Pescatarians eat fish but avoid poultry and red meat, and "flexitarians" generally avoid meat but indulge once in a while.

What is the difference between vegan and vegetarian?

A vegan diet is a vegetarian diet—an especially strict one. Vegans do not consume animal products in any form. This obviously includes meat, poultry, seafood, eggs, and all dairy products, but lots of other foods include animal-derived ingredients that are not so obvious: gelatin, for example, is made from animal bones, and many wines and beers are clarified using egg white or a protein that comes from fish. Some vegans—but not all—also avoid honey and any foods that contain it.

It's often tough to spot animal-based ingredients, especially in packaged foods, so if you plan to follow a vegan diet, you might want to look for a certification from one of several organizations that verify the vegan status of different kinds of foods.

This roundup was assembled and updated by a group of The Spruce Eats' experienced food writers: Alyssa Langer , Rachel Werner , Lacey Muinos , and Jason Horn . They encompass one vegan, one vegetarian, two lifelong omnivores, and a truly extensive collective cookbook library.

Rachel Werner is a writer and author whose work has appeared in Fabulous Wisconsin, Entrepreneurial Chef, and the book "Wisconsin Cocktails."

The Weekday Vegetarians: 100 Recipes and a Real-Life Plan for Eating Less Meat: A Cookbook

Jenny rosenstrach.

256 pages, Hardcover

Published August 31, 2021

About the author

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• Karin Shimoo
• Jan 5, 2023

The Vegetarian – Book Review

“Her skinny collarbones; her breasts […] her visible ribcage; her parted thighs, their position incongruously un-sexual …”

Like a car sharply turning a corner, a defining moment for my femininity came after reading Han Kang’s The Vegetarian . The book was a casual suggestion by a long-time friend, and I was so oblivious to the effect the book would have on me and my self-image when I opened the softcover for the first time at a station bench. I remained planted there, on that silly and cold bench, as it immersed me in its world, chewed me up, and spat me out: raw and hurt, but also awake for the first time.

Set in Korea, The Vegetarian follows the tale of a woman who wakes up one day and becomes vegetarian, led on by a strange dream. Unable to embrace this change, her husband miserably tries and fails to “fix her”. What started as an attempt to redirect her dietary preferences transpires into a twisted ordeal – involving her parents, her sister, her brother-in-law, a couple of hospital visits, dangerous pursuits of sexual fantasies, betrayal, forgiveness, abandonment, and womanhood. As a novel, it is certainly “entertaining”, as I was never left bored (unless you count the woman’s husband’s lack of imagination and simplicity but that is another story).

Yet The Vegetarian cannot and should not be read for entertainment, but for those who do, their sense of self will be violated, intruded, and prodded around with a hot fork and pulled apart like zucchini spaghetti. This was certainly how I felt. Because to me, the book's core was a literary representation of what I had been feeling for a long time.

As an Asian young “woman” (though I feel too young to claim to be) raised in the Western world, concepts of what femininity looks like are complex. I do not have the curves I see in others and often feel like a small toothpick. My height rewards me with the label “cute” in the Western world, while I see women my age being called “beautiful women”. In a self-inducing way, I struggle to imagine myself as a grown woman. Meanwhile, in Asian spheres, my attitude and mindset have been looked down upon for being too risqué, too dangerous, or perhaps too easy. But the moment I became more reserved, just as I had been told, people told me I became boring, like a grandma, sitting at home and counting her days. It seems like I can never be grown enough, never feminine enough, too young, too old …

Being wedged between the Western and Eastern interpretations of femininity, The Vegetarian was an experience that allowed me to face these submerged contradictions for the first time. The book’s exploration of the male gaze, social pressure, love, sex, comfort, violence, acceptance, and its influence on women’s relationships with one another all struck a chord inside me in one way or another.

For a few days after closing the book, I was in a daze, wanting to recommend the book to all my friends but unsure of whether it was right for me to impel them to open boxes they may not be ready or want to open. In the end, I chose not to (except for my best friend, I had to, sorry). So, I would recommend this book to anyone, no matter your gender, who is ready to stare in the mirror and really count their insecurities and acknowledge what part you play in the whole game of love, intimacy, and sex. And for that, you’ll love it and hate it.

Kang, H., 2016. The Vegetarian . Hogarth.

Edited by Emiru Okada

Graphic by Satomi Shikano

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10 best vegetarian cookbooks: Meat-free meals for your recipe repertoire

It's a great time to be a herbivore , and these new releases, packed full of diverse and delicious recipes, prove it, article bookmarked.

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The demand for vegetarian recipes has grown hugely over the past few years.

While many people are shifting to an entirely meat-free diet, loads of us just want to up our intake of health-giving veg and save those steaks for special occasions.

Sustainability and cost are also nudging home cooks towards more fruit and veg-based meals: as we become more aware of the ethical concerns and impact on the planet that meat production throws up, we’ve come to realise that we can shrink our carbon footprint and our food budget by focusing a little less on animals and more on plants.

We’ve chosen these books because they all show that leaving out meat or fish doesn’t limit how exciting or satisfying meals can be. They’re as practical, approachable and intriguing to meat-eaters as they will be to long-time veggies, their pages lined with imaginative, novel recipes.

Easy-to-find ingredients and fuss-free methods reign supreme among these recipe collections, making them really accessible and great for everyday dinners. Get ready to add some new veg-based dishes to your weekly meal rotation.

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• 8 best vegan cookbooks for easy plant-based recipes
• 10 best sustainable cookbooks to help you reduce your food waste

The best vegetarian cookbooks 2022:

• Best overall – One Pot, Pan, Planet, by Anna Jones, £18.34, Wordery.com
• Best for keeping track of your nutrition – Veg by Jamie Oliver, £12, Argos.co.uk
• Best for indian-inspired feasts – Fresh India by Meera Sodha , £13.99, Amazon.co.uk
• Best for gluten-free options – River Cottage Much More Veg by Hugh Fernley Whittingstall, £20.38, Agreatread.co.uk
• Best for barbecuing – Charred by Genevieve Taylor, £12.18, Onbuy.com
• Best for asian inspired meals – East by Meera Sodha, £13.99, Blackwells.co.uk
• Best for fuss-free cooking – The Green Roasting Tin by Rukmini Iyer, £10, Amazon.co.uk
• Best for practicality and batch cooking – Green by Elly Curshen, £17.99, Blackwells.co.uk
• Best for meals to impress – Ottolenghi Flavour , by Yotam Ottolenghi and Ixta Belfrage, £17.61 Amazon.co.uk
• Best for using store cupboard staples– Bazaar by Sabrina Ghayour, £15.98, Amazon.co.uk

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‘One Pot, Pan, Planet’, by Anna Jones, published by Fourth Estate

• Best : Overall

This inspiring and thoughtful recipe collection is gentle in its meat-free stance – it’s not billed as a vegetarian cookbook at all. The focus is on flavour, sustainability and affordability as opposed to vegetarianism. Meat and fish just happen to not be needed, thanks very much. The recipes have been designed for modern (read: time-poor, curious and often rut-inhabiting) home cooks, meaning they avoid fuss and complexity and embrace speed and ease. Most can be cooked in one pot, pan or tray and with a modest investment of time.

That said, there are some slightly more involved, fancier dishes peppered throughout too, for when you’re not against the clock or you want to impress your pals. There are pages filled with short and concise ideas for using up budget-friendly but commonly wasted vegetables as well – from potatoes to cauli and squash. By looking at the gorgeous photography, you’d never guess these dishes were so low maintenance – and your dinner guests won’t, either.

‘Veg’ by Jamie Oliver, published by Michael Joseph

Best: For keeping track of your nutrition

You’ll just find unadulterated recipes in this book – from cauliflower tikka masala to roasted black bean burgers and summer tagliatelle – with no introductions or culinary philosophising. Each is no longer than a page (most are considerably shorter) and every single one sits opposite a bright, full-size image, so you know exactly what you’re aiming for. If your mission to eat more veggie meals is motivated by the pursuit of health, then you might find all the nutritional stats at the bottom of each recipe helpful. There are plenty of low fat, low calorie dishes that come packed with the good stuff. While there’s not a scrap of meat or fish here, animal products aren’t totally absent – a couple of ingredients such as parmesan (which contains animal rennet) are in attendance, although they’re clearly marked for anyone wanting to steer away from them. If you often run low in confidence in the kitchen, know that the methods here leave no room for error. While helpful hints will offer ways to change dishes up or how to substitute ingredients if needed, they don’t distract from the straightforward approach.

‘Fresh India’ by Meera Sodha, published by Fig Tree

Best: For indian-inspired feasts

With a family hailing from Gujarat – an Indian state with a millennia-old vegetarian food culture – and a childhood spent in an English farming village, Meera brings together the best of both culinary worlds in this veg-led Indian cookbook. Using the resourcefulness and ingenuity her Indian mother put into practice when she moved to the UK in the ‘70s, Meera has come up with a catalogue of fresh-tasting and happily achievable Indian-inspired recipes that make the most of British-grown ingredients (with the odd easy-to-find Indian staple thrown in too). Darjeeling momos are stuffed with shredded carrot, cabbage, spring onion and paneer, while cauliflower korma with blackened raisins breathes new life into the humble brassica. Recipes are really easy to follow and avoid speciality ingredients and equipment, making them an ideal way for UK home cooks to take vegetables in all kinds of new directions and inject some serious punch into mealtimes.

‘River Cottage Much More Veg’ by Hugh Fernley Whittingstall, published by Bloomsbury

Best: For gluten-free options

 As opposed to avoiding meat or dairy, these recipes are instead about packing our plates with as many fresh, vibrant and nutritious vegetables as possible. So, while animal products aren’t criticised or scoffed at, they remain absent from the pages – as do bread, pasta, pastry and other refined flour products – to allow vegetables to sit right at the centre of each meal. This inclusive book, then, is not only a great shout for vegetarians but also vegans and those with gluten intolerances. The main meals, salads, soups, sides and small plates here reimagine popular veggies, seeing them prepped and cooked in new and tempting ways and showing off their versatility and appeal. Lesser-used grains are given a deserving platform too – such as pearled spelt, which is put to work in a pea, lemon and hazelnut riff on risotto.

‘Charred’ by Genevieve Taylor, published by Quadrille

Best: For barbecuing

Whether you’re a vegetarian or meat-eater, Charred can revolutionise your barbecues. No longer will you automatically reach for the burgers and sausages when you light those coals, and nor will corn on the cob or halloumi be your vegetarian go-to's (unless, perhaps they appear in Mexican-spiced skewers or a watermelon and lime-pickled onion salad, that is). That’s not to say that meat is demonised here – this fire-cooking pro loves a flame-licked slow-cooked joint as much as the next barbecue fanatic. Instead, Charred aims to prove that the alchemy at play when cooking with smoke and coals can elevate vegetables just as much as it can a hunk of brisket. Start with the smoky baba ganoush with crisp breads; sweet potato with spiced and caramelised red onion; and miso grilled aubergine with sticky pumpkin seeds, and take it from there.

‘East’ by Meera Sodha, published by Fig Tree

Best: For asian inspired meals

This is one of the most-used cookbooks on our shelf right now – you can tell by its crinkled and sauce-splattered pages. East’s 120 vegetarian recipes are influenced by – as you might have deduced at this point – the food and cookery from across the eastern world. Inspiration comes courtesy of everywhere from Korea to India, China to Japan. That said, most dishes are fit for speedy weeknight cooking and all are approachable to Western home cooks – strict authenticity is less of a priority than practicality and accessibility for this Indian cook and food writer. With sections on noodles, curries, rice dishes and sides (among others), the book also organises some dishes by occasion for quick reference: think speedy dinners, picnic dishes, breakfasts and storecupboard creations, for instance. The peanut and purple sprouting broccoli pad Thai, chilli tofu and aubergine larb with crispy shallot and peanut salad are go-tos for us, and every time we flick through these pages another corner gets folded down.

‘The Green Roasting Tin’ by Rukmini Iyer, published by Square Peg

Best: For fuss-free cooking

Sure, we all want colourful and exciting dinners packed with flavour and texture but – let’s be honest – we’re really not here for the pile of washing up that usually comes with them. Which is precisely why Iyer’s series of Roasting Tin cookbooks has been such a triumph, we reckon. The Green Roasting Tin is made up of vegetarian and vegan recipes that see the oven doing most of the heavy lifting. Hands-on time peaks at half an hour in one case (happily, most recipes call for just ten minutes of prep) and equipment is pretty much limited to a knife, chopping board and that all-important roasting tin. Recipes are organised into categories of quick, medium and slow, so you can choose them depending on how much time you have – or how urgently those hunger pangs need tending to. Recipe pairing suggestions help you to create themed feasts (think picnics, group lunches or seasonal eating, for instance) although most recipes are more than substantial enough to fly solo.

‘Green’ by Elly Curshen, published by Ebury Press

Best: For practicality and batch cooking

Rather than focusing on cutting ingredients out of your meals, Green is all about what extras you can pack in – namely, more vegetables, fruits, greengrocer bargains and garden gluts. And it does this with the restraints (time) and priorities (satisfaction) of busy home-cooks in mind, too. Base recipes to batch and freeze are not only in attendance but come with different methods for reviving them from their icy slumber. For instance, rose harissa chickpeas become a hearty toast topping with fresh gremolata for a satisfying lunch, and also get baked with za’atar-coated feta and served with a lemony salad for a punchy dinner. One-pan meals, 20-minute recipes, frittatas and on-toast suggestions follow, all showcasing really easy and imaginative ways to prep, cook and pair veggies. With slightly more involved dishes for weekends and a section to help you prep for the week ahead, Green is a modern and practical book that can not only help you change up your meals but also the way you shop and cook.

‘Ottolenghi Flavour’, by Yotam Ottolenghi and Ixta Belfrage, published by Ebury Press

Best: For meals to impress

This book focuses on the things that bring out the best of a vegetable’s flavour: the cooking process, what you pair it with and knowing when to let it shine alone. And there are lots written about each of those three tactics, as well as on specific ingredients and their nuances. But there’s no reason to get bogged down in the alchemy of it all if you’re solely after hearty and offbeat dishes to help ramp up your veg game – just skip straight to those all-important recipes. Dishes take the form of riffs on classic meals (traybake ragu made with mushrooms, carrots, lentils and grains, and aubergine dumplings alla parmigiana) as well as novel, imagination-sparking plates like melon and mozzarella salad with kasha and curry leaves, and stuffed aubergine in a curry and coconut dal. All have the eyebrow-raising intrigue that we’ve come to expect from this Middle-Eastern chef.

'Bazaar’ by Sabrina Ghayour, published by Mitchell Beazley

Best: For using store cupboard staples

If it’s new ideas for old faithful vegetables you’re after, Bazaar might just come up trumps for you. Get those carrots lingering in your fridge drawer involved with a grater to make carrot, halloumi and dill balls perhaps, or root around in your store cupboard to make chickpea and vegetable koftas. In fact, it’s surprising how many of these novel recipes you’ll already have most of the ingredients for – this book is just about nudging you to use them in new ways. As with most of Ghayour’s recipes, there’s a distinct Middle Eastern thread running throughout these dishes, but by blending different ideas and concepts together they dodge any pigeonholes and can;t be consigned to one cuisine or region. Small plates to snack on or share are followed by comforting soups and stews, fresh salads and impressive main courses, so that whatever the occasion (or vegetable) you have in mind, you’ll find a recipe that hits the nail on the head.

The verdict: Vegetarian cookbooks

All of these books bring something different to the vegetarian cooking scene. That said, so packed with novel, attainable recipes and practical knowledge is Anna Jones’ One Pot, Pan, Planet that it has to be our best buy. Plus, it’s a pretty gorgeous book to look at (meaning it makes a great gift, too). East by Meera Sodha also deserves special mention for its ability to inject some real veg-based excitement into mealtimes, and Genevive Taylor’s Charred is the top pick for those who love to cook outdoors – you’ll go back to it every time you reach for those firelighters.

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Five of the best books about eating

From a pioneering 1940s ‘gastrography’ to a recent novel about a real-life 18th-century French peasant cursed with an appetite to eat just about everything

F ood in books has a way of lodging in the memory. For some it might be the kidneys on Leopold Bloom’s mind in Joyce’s Ulysses. For others, it’s the hard-won German sausage that Ratty finds at the end of Wind in the Willows. The book may be rich or grotesque, stark or sickly sweet, but we, the reader, are always invited to ask ourselves why, and how, we choose to take it in.

The Glutton by AK Blakemore

Set in 18th-century France, Blakemore’s episodic 2023 novel, based on a real historical figure, reimagines the life of Tarare, a young peasant cursed with an appetite that goes well beyond the insatiable. Destitute and lonely, he is adopted by a travelling troupe, where he gains some fame as a kind of monstrous performing roadshow. An average morning sees him consuming “five news-sheets, a hat, three thimbles, twenty pigs’ trotters, two candles and a blind puppy”. Holed up in hospital as a medical specimen, rumours circulate about quite where his hunger has led him. This is a triumphant, tender exploration of fiction-making and desire.

The Gastronomical Me by MFK Fisher

Fisher’s pioneering “gastrography” or “foodoir” won plaudits on its 1943 publication. Most famously from one of greatest poets of the 20th century. “I do not know of anyone in the United States who writes better prose”, wrote WH Auden. Fisher’s story is about her personal experience of food and the pain of war. She writes richly and variously of food and communion, of “the warm round peach pie and the cool yellow cream”, of how she “ate bread on a lasting hillside” or “drank red wine in a room now blown to bits”. An extraordinary combination of travelogue and feminism, strawberry jam and oysters, fascists and refugees, love and hunger.

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The Debt to Pleasure by John Lanchester

“This is not a conventional cookbook,” writes Lanchester’s hero Tarquin Winot in this thriller-masquerading-as-foodie memoir. Over a variety of “seasonal” chapters, Winot weighs in about his various relatives and friends, “the many extant batter, waffle and pancake dishes” from “Swedish krumkak er ” to “Polish nale śniki ” and his convictions in relation to fish (“lemon sole is a very underrated fish, much closer in quality to its more highly regarded Dover cousin than wisdom normally permits”). Lanchester crafts Winot-as-author to be infuriating – he’s pompous, tricksy and pedantic – but a fancy prose style soon turns out to be the most innocent of his vices. A dark, funny and exquisitely crafted book.

Picklehead by Rohan Candappa

“Family and food. You couldn’t separate the two. Where there was family, there was food. Where there was food, there was family”. Candappa’s Picklehead combines memoir, history and recipes to provide a gorgeous gastro-journey through family and identity. The writer reflects on what food means to him, and how it has shaped him. He writes expansively – offering a history of vindaloo, memories of the Kolkatan potato curry in wartime, and an excellent recipe involving tinned pilchards and ginger.

Babette’s Feast and Other Stories by Isak Dinesen

All is calm in small the small Norwegian town. Babette, a refugee from the French Revolution, cooks plain food for her Lutheran mistresses, and they attend to their prayer meetings with devotion. But when Babette hears she has won the lottery, she decides to treat her household to “a real French dinner”. Babette’s exquisitely executed feast – with its champagne, turtle soup and fresh figs – stands on its own, but also works as a symbol for the delicate and brilliant crafting of this beautiful story. A tale of faith, sacrifice and what it means to be a great artist, in any form.

• Five of the best
• Autobiography and memoir

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• Vegan and vegetarian diets provide a vast array of health benefits, study says

• Researchers report that a review of 49 studies spanning 23 years of research has found that vegan and vegetarian diets have numerous health benefits .
• They say that plant-based diets are associated with better health status for risk factors for diseases such as cancer and cardiometabolic disease.
• Experts say reducing the intake of meat and focusing on vegetables and fruits are key components to a healthy diet.

Vegetarian and vegan diets are associated with lower risk factors for cancer as well as cardiometabolic diseases, according to new research published today in the journal PLOS ONE .

Researchers said their review of 49 studies published between 2000 and 2023 found that plant-based diets are associated with significant health benefits.

“Overall, vegetarian and vegan diets are significantly associated with better lipid profile, glycemic control, body weight/BMI, inflammation, and lower risk of ischemic heart disease and cancer . Vegetarian diet is also associated with lower mortality from cardiovascular diseases,” the study authors wrote.

They also reported that not only were vegetarian and vegan diets associated with better health status relating to cardiometabolic health, but they were also associated with a reduced risk of prostate and gastrointestinal cancer.

How vegan, vegetarian diets promote good health

Previous research suggests that a diet that is low in plant-based foods but high in meat, sugar, refined grains and salt is associated with a greater risk of death.

Past studies also indicate that reducing consumption of animal products can reduce the risk of cancer and cardiovascular disease.

Dana Ellis Hunnes , PhD, a senior dietitian supervisor at RR-UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, says the findings in the latest research aren’t surprising.

“I am not surprised at all at the findings of this review paper that found associations among plant-based diets and better health status. I have long-known about these associations and believe this is one more paper to further demonstrate those healthful conclusions,” Hunnes, who wasn’t involved in the research, told Medical News Today.

“Whole food plant-based diets are beneficial for a number of reasons including their fiber , their vitamin and mineral contents, their bioactive compounds that make them highly anti-inflammatory (including polyphenols , anthocyanins, etc). And, although there are many ‘knowns’ about plants and their healthfulness, there are also a number of unknown entities within them that contribute to their healthful properties,” she added.

While the researchers noted an overall benefit to plant-based diets, among pregnant women specifically, those who ate a vegetarian diet saw no difference in their risk of hypertension and gestational diabetes compared with their pregnant peers who ate a non-plant based diet.

Plant-based diets should be planned carefully

The researchers also noted that some plant-based diets can lead to deficiencies in vitamins and minerals in some people.

Pooja Adhyaru , an accredited practicing dietitian in Melbourne, Australia, says if done properly, eating plant-based can have numerous benefits.

“Like any other diet, if not planned carefully and if we don’t eat a balanced diet, plant-based diets may result in some nutrient deficiencies ; especially in certain populations such as babies, children, women of childbearing age who are trying to conceive, pregnant and breastfeeding mothers, menopausal women , and older adults. Our nutrient requirements vary at different stage of our lives, and our diets need to be adjusted accordantly to achieve optimal health,” Adhyaru, who was not involved in the research, told Medical News Today .

“Plants are also naturally high in fiber and complex carbohydrates , which… we can’t get from animal products,” she added. “Fiber is an essential nutrient that has number of benefits such as it helps improving our gut health, lowering cholesterol , keeping us fuller for longer so helps in weight management as well as managing blood sugars.”

Meat consumption is high in the United States

Proportionately to population, people in the United States consume a high amount of animal products.

Animals products account for 30% of total energy intake and 65% of total protein intake. The global average for meat consumption is 18% of total energy intake and 40% of total protein intake.

Per capita, the United States has some of the highest consumption of meat in the world.

Americans eat more than 50 kilograms per person of poultry annually as well as 26 kilograms per person of beef and veal, and nearly 24 kilograms of pork.

Experts say a high intake of meat can have serious health consequences.

Christopher Gardner , PhD, a professor of medicine and a researcher of nutrition science at Stanford University in California, has worked as an advisor with the American Diabetes Association, the American Heart Association, the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, and the scientific advisory board of the Culinary Institute of America.

He says the organizations are united in their overall dietary recommendations.

“I believe the advice has been plant-based for many years in all of these groups. Not plant-exclusive, not vegan, but more plants and less meat than Americans currently eat and than they have eaten for the past few decades,” he told Medical News Today.

What to avoid and what to include in a healthy diet

The World Health Organization notes processed meat is carcinogenic to humans. Red meat is considered to probably be carcinogenic to humans.

“Often there is a dose-dependent relationship. The more meat/animal-products we consume, the higher the risk of developing certain types of cancers ( GI cancer is a notorious one). Meat… decreases tumor suppression and is associated with increases in tumor growth. So, that’s one reason we want to decrease our meat consumption,” Hunnes said.

Experts say meat may also be unhealthy for other reasons, including fat and salt content.

“Animal products such as red meat (beef, veal, pork and lamb) should be consumed in moderation. Highly processed meats and deli meats (frankfurters, salami, chorizo, cabanossi, kransky, corned beef, pepperoni, pastrami, bacon, ham) should be avoided,” Adhyaru added.

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends that a healthy eating plan emphasize fruits and vegetables, whole grains and low fat and fat free meat products. Protein sources can include seafood, lean meats and poultry, eggs, soy products, seeds, nuts, and legumes.

“I can design both a healthy and an unhealthy vegetarian or vegan diet. I would say it isn’t so much one vs the other that defines it’s comparative healthfulness, I would say it is how you choose to follow or practice either of those dietary patterns,” Gardner said.

• Nutrition / Diet

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Review Highlights

“ Read, Work, hang with friends in the cozy nooks, crannies, upstairs, downstairs .. ” in 3 reviews

“ Highly recommend upgrading your breakfast sandwich to the cheese and chive biscuit as it was phenomenal!! ” in 2 reviews

“ Went to bookeater for a breakfast sandwich and some coffee and it was such a great experience! ” in 3 reviews

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836 S Clinton Ave

Rochester, NY 14620

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The ambiance of this place was cozy and comfortable. However, my experience was dampened by the quality of the latte I ordered. The coffee was unexpectedly bitter.

Still a great spot for a bite to eat, cup of coffee and a little book shopping Great music, delicious food- on street parking

See all photos from Kristen H. for Bookeater

Sweet new cafe/bookstore/coffee shop in the Wedge. Bright cherry exterior, rainbow doormats and a light filled space greet you when you arrive. The first floor is set up for the café with baked goods, coffee, drinks, as well as breakfast sandwiches and lunch items. There is an outside seating area on the front porch as well as in the backyard. Take one of two staircases upstairs to a beautiful space that is gradually being filled with fabulous books.

Top to bottom awesome place. The staff is very kind and helpful. The restaurant portion is open and cozy. We had a couple breakfast sandwiches and they were both amazing. One was on a roll and the other was on the cheddar and chive biscuit. The roll was great but wow! That biscuit was delicious, tender and flavorful. Highly recommend. We also had a latte and the cider. Both great. The surprise on our visit was a sample of their apple cake......get the apple cake! We walked out with three portions after trying it!

Service was a little slow but there's plenty to do while you wait: snes downstairs and books upstairs. Very cute place! They sell cookies from the red fern as a vegan snack option and the PBS was flavorful, crispy, and filling. The tofu was actually the most boring part. Comes with a couple pieces of fruit too. Oat milk option for coffees and an option to swap eggs for tofu in some of the other menu options.

Cafe on the first floor of this old creaky house. Bookshop on the top floor. Good, but small, selection. Super friendly folks. Parking, as to be expected, is a pain the the butt.

Every time I come here I'm blown away. Food is amazing! Just had the brisket breakfast sandwich.... Decadent! So much flavor! The ambiance in the cafe is incredible too!

Amazing new cafe and bookshop. The downstairs is a restaurant that serves delicious breakfast and lunch. The upstairs is an absolute haven for book lovers. You will want to come here and nestle into a corner with a book/laptop/coffee and never leave because they have gone through great trouble to create several cozy and comfortable spaces to plop down in. Look forward to coming here many more times. Rochester was missing a reading+nook+cafe+library sort of establishment (as far as I know), and I could not be happier that Bookeater exists! It is an absolute celebration of the dying pursuit of reading- so more power to it!

As a neurodivergent nerd I'm sure I am not alone to say I had a dream to own a cafe that also had books for sale and to read. You come in. Grab a drink. Maybe a sammich to munch on as you skim through the genres n selections. Find a nice cozy corner to sit, sip your warm drink and loose yourself in your book. This store is exactly that. And more. Absolutely a dream come true. The people are nice. Ambience is giving inclusive safe space.

Gingerbread chai

Went to bookeater for a breakfast sandwich and some coffee and it was such a great experience! They have a wide variety of drinks and food. I was very impressed with the atmosphere - it is such a cute house with outdoor and indoor seating. They even have some video games and a variety of places to sit. The vegan breakfast sandwich was amazing and so so flavorful! The soup of the day was also very flavorful and clearly homemade. We will definitely be back!!

We got the lox, BEC, and a pesto panini and they were all fantastic! Glad to have discovered this place in the neighborhood!

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Jake P. said "First of all, let me start off by saying, this place is not fancy. You won't be greeted by servers in suits, you won't be seated in a private booth and you won't be paying 30 dollars for a steak dinner. With that being said, this…" read more

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Ian M. said "Family of five for breakfast a few days ago. Waiter was extremely friendly, very professional, and very thorough. The breakfast food was both delicious and nutritious. I have to say that this is my most favorite breakfast experience…" read more

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