The Korea Herald

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Han Kang's award-winning novel hits German market

By Korea Herald

Published : Aug. 25, 2016 - 15:06

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Han Kang’s novel “The Vegetarian” has received enthusiastic responses from German news media upon being released in the European country, a state-run literary agency said Wednesday.

The novel has gotten wide attention from readers in English-speaking countries and Europe since its English translation earned the author the prestigious Man Booker International Award in May.

Cover of German edition of Han Kang's “The Vegetarian” Cover of German edition of Han Kang's “The Vegetarian”

The German-language edition of the Korean novel was released by the Berlin-based publisher Aufbau in the middle of this month and has since attracted a wide coverage from influential newspapers, magazines and broadcasters in the country, according to the Korean Literature Translation Institute.

In a book review dated on Aug. 15, for instance, the German weekly magazine Der Spiegel said the book is reminiscent of Franz Kafka's “Die Verwandlung” and depicts violence that occurs when a society tries to keep a human in the boundaries of what is called a normal life. (Yonhap)