Subjectivity: A review of The Vegetarian by Han Kang

The Vegetarian - cover of original Korean editionI wrote this review in 2016, intending to publish it in a different venue, then forgot about it. I’ve added references to two films that came out after I wrote it.

As I discuss, it’s debatable whether The Vegetarian really qualifies as a feminist novel. It’s about people who have retreated so entirely into their wishful fantasy lives that they are incapable of accurately perceiving the world around them – or themselves. In our third year of COVID, this is more apropos than ever. Continue reading

In Stitches

Meet Michelle Kingdom, another introvert artist with a new twist on an existing art form.

An embroidered panel of a woman in a field of flowers, carrying a sewing machine;

Her horizon seemed to her limitless

She doesn’t say she’s an introvert, but when she talks about the privacy of her unique art – well, we can read between the lines. And once you see her images, and her titles – which are a very important part of her work – there can be no doubt. Those who think of introverts as loners may be surprised that most of her pieces include more than one person, and that even when they appear to be inwardly focused, she portrays them as interconnected.

An embroidered picture of several women facing away from each other, but with threads connecting them at the feet, hands and heads.

Duties of gossamer

An embroidered image of a middle-aged woman standing with her eyes closed and hands folded. There is a large circular hole in her middle, through which you can see a smaller, younger girl in the background. Tree branches covered with white blossoms frame the woman's head and shoulders.

Little by little there was scarcely anything left

Sometimes, the carefully chosen titles say it all. Other times, they are intimate, yet cryptic, implying unspoken details beyond the edges of the scene, or multiple possible stories, with the context left open for the interpretation of the beholder.

Most intriguingly of all, these works are tiny, barely as wide as a woman’s hand.

I’m such a wordy person. I always have been. Words pour out of me like spring snow melt racing down a mountainside. Which is why I understand so very deeply and completely all of the things that words can’t do.

HSP Videos

Here are a few of my favorite HSP-related videos for your viewing enjoyment, or to share with people in your life who may not be ready for the whole movie yet.

Signs You Might be a Highly Sensitive Person

Signs You Might Be Highly Sensitive video- Ane Axford
Ane Axford & friends act out traits of HSPs. This list has some things I hadn’t heard elsewhere – it was the first place I heard that HSPs are often perceived as flirting when they’re not, which explained a lot. I think my favorite is #7. Or maybe it’s #9. Or is it #8?

I most enjoy this video for the list (from 1:50 to 6:00), which is bookended by text that won’t be news to anyone who already identifies as HSP. However, the opening and closing verbiage and humor of this video makes it a good one to gently introduce someone to the sensitive trait. Continue reading