Reviews tagging 'Excrement'

The Hole by Pyun Hye-young

7 reviews

meaghanelizabook's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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candiemarsh's review against another edition

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dark sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This was a smooth and fast read. Translation was done well and it did invoke some strong feelings. The flow of writing gave some leeway to readers to make their own assumptions, and although the conclusion was quite obvious, the author still allowed it to be somewhat open-ended. However, I did feel like the background stories of the characters were not strong enough to reason why they did what they did and came out as rather vague. Nevertheless, I enjoyed it.

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apollinares's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

A very short, very gripping story of a now-paralysed car crash survivor in the care of his mother in law, whose daughter had died in the same crash. I happen to find the
"caretaker turns out to be abusive"
trope particularly uncomfortable, and I also suffer from HORRIBLE second hand embarassment, so this novel felt like a personal little torture device. The audiobook was uncomfortable to sit through, and the claustrophobic atmosphere that's present throughout the story through its use of Oghi's senses - mainly him hearing things through the door, and the tactile sensations he does feel described in the vivid way of a character with no other outlet or focus - kept that sense of dread right up until the very end.

I've seen this trope done better, I've seen it done worse. I really liked the clues that hint at the wife's goals peppered throughout the book, as well as the broader cultural context. I also enjoyed the cinematic storytelling. I could picture some of the scenes as specific film shots - this would make great suspense film. Kind of reminded me of Bong Joon-ho's Parasite.

Alternating between Oghi's post-accident existence, primarily characterised by loneliness and neglect, and flashbacks to his marriage, the way the layers of the plot peel back slowly to reveal what was going on, really sat with me. It's not overly hand-hold-y, and I'm surprised at how uncomfortable it made me. Not even scared or upset, just so, so uneasy. 

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dalmavatai's review against another edition

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dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This book was just... weird. The atmosphere was definitely tense and ominous, and for a while, I enjoyed the psychological lens of describing the characters, but slowly and steadily it got quite dense and description-heavy. It was also a bit hard to follow on audio because everyone is either referred to by an initial or by their relationship to Oghi (e.g., mother-in-law). I expected that the ending would still redeem this book for me because I've heard from other people that it's quite dark and twisty, but sadly that wasn't the case. I thought it ended at quite a bizarre point, it felt like the story got cut off abruptly. A forgettable read personally. I do think if you go into this book knowing that you probably won't be shocked and it's kind of the slow-burn of seeing everything unfold that's supposed to appeal to you, then you might like it better than I did. 

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saltuarium's review

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challenging dark tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75


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moraofthestory's review against another edition

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dark tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0


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charleyroxy's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

3.0


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