Reviews tagging 'Medical content'

The Hole by Pyun Hye-young

14 reviews

quabbityash's review

dark reflective tense slow-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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Content Warnings

Moderate: Torture, Sexual violence, and Medical trauma

Minor: Medical content and Blood

peach_haze's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.75

Wow. This book was simply brilliant. Pyun was a master at bringing  such a raw and powerful tragedy to life The story was mostly told in a kind of narrative of present and past of-and-by the main character, Oghi. We saw his world through his eyes; the life left behind and he struggles to continue forth. We see his struggles mentally and physically. We see his side of the story, and see the agony his wife was living during their life together. My heart went out to her,

how neglectful Oghi had been of her mental state and how he would put her down, blaming her emotions and lack of career success on being a woman. Pyun had me near tears reading on as I could feel Oghi’s wife giving up on their marriage, and Oghi not thinking to care.

and Oghi as well. Albeit short, The Hole was a fantastic, physiological experience  that I long to read again (once I stop crying) and I regret that I’ll never be able to read this book again for the first time. Phenomenal.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Body shaming, Ableism, Car accident, Abandonment, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, and Misogyny

Minor: Classism

apollinares's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Medical trauma, Medical content, Death, Confinement, Chronic illness, Sexual harassment, Grief, Gaslighting, Excrement, Emotional abuse, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Ableism, Body horror, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Infidelity

rachelunabridged's review against another edition

dark sad slow-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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Sexual assault, Ableism, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Infidelity, Death, and Infertility

Minor: Sexual content

sgonzo's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Abandonment, Confinement, and Grief

Moderate: Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Body shaming, Car accident, Death, Infertility, Infidelity, and Medical content

melissahawco's review

dark reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Medical trauma, Medical content, and Ableism

Minor: Infidelity

rosesofthespring's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body shaming, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Car accident, Emotional abuse, and Medical content

Moderate: Alcoholism, Body horror, Racism, Blood, Alcohol, Bullying, Death, Infertility, and Infidelity

Minor: Death of parent, Fatphobia, and Misogyny

parasolcrafter's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Ableism, Car accident, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, and Medical content

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Alcohol and Body shaming

this is gonna be a book i remember for a long time. fucked me up

brucethegirl's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

It's the ableism as body horror for me.

But at the end of the day, the translation was excellent, the main reason this is 2 not 1 star. The way the translator was able to convey subtle aspects of Korean culture so brilliantly was honestly masterful. With only a single hiccup where they had to explain the relation between the different meanings of the word chagi.

I'll also admit that there were certainly aspects of this book that I really enjoyed, and that could have made me really love it- the things that kept me from DNFing in the face of the disgusting ablism. Most notably was the way the sexism and also the disintegration of their marriage was portrayed. It was clear if you read between the lines, but subtle enough I could see how it would be missed. But even from the first few pages, the hints are already there. It's how we're led to empathize with Ogi through the terrors he faces when he doesn't even recognize himself as the monster of his story.

But then that brings us to the real issue with the book. The way the real horror is so reliant on the ableism, not in the horror of how another could treat someone this way, but in the horror of losing control of his own body and being at the whims of another. Too often ableism is used as a means of horror, the way a reader can find themself in a state of horror without a monster having to be present. A different level of body horror that I just can't stand. Yes, the way his mother in law treats him is messed up, but its the lack of him being able to do anything as she forces his condition to worsen that makes the reader want him to triumph even as the horrors of his own actions are revealed.

There was so much promise in this book, ruined by the need to make disability horrific. That easy way out used to force a reader to observe a body at not fully functioning capacity in order to make them uncomfortable. That aspect was too much for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Medical content, Ableism, Death, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Sexism and Sexual assault

Minor: Adult/minor relationship

dalmavatai's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Child death, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Infidelity, Medical content, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Ableism, Excrement, and Suicidal thoughts