Reviews with content warning for Medical trauma - The Hole

Reviews tagging 'Medical trauma'

quabbityash's review

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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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peach_haze's review

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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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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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saint_eleanor's review

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challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-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

4.0

this is an incredibly close and intimate look at human flaws and grief. Very raw and so depressing, a display of misery!! Kind of beautiful and very haunting though i do wish it was slightly less slow, and i also wanted some more creepy details about the MIL.
EDIT (1 yr later): adding .5 stars bc i haven't stopped thinking abt this book since i read it. That's how you know it got to ya

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troxellis's review

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dark reflective 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

3.75

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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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