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meaghanelizabook's review against another edition
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident, Confinement, Excrement, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Infidelity and Infertility
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content, Body shaming, Ableism, Car accident, Abandonment, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, and Misogyny
Minor: Classism
archiviodisilvia's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Content Warnings
Minor: Car accident
nerdsbianhokie's review against another edition
dark
tense
slow-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, and Ableism
Moderate: Car accident
candiemarsh's review against another edition
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.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Car accident, Excrement, and Medical trauma
Minor: Infidelity and Death
rahanahava's review
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
3 1/2 stars and rounding to 4 since I don't think I've uncovered all the layers here.
This book has so many layers that I'm not sure I could ever uncover them all. The comparisons to Misery and The Vegetarian is what got my attention and while there are similarities I'm not sure that's a fair assessment. This is for sure a thriller, but it's not violent or gory or heart-pounding. It's terrifying on a more psychological level I think. I mean, waking up from a coma after a horrible car accident where you lost your wife and realizing your only salvation/caretaker/family left is your MIL? That's enough to drive any normal human into a dark hole. This is Oghi's descent into all the holes.
While The Hole does refer to a literal hole it also is referenced a few different times in other ways. Oghi has a hole in the middle of his life, he is alone and falling into a hole of despair, he references his favorite map that has a hole in the middle of it from a compass. I mean, the cover is beautiful and hits the bullseye when it comes to describing this story.
“To be human was to be saddled with emptiness.”
“The world's oldest map, the Babylonian Map of the World, had a little circle bored through the center. [...] That dark, narrow hole went as deep as the memory of an age that no one could ever return to. The only way to reach that lost age was through that hole, but the hole itself could never be reached.”
"So that's what I'll do. What my daughter couldn't. What she meant to do. What she wanted to do. I have to do it for her. And I will."
This book has so many layers that I'm not sure I could ever uncover them all. The comparisons to Misery and The Vegetarian is what got my attention and while there are similarities I'm not sure that's a fair assessment. This is for sure a thriller, but it's not violent or gory or heart-pounding. It's terrifying on a more psychological level I think. I mean, waking up from a coma after a horrible car accident where you lost your wife and realizing your only salvation/caretaker/family left is your MIL? That's enough to drive any normal human into a dark hole. This is Oghi's descent into all the holes.
While The Hole does refer to a literal hole it also is referenced a few different times in other ways. Oghi has a hole in the middle of his life, he is alone and falling into a hole of despair, he references his favorite map that has a hole in the middle of it from a compass. I mean, the cover is beautiful and hits the bullseye when it comes to describing this story.
“To be human was to be saddled with emptiness.”
“The world's oldest map, the Babylonian Map of the World, had a little circle bored through the center. [...] That dark, narrow hole went as deep as the memory of an age that no one could ever return to. The only way to reach that lost age was through that hole, but the hole itself could never be reached.”
"So that's what I'll do. What my daughter couldn't. What she meant to do. What she wanted to do. I have to do it for her. And I will."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Physical abuse, Car accident, and Emotional abuse
rorikae's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
‘The Hole’ by Hye-Young Pyun is a short novel that details the life of a man paralyzed after a horrific car accident that killed his wife. His mother-in-law begins to take care of him but things aren’t quite as they seem as she begins to dig a hole in the garden his wife created.
The Hole is a very quick book that I wish had been more suspenseful. We get a lot of meditations from the main character about being stuck in bed after the accident and the horrors of feeling out of control. I think this could have been ramped up even further. I was expecting more outright suspense and a threatening atmosphere but it was much slower and methodical of a book. The writing itself is good but I feel like this book could have benefited from creating more atmosphere. The last few chapters did exactly what I was expecting/hoping for and the end is sinister. I wish that this had been more present throughout the rest of the story since it is clear how well the author can create this sense of dread and suspense from the last few chapters.
This is much more literary fiction in the first half/two thirds of the book and I wish that the suspenseful/horrific aspects had been ramped up to more quickly.
The Hole is a very quick book that I wish had been more suspenseful. We get a lot of meditations from the main character about being stuck in bed after the accident and the horrors of feeling out of control. I think this could have been ramped up even further. I was expecting more outright suspense and a threatening atmosphere but it was much slower and methodical of a book. The writing itself is good but I feel like this book could have benefited from creating more atmosphere. The last few chapters did exactly what I was expecting/hoping for and the end is sinister. I wish that this had been more present throughout the rest of the story since it is clear how well the author can create this sense of dread and suspense from the last few chapters.
This is much more literary fiction in the first half/two thirds of the book and I wish that the suspenseful/horrific aspects had been ramped up to more quickly.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Car accident, Confinement, and Grief
poisoned_icecream's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Car accident, and Infidelity
lady_bountiful's review against another edition
dark
tense
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Chronic illness, Confinement, Emotional abuse, and Car accident
saint_eleanor's review
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
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical trauma, Car accident, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, and Torture