Reviews

I love her writing style, but she almost based this one on her life so much so that it didn't quite feel like a unique story. Lovely atmospheric and unsettling prose

charleztheman's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-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? It's complicated

3.5

erasmios's review against another edition

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2.0

Having read The Hole right after Abe Kōbō's The Woman in the Dunes, the parallels between the two were interesting, yet Oyamada's novella felt somewhat half-baked for me. Her prose has been praised and she won the Akutagawa Prize for The Hole, so I might have to reread this in Japanese in case my disappointment was due to the translation. The Hole wasn't bad at all, just a little artificial; I would've preferred a deeper hole—one where you can't see out from. I'd still recommend reading this, especially back to back with the above-mentioned classic by Abe.

notoriousesr's review against another edition

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adventurous tense fast-paced

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

4.0

When Asa’s mother-in-law offers a rent-free, private (but neighboring) home to her and her overworked husband, she thinks it’s a great, economical opportunity to get out of the city. But her new neighborhood is eerie, especially when she falls into a hole seemingly made for her exact proportions.

I read The Hole in a single sitting while getting my nails done, and it was a delightfully creepy little novella about losing your identity under um... the heteropatriarchy. At least that’s how I interpreted it! One thing that I deeply appreciated is that the creepiness didn’t seem forced. It wasn’t like Oyamada was saying, “Look, look how creepy and weird this is, isn’t it? Isn’t it???” rather, she let the events unfold gradually and naturally. We’re seeing the world through Asa’s eyes, and though it’s confusing, Oyamada doesn’t waste paper on banal “What’s going ON? I’m going to frantically ruminate for a few pages!” narration. I read some reviews where people said they wanted more resolution, but I’m actually satisfied with the ending. All in all, The Hole is 4 out of 5 mysterious animals that are definitely not raccoons.

uutopicaa's review against another edition

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3.0

3.5

La verdad es que me dejó sin palabras, y no en el buen sentido. Sentí que era un libro... vacío. Tiene elementos que disfruté muchísimo, pero cuando terminé de leer me quedé sin nada. Es un libro que si me preguntan ahora que les cuente la trama, ya me la olvidé. No me pareció memorable. Quizá si fuese un relato breve (la mitad de la extensión) en una antología sí me hubiese encantado. Pero creo que está en ese punto falido entre "le sobran páginas para lo que es" y "le faltan páginas para lo que intenta llegar".

Igual, me gustó mucho el estilo de la autora y seguro buscaré otras historias suyas =)

siljasam's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective fast-paced

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

4.0

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