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amira_mm's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
njdarkish's review against another edition
3.0
Though this novella was absorbing in a way I can't quite put my finger on, ultimately the story fell a bit flat. I felt like the weird should have gotten weirder, but in the final moments the book felt like it backed off from answering or asking questions and just wrapped up too quickly.
notenchanted's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
isabelolsen's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
3.0
ohanabataskye's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
jessrobinson's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
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? It's complicated
3.0
whalehair's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
evmondo's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
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
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
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.