Reviews with content warning for Death - The Hole

Reviews tagging 'Death'

parasolcrafter's review

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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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brucethegirl's review against another edition

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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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dalmavatai's review against another edition

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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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moraofthestory's review against another edition

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dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

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bookedrightmeow's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

What a strange and interesting read! Translated from Korean by Sora Kim-Russell, The Hole by Hye-Young Pyun is a creepy novel that’s been described as a Korean version of Stephen King’s Misery. While I think that’s a fair comparison, the storytelling here has a level of subtlety that’s unique and stands on its own.

Some scattered thoughts:

- First, an unreliable narrator: geography professor Oghi wakes from a coma after surviving a car crash that killed his wife.

- Oghi is now disfigured and paralyzed from the crash, with no one to care for him except his mother-in-law, who's understandably destroyed by the death of her only child.

- I don't think Oghi is intended to be likeable at all, but I also found myself rooting for him at times? It’s complicated, especially when we flash back to moments from the marriage.

- Since the narrative is from Oghi’s point of view, we have a limited, biased sense of who his wife truly was, which is frustrating.

- The novel is on the short side but it’s concise and packs a punch. It's an interesting study of grief, revenge, consequence, and acceptance.

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