Hiroko Oyamada's "The Hole": A Surreal Journey Through a Strange Landscape

Doug D.: The only thing extreme about Asa's life is how mundane it is: Her husband was recently transferred, they moved to a place where one needs to drive everywhere, but they only have one car and her husband drives it to work and comes home late every night. She has left her own job and friends behind. As one would expect, Asa's life becomes mental as she is desperately searching for something meaningful, but has not quite figured out what that "something" is. Although the terms are never mentioned directly, it is like a modern day Immanuel Kant book, pitting absurdism vs existentialism (as if those are the only two choices). In the end (which I won't give away), it is obvious which one of those two wins for Asa, at least for the time being.

United States on Oct 19, 2023

Kimberlee: It was just what I wanted to read. something bizarre mysterious and weird mixed with a very regular setting. Curious, sort of poetic in it's descriptions, always a bit eerie, and rather funny and enchanting at the strangeness. This was a short delight to read. The ending made me sad but maybe just me. it's a good interesting thought provoking twist. Loved the ride.

United States on Oct 14, 2023

Amazon Customer: What seems like an ordinary family story is rendered extraordinary by the author. Like the two other books available, the pace and lustre of the stories bring light to the mundane but make it peculiar. Insects, birds, mysterious wildlife, and old age twinkle like the sun's reflection on water

United Kingdom on Feb 24, 2023

Isabel: This book was a lovely surprise, a little summer read I came across by chance. There’s so much left unsaid, so many things up to the reader’s imagination... This work is as pervasive as the summer heat that surrounds the story itself. Couldn’t put it down until I finished it.

Spain on Aug 23, 2021

Sydney Sinistrazzi: I didn't hate it... but I didn't like it at all. It was compelling enough to keep me turning the pages, but only because it was so consistently bland, I figured there had to be something more to it, so I kept turning pages to find out.

But no. It was anticlimactic in a way that felt cheap and obnoxious (and maybe even a little pretentious). What seemed intended to be surreal just seemed convoluted in a meaningless, meandering kind of way.

Plus: I normally don't complain about the price of books, but selling this book for $8 when it's short and simplistic enough to read it in under two hours seems kinda underhanded. I was led by reviewers to think that this was some sort of absurdist masterpiece, but it's a short story about nothing which is being sold for twice what some authors can get away with charging for a full length novel. Wow.

United States on Dec 21, 2020

kimnappi: What a interesting gem of a small story, 92 pages, that makes you feel you’ve read an entire novel! This story, translated from Japanese into English and well done I must say, has a wife following her husband to a new remote location. Asa has doubts moving next door to her parent in-laws but all she’s happy to be leaving a dead end job to enjoy a rent free time so her husband and her can save some money. No spoilers, nothing is what it seems and when Asa accidentally falls into a hole after chasing a dark creature by the riverbank and then pulled out with help from a neighbor, her perspective changes. Is she seeing ghosts? Phantom children? Has the supernatural become a part of her life? Is she losing her mind? This little big story asks you too think about it and how family relationships and isolation can be a gift or a curse. I ordered the authors first book The Factory immediately after reading this book. Highly recommended!

United States on Nov 07, 2020

August: It's a quick read with a mellow and lethargic tone. The plot was enjoyable and the author conveyed the message clearly enough that I understood what was being implied at the end. Though, I still wish Oyamada would have delved into it all a bit more or at least given certain moments more acknowledgment. It also would have been nice to see a few more interactions between Asa and the various characters she encountered over the summer. I did enjoy some of the quietest moments in this story, but nonetheless, it still felt like a bundle of potential never fully set into motion. Just a lot of built-up anticipation with no real release.

(Also, though it didn't necessarily make the novella harder to read, I found it strange how the dialogue was set up with all the speaking quotations crammed into the same paragraph.)

United States on Oct 13, 2020