Most of Oyamada’s works are very short—100 pages or less. The Hole reads smoothly and easily and much of it is straightforward narrative. But there are mysteries: what was the animal she saw? Did she really see something at all? Does the brother-in-law even exist? Or the gang of kids at the convenience store? The family (the story is told by the young wife) has just moved to the countryside because the husband has transferred to a new job. The uninvolved/self-involved husband is a minor character and the wife tries to adjust to their new remoteness, exploring the area by herself. Everything speaks to isolation, both literal and figurative. She has far too much free time, one reason she is so intent on discovering what’s nearby. A series of bizarre experiences—inexplicable mysteries that are never solved or explained—raise far more questions than she can handle, leading her to question everything from her marriage to her family to her society. Fantasy-ish, magic realism-ish. Unsettling might be the best word. Not exceptional in my humble estimation but I should also point out that it won the Akutagawa Prize, so what do I know? In any case, I am intrigued enough to invest the time in another book or two of hers. I suspect that this will grow on me as time passes and I will recognize that despite the (intentionally) flat narrative voice, there is more going on here than I realize as I sit here today. ( )

Love how nothing's ever settled in this book. I offered some thoughts in an essay: https://walkingthewire.substack.com/p/you-have-always-been-the-bride ( )

I liked The Hole, even more than I liked Oyamada's debut, The Factory. I think some of the protagonist's anxieties were intensely relatable in a world where one might not feel like they quite belong. The novella overall had really great spooky, absurdist vibes. At times, Oyamada's tendency to write in long, introspective paragraphs can be challenging to read, though with the novel being as short as it is, I wasn't too bothered by this ( )

The Hole was rather disappointing. There was very little story here other than what was in the synopsis. I think some elements might have been lost in translation. A woman quits her job to move to the country with her husband. They move into a house next to his parents. She starts to question everything, especially the ordinary things.

It was also odd how all the dialogue was written in one big clump with no differentiation on who was speaking. ( )

I picked this up because this won the Akutagawa Prize. Quite a rapid page-turner, finished it in barely 2 seatings, only interrupted by natural business. Not sure what genre this belongs to. A slice of life / quick suspense / supernatural realism? A bit of a freakshow. It has some.. questionable apparitions and occurrences, which were hardly explained in the last 4 pages or so. Was she hallucinating? Were there ghosts? What about the strange semblances? Were the holes real? Dunno. Not everything has closure, I'm still wondering what the heck was all that about now.

Tbh it's not outstanding, but it was an entertaining read. The atmosphere setting game was strong. The scorching heat, eeriness, and confusion kinda made me throb with incoming nausea. The pacing kept me on edge in a quiet way the whole time if that makes sense. The background was relatable for me as a girl in my late 20's who also just underwent some big changes in life. It also features some commentaries/reflections about housewives' live and maybe gender roles; made me think a bit. 3.5/5 ( )