Such an odd story and made me want to read more books of this genre. However, the lack of character development bothered me. Maybe that was the point?

Key topics:
- Isolation and boredom
- Family dynamics
- Surrealism/magical realism ( )

I realize I'm in the minority here, but I found the narrative plodding, the protagonist flat, and the "mysterious" aspects not particularly intriguing. Bleh. ( )

The matter-of-fact written style heightens the weirdness of the events in this domestic tale. I liked the grittiness mixed with the surreal. ( )

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 ( )