Ratings19
Average rating3.2
Asa's husband is transferring jobs, and his new office is located near his family's home in the countryside. During an exceptionally hot summer, the young married couple move in, and Asa does her best to quickly adjust to their new rural lives, to their remoteness, to the constant presence of her in-laws and the incessant buzz of cicadas. While her husband is consumed with his job, Asa is left to explore her surroundings on her own: she makes trips to the supermarket, halfheartedly looks for work, and tries to find interesting ways of killing time. One day, while running an errand for her mother-in-law, she comes across a strange creature, follows it to the embankment of a river, and ends up falling into a hole--a hole that seems to have been made specifically for her. This is the first in a series of bizarre experiences that drive Asa deeper into the mysteries of this rural landscape filled with eccentric characters and unidentifiable creatures, leading her to question her role in this world, and eventually, her sanity.
Reviews with the most likes.
I found The Hole a bit monotonous at first, but wow, the ending justifies every bit of seeming dullness.
almost ★★★★★
The part when Asahi falls into the hole beside Grandpa and she notices the creature beneath her gave me chills like no other book has.
the writing, the storytelling, the atmosphere, the confusion, the intrigue, the spookiness...this was amazing. I think I have an idea of what just happened but I also am completely in the dark. 10/10 Oyamada is incredible like wow