A review by biblio_creep
The Hole by Hiroko Oyamada

4.5

Read if you’re looking for: 

• A short, surreal novella from a Japanese author
• Dreamlike and unsettling imagery
• Feelings of the oppressive summer heat & malaise
• A strange creature who digs deep holes that seem to fit a person’s body perfectly
• Visual allusions to transformation, loss, and disconnection

In this short novella, we’re following Asa, who is moving out of the city to a small town in the countryside of Japan with her husband to live beside her in-laws, due to a change in her husband’s job. Asa is having difficulty adjusting to her new position as housewife, but also has no motivation to find a new job. It’s a blazing hot summer, and as Asa explores the countryside she starts to have some bizarre experiences. As she walks the path along the river, she sees a strange and unidentifiable creature. She follows the creature into the tall grass of the riverbank and falls into a deep hole, that seems to fit her exact dimensions. As the story continues, stranger encounters occur with the creature, and with her mysterious brother-in-law, whom her husband’s family has never mentioned to her and seems to completely ignore.

This story was very enjoyable to read, being both dreamlike and unsettling. I’ve seen it compared to David Lynch and Hayao Miazaki, and I would agree with that assertion. The author is very skilled at conveying the malaise of summer, beautifully describing the sensory overload of heat, humidity, and the screaming of cicadas. The imagery of the many holes dug by the creature, hidden and waiting, almost as traps for someone to fall into, was very interesting, almost indicative of graves. The men in the story are also seemingly disconnected from Asa, with her husband always preoccupied by his phone and usually at work, her father-in-law always gone, and the grandfather seemingly unable to hear or comprehend what Asa is saying. The only man she interacts with is the mysterious brother-in-law, but he is often speaking in riddles and it’s hard to tell what his intentions are.

This story evokes feelings of transformation, loss, and disconnection, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. It is one of those stories that you need to just go with the flow and not try to understand everything that is happening, which is something that I love. This is a book that I would love to re-read to see what other metaphors and allusions I can pick up. And, I just loved the authorial voice as well. I highly recommend this read to lovers of weird and surreal fiction, and books with lazy summer vibes.

CW: Death, Death of parent, Animal cruelty, Dementia, Animal death, Confinement, Excrement, Grief