Korean Literature discussion
This topic is about
The Hole
Book Club
>
2021/07 The Hole by Hye-Young Pyun
date
newest »
newest »
Looking forward to reading this!
I read this one in a single day and gave it 4.5 stars, it took a few chapters to drag me in, then I was hooked.
Oh, it doesn't seem to be available in Japan :(
I read in two days and was not really impressed despite going through it quite smoothly. I found the whole setup a bit predictable, and the ending very abrupt. What did you like about the book (I think Aleksandra gave it 5 stars as well if I recall correctly). I have the feeling I missed something, somewhere while reading the book.
Henk wrote: "I read in two days and was not really impressed despite going through it quite smoothly. I found the whole setup a bit predictable, and the ending very abrupt. What did you like about the book (I t..."A while back I would hand out 5 stars by deafult. If I thought the book was readable and didn't see anything particularly wrong with it, it was usually a 5. Now I am kind of giving up on ratings altogether...
In case of "The Hole", I remember appreciating the suspense and the intensity of plot theories which played out in the mind of the protagonist. Also, I thought that the novel was psychologically sound, unlike some other novels by Hye-Young Pyun.
Well, I couldn't finish this. I'll still try, but the writing style is an indication of either a lazy author or translator. The reader is constantly told what to think rather than allowing us to discover ourselves what is happening. For example, in the first two pages, we're told 4 times that Oghi is in the hospital. We could have figured that out as soon as the doctor entered, but even then the doctor confirmed he was in the hospital! This is just dull writing. There are no descriptions of people or vibrant verbs, just Oghi did this, then he did that. As a reader, I want more. There has to be more than just plot. Sorry, this just didn't work for me.
Have any of you read the book already? I really liked it and decided to read more stories and novels by the same author, but found that The Hole was my ultimate favorite.