It is a short psychological thriller but unfortunately and in my opinion t it didn't deliver what was promised in the blurb. It is a shame, since I love Korean fiction!

This book was well written, I felt genuinely sorry for Oghi and the condition he was in, however I felt it lacked plot. The story started well but didn’t go anywhere after that. Reading the description before starting the book I was expecting a much stronger horror element but instead I found it lacking in that area, it became quite flat towards the end. Overall not a bad read but not what I was expecting.

Interesting concept and the slow burn reality based horror and tension, as well as the commentary on disability was compelling, but ultimately this felt a bit rushed. Would have loved for the tension to have had more room to develop.

This book was eerie, unsettling, and quietly intense. It’s not your typical horror or thriller—it’s more psychological, more about what’s not being said. The slow, claustrophobic build-up really got under my skin, and I found myself thinking about it even when I wasn’t reading.

There were moments that felt a bit repetitive or slow, but I think that was part of the atmosphere—the feeling of being stuck, both physically and emotionally. The sense of dread creeps in gradually, and by the end, it really lingers.

It’s dark, quiet, and very haunting. Not for everyone, but definitely worth reading if you enjoy slow-burn psychological stories that leave you unsettled in the best way.

This slim and breezy thriller is cold, precise, layered, claustrophobic, and wholly effective. Without very much actually happening, we keep getting more and more story unravelling as we dig deeper into the background and motivations of our main characters. By the end, I wasn’t sure who I wanted to prevail any more.

It’s only fair to say that this book takes about two thirds to really kick into something truly dark - but that early portion is not without its merits. We get to know our stricken protagonist Oghi, we share his pain and his sheer helplessness as he comes to terms with the broken body he’s been left with from the car crash that killed his wife, and we feel his shame at having to have everything done for him.

We also get the slow burn introduction of his mother-in-law, who ends up caring for Oghi. Her character arc is fascinating; you’re never quite certain of any good intentions on her part, but she does enough to persuade you that she’s maybe just working through her own grief and that she’ll come good in the end.

Then we hit the final act and everything changes. The tension ramps up, danger closes in for Oghi and we race to the powerful climax. The comparisons to Misery are both obvious and well-earned and by the end you are left chilled to the core. A simple but cracking little story, delivered via a wonderfully written translation…this was dark and delicious in all kinds of screwed up ways.

Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for the ARC.

A book translated from The Korean, following Oghi, a professor at a Korean University. He has had a devastating accident that killed his wife and left him a paraplegic. His mother-in-law is left to look after him. The story is told in the present day (as Oghi recovers from his injuries) and the past (as Oghi recalls incidents around him and his wife's turbulent marriage). As the story unravels, deep and dark secrets are revealed. Overall, A fast paced and engrossing read. I would highly recommend. The translation by Sora Kim-Russell was flawless.

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from NetGalley and Random House UK, Transworld Publishers | Doubleday in exchange for a free and honest review.

Rating somewhere between a 3 and 3.5.

This felt like a slow burn but the burn was just below a simmer that never quite made it to boiling point. The first half had some decent elements but sometimes felt a bit static. The second slowly started building the tension, which was very good in some areas but missed in others.

The Hole is a tense Korean novel about a man who recently survived a car accident that killed his wife. Oghi wakes up unable to move or speak, and with the loss of his wife, his mother-in-law becomes the only person who cares for him. Once back in his house, helpless without support, he relies on his mother-in-law, but it becomes apparent that she has different priorities to him, and also seems to be digging huge holes in the garden.

This short novel is a literary thriller with layers, with a lot of the story unfolding as you find out what happened before the accident as well as Oghi's experiences afterwards. Whilst it might feel like you're falling into a straightforward story about a helpless man being mistreated, the narrative is also playing around with that perspective, and this becomes very apparent by the end of the book. If you go into the book expecting the pace and tension of a generic horror or thriller novel (the book is, for example, compared to Misery in some places), then you'll be disappointed, and it took me a while to get into the groove of the book and realise the importance of all the 'flashback' narrative parts.

Wow. This book is quite terrifying in a non-traditional way. I am not sure what to say about it really, for the protagonist it’s a bit of a downward spiral leading to the hole which is referenced metaphorically a few times. Interesting. Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC.

This was a disturbing slow burn thriller that you'll think about long after you've finished it. Watching the dark decent of two of these characters as one comes to terms with his new life after an awful incident is intense. There's this constant dread and feeling of something darker still yo surface throughout.

I have had The Hole on my radar for years, so was so happy to see it finally published in the UK! Unfortunately though, this really didn't work for me, to the point where I actually had to put the book down at the 56% mark. This book is very slow. Normally I can enjoy that, but this book didn't have the characters or plot to help engage and guide the reader along its meandering route. There was a scene early on that had me thinking we would see some speculative or supernatural elements introduced. Maybe that does happen later on, but if so it is a shame they weren't introduced earlier as this book needed more of a driving force behind it. For a relatively short book, this felt so long.

I will also say that the way Oghi was written, particularly in relation to his newfound disability, made me uncomfortable, with a lot of ableism, both internal and external, going unchecked.

If you are interested in picking this up and are okay with slow narratives and unlikeable characters, then I say go for it as you will likely enjoy it more than I did. If you require a medium-fast paced plot however, or need to be hooked in by the characters, then maybe give this a miss.

Like Ryu Murakami's AUDITION, Hye-Young Pyun's THE HOLE both frustrates and intrigues, holding its true darkness for the climax, and disguising its true intent in the horror of the mundane and the apparently inconsequential. But if you can find the horror between the moments, and realise that is not a grand guignol thriller but rather a slow march of dread and uncertainty, then there is a lot to like in this short, deceptively simple narrative that digs deeper the hole at the heart of our connections, our families, our very perceptions of who we are.

Oghi is paralysed from a car crash that killed his wife and left him unable to do anything except, it seems, blink. He is barely aware of his own body, and at the mercy of doctors and nurses who either feed him platitudes or talk like he isn't even there. And then, when he starts to move his left hand -- slowly, surely -- he is allowed into the care of his only real relative -- his mother in law. But his wife had always had a fraught relationship with her mother, and as Oghi is left entirely in her care, he begins to realise why as he becomes entirely dependant on a woman who may not have his own -- or her own -- best interests at heart.

This isn't horror in its essential sense, but rather it is more a novel of dread and our fear of helplessness. Comparisons to King's Misery will undoubtedly follow, but this is far more subtle and leaves the reader with a lingering sense of uncertainty as to what truly happened by the end of the book. It will, I think, appeal more to a literary crowd than a pure horror crowd, but those who engage with it -- as I did -- will find it a fast, rewarding read with moments evoke that genuine fear of being utterly dependant on someone who you are never sure you can fully trust...

Oghi experiences a horrifying situation and gradually, we learn more about his past.
A short thriller with some disturbing parts.
Plot, craft, tone were all 3 solid stars for me.
I can see why this is well liked.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for providing me with a copy of The Hole.

This was completely different to my usual reads and overall I really enjoyed it and the shortness really worked with the more psychological horrors that are explored.

This isn’t a typical horror as it is very slow burn and many of the horror aspects are more subtle and focuses on fears that many people have and I didn’t really find it creepy until towards the end.

The symbolism and the unravelling of the mother in law and Oghi’s wife was excellent and really added another layer to the story that could be easily missed.

It’s well worth reflecting on this book and doing some research after reading to get the most out of it and to identify some of the subtleties that may have been missed.

The Hole by Hye-Young Pyun is a dark and unsettling psychological thriller that delves into grief, guilt, and isolation. The novel’s premise is intriguing, following a man who, after a tragic car accident, finds himself paralyzed and entirely dependent on his mother-in-law—whose behavior grows increasingly disturbing. Pyun’s writing is tense and atmospheric, creating a sense of dread that lingers throughout.

While the novel effectively captures the claustrophobic horror of helplessness, the slow pacing and repetitive internal monologues can make the story feel drawn out. The tension builds gradually, but some readers may find the progression too subdued. The psychological depth is compelling, though the story often feels more like a character study than a fully realized thriller.

The ending is chilling and memorable, but the journey there feels uneven. The Hole is an unsettling exploration of isolation and despair, but its slow pace and ambiguity may not suit all tastes. A solid 3-star read for fans of psychological horror with a literary edge.

The Hole is a very bleak psychological thriller about awful people doing awful things. The story, in a way, is one huge metaphor for grief. At first I felt bad for the main character, who couldn’t do much for himself except move his left hand some, and how he was treated but as the story progressed you find out he isn’t actually a nice guy. But, does that mean he deserved what has happened to him and what he is put through? This book made me think, made me cringe and kept me questioning throughout..

I think maybe I missed something here, because I just found this book very very slow, and not all that interesting.
It was short, so I continued on.
It's not a bad book, it just doesn't deliver on the promise of the blurb.
I was waiting a long time for tension....