I came across this book by accident and finished this in one sitting. This was quite a read, so different from the usual thrillers. I am planning on doing an Asian Reads series on my channel soon as well. Hopefully this month! Stay Tuned 😛
SYNOPSIS
Ogi has woken from a coma after causing a devastating car accident that took his wife’s life and left him paralyzed and badly disfigured. His caretaker is his mother-in-law, a widow grieving the loss of her only child. Ogi is neglected and left alone in his bed. His world shrinks to the room he lies in and his memories of his troubled relationship with his wife, a sensitive, intelligent woman who found all of her life goals thwarted except for one: cultivating the garden in front of their house. But soon Ogi notices his mother-in-law in the abandoned garden, uprooting what his wife had worked so hard to plant and obsessively digging larger and larger holes. When asked, she answers only that she is finishing what her daughter started.
A psychological thriller about loneliness and the dark truths we try to bury.
THOUGHTS
I heard this as an Audiobook on the way to meet my parents, and felt so productive. The audio is not terrible but I would recommend the Ebook for this one.
TERROR
Firstly, I’d like to mention there is no supernatural element in this book. So then, why term it as terror? Because it deals with real life terrors we have in our life. I am kind of always stressed out with simple things like a dull headache only for google to tell me I have a brain tumor or currently a stabbing pain on the right side of my chest only for google to tell me I might have lung cancer. Consequently, I go into a downward spiral of wondering what my life will be and how many things I won’t be able to accomplish. if google were to be right. This book takes that terror and doubles down on delivering an anxiety attack into the reader’s mind aka me in this case.
The protagonist in this book has met with a terrible accident and is in a vegetative state. His wife died in the accident and now his mother – in – law is taking care of him. Already seems like a sad story but then while he looks back on life he wishes he could be do things better, and regrets the things he took for granted.
In short, this reads like a literary fiction while leaving chills down your spine.
THE HOLE
The only absurd thing in this book how the story refers to the title and the cover in general. Not wanting to give spoilers, but the mother in law is the absolute devil at times and might need some mental therapy of her own. Saying that, I’d also like to mention she is grieving for her daughter in her own weird way
RATING : 3.75/5.0
Overall, this was quite a read, and I would recommend it as a literary thriller for folks who are interested. Often times, when I read a thriller I am always comforting myself how this would never happen to me. But this book kept making me ask myself – What if?
BOOK DETAILS
Published On : March 23rd 2016
Pages: 198
Genre: Psychological Thriller
Publisher: Arcade
Literary Awards: Shirley Jackson Award for Novel (2017)
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