Asa's husband is offered a new job outside the city. His Mother Tomiko offers them the house in his home village right next to hers. It's tempting because it will be rent free. Living so close to her in- laws is not quite what she would want to do, but a rent free house would mean she can leave her job, which she intensely dislikes.
But there are aspects to this new lifestyle that irk and bother her. Her mother in law too readily interferes in the running of her house. And why is Grandpa always out watering the garden, come rain or shine? One day when out wandering she encounters and follows a strange black furry animal, and whilst pursuing it falls down a hole. A hole just right for a person of her size. A strangely unfamiliar neighbour rescues her. But her life after falling in the hole turns out to be stranger, more surreal and perplexing than the life before. Is she now living in a dream, or is this ordinary life of hers revealing an increasingly bizzare undertow?
This is the second book I've read by Oyamada. Like The Factory its best described as a short novella, The Hole being a few pages short of 100. Similar to The Factory it subtly winds up the weirdness factor. People and conversations become odder and more inconsistent as the story progresses. I don't think The Hole is anything like as engaging as The Factory, which was written to be much more of a social satire on corporate culture. The Hole is just a slightly spooky story, that lacks depth of character and any sense of purpose beyond being just a bit weird.
CARROT REVIEW - 4/8
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