"Something to think about"
It is vacation time and the parents believe their
children are on a field trip while the school
administrators assume the six went home. Instead, the
sextet decides to perform a human experiment. Five of them
(Frankie, Goeff, Alex, Mike, and Liz) will climb into a
forgotten "Hole" in a building in a neglected section of
the massive school. The sixth Martyn will shut the door to
the cellar to lock the quintet inside, but come back three
days later to release the participants from the Hole. They
would be heroes among their peers for this glorious prank. During the volunteer stage of their captivity, the five
students discuss their dreams and fears. However, as the
time for freedom arrives and passes without Martyn opening
the cellar door, the teens panic fearing death. They
become desperate and start doing ugly things in hopes that
someone will save them from the ordeal. THE HOLE is a strong psychological thriller that will
remind readers of the Lord of the Flies, but though quite
good is not at that level of excellence. The story line is
told in two voices. A therapist-narrator working with the
survivor who is writing her story down as part of her
healing. This technique takes away from the tension
because the audience knows the results of the ordeal early
on. Still, Guy Burt writes a taut, albeit slim thriller
that will please those readers who enjoy dark psychological
tales of human failure. Harriet Klausner
Reviewed by PNR Group Member
Posted September 20, 2001
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