Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.05 AVERAGE
4.05 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The Wall is a book that has been making the rounds in my reading circles lately. It’s been on my radar for the last year but it wasn’t until I finally found and bought a copy earlier this month that I really prioritized it in my reading.
I am not typically one for “post apocalyptic” novels, something that this book is often referred to as. Most of my aversion to the genre is dealing with the collapse of society and the fact that so much of it looks to derive entertainment from a scenario that feels more and more real with each passing year. That being said, I do have quite an affinity for these “Last Man on Earth” survival stories.
Here we have our Last Woman on Earth, an unnamed middle aged woman who joins a hunting party in the Austrian Alps. She decides to stay back at the hunting lodge one night and when she realizes that the rest of her group haven’t come home she comes to learn that she is surrounded by an invisible wall, the last human alive, accompanied only by a few friendly animals.
I quite like these survival stories and I’ve found this to be one of the best I’ve read. Maybe it's my time in Boy Scouts, camping and learning about wilderness survival but I much prefer this kind of post apocalyptica to that of decaying societies showing the dire and despicable strains on humanity.
The Wall offers a great narrative around this concept as well as meditations on the fragility of social constructs such as gender, time, and technological conveniences. This, along with the writing offers an experience that is a cut above.
In recent months I’ve read a handful of books written with no defined chapter or section breaks. This is not my preferred way of experiencing a story but I will say this is one of the best examples of a book in this style. There were enough natural breaks that it was easy to pick up and put down and the writing was engaging enough that when I did pick up the book again I was easily back, engrossed in it.
There really is something about reading a book with a narrative that is so insular. The solitary nature of the story really lends to a deep and personal read. The interpersonal thoughts that build up much of this story really draw you into this world and way of life, making it feel more tangible. This would have been the perfect book to read during covid, something I’m sure someone at New Directions was doing, leading to this 2022 republication.
If I had one complaint it would be that the book starts to lose its luster in the latter half. For only being 230 pages, this book feels quite dense and detailed but in the latter half, particularly in the last 50 pages, it really starts to feel like just more of the same. Much of the narrative starts to tread water and focuses on many of the same themes. Some of the newer ideas such as digging under the wall or the possibility of other human life are hinted at but not explored, focusing only on survival in the same manner as it’s been explored. Some of this feels intentional as that is the monotony, loneliness, and harsh dismalness of a scenario like this but I felt like either this book could have stretched out the length of the narrative by exploring some of these ideas in more detail or cutting the book down by about a quarter.
Aside from this, I was all in on Haushofer’s creation. When you learn how much writing and rewriting went into this book it shows and like I said before I was easily drawn into this world and story.
The Wall often references its “proto feminist” nature. I certainly can’t think of another solo woman survival story that was written earlier than this book. The greatest feminist accomplishment here is how early on our protagonist notes how she loses any sense of gender and continues on in her plans of survival. For this reason it is easy for anyone to attach and relate to this story, a marvel especially considering the time in which this book was written. Overall this book feels timeless and it is easy to forget the inception of this idea being in the 1950s.
Well deserving of the hype and revival I’ve I would suggest anyone interested in unique ideas and exploring the human condition in a book to read this. While not an all out favorite I am left quite impressed and a little sad that it is over.
adventurous
inspiring
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death
Moderate: Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Chronic illness, Blood
I needed to have a conversation with this diva by the end. I was so on board with most of her decisions and thoughts for 95% of the book but the BIG THING happens at the end and she’s just like “teehee whatever”. Also dig under the wall
Ein kurioser Einblick in die menschliche Psyche und Ausdauerfähigkeit während einer Apokalypse ähnlichen Situation. Obwohl das Buch nicht viel Handlung von sich gibt, erschafft es einen Rahmen in dem man sich fragt, wie man selbst in der jeweiligen Situation reagieren würde. Während es leicht ist
direkt vom Aufgeben in Überlebenssituationen zu sprechen, kommt man tatsächlich in eine, wird man merken, dass der Mensch es automatisch schafft, sich anzupassen und weiter zu bestehen. Ob vor Millionen von Jahren, oder heute, dieses Buch zeigt wie ausdauernd wir sein können.
direkt vom Aufgeben in Überlebenssituationen zu sprechen, kommt man tatsächlich in eine, wird man merken, dass der Mensch es automatisch schafft, sich anzupassen und weiter zu bestehen. Ob vor Millionen von Jahren, oder heute, dieses Buch zeigt wie ausdauernd wir sein können.
emotional
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A