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4.05 AVERAGE
4.05 AVERAGE
The Wall is one of those books that quietly seeps into your bones. Haushofer’s writing is breathtaking—quiet and restrained yet deeply evocative. The way she unravels isolation, survival, and the slow transformation of the self in solitude is mesmerizing. There’s a raw beauty in the simplicity of her prose, and the way she captures the rhythms of life, the small joys, and the aching loneliness is nothing short of stunning.
But why—just why—did the ending have to be like that? After investing so much into the narrator’s journey, the final stretch left me staring at the page, hollowed out and grasping for more. Maybe that was the point—life doesn’t offer neat resolutions, and neither does this book. Still, it’s frustrating in the best, most heart-wrenching way.
If you’re looking for something meditative, quiet yet devastating, and utterly captivating, The Wall is a book you won’t forget. Just prepare yourself.
But why—just why—did the ending have to be like that? After investing so much into the narrator’s journey, the final stretch left me staring at the page, hollowed out and grasping for more. Maybe that was the point—life doesn’t offer neat resolutions, and neither does this book. Still, it’s frustrating in the best, most heart-wrenching way.
If you’re looking for something meditative, quiet yet devastating, and utterly captivating, The Wall is a book you won’t forget. Just prepare yourself.
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Sojourn: Thirty
1/30
“In my dreams I bring children into the world, and they aren’t human children; there are cats among them, dogs, calves, bears and quite peculiar furry creatures. But they emerge from me, and there is nothing about them that could frighten or repel me. It only looks off-putting when I write it down, in human writing and human words. Perhaps I should draw these dreams with pebbles on green moss, or scratch them in the snow with a stick. But I can’t do that yet. I probably won’t live long enough to be so transformed. Perhaps a genius could do it, but I’m only a simple person who has lost her world and is on the way to finding a new one.”
The softest soul imaginable to find yourself bound to for 230 pages, it is hard in moments to bear her sense of duty to her animals, her wide open sense of their emotions that never anthropomorphizes. It is tragic because it is beautiful.
1/30
“In my dreams I bring children into the world, and they aren’t human children; there are cats among them, dogs, calves, bears and quite peculiar furry creatures. But they emerge from me, and there is nothing about them that could frighten or repel me. It only looks off-putting when I write it down, in human writing and human words. Perhaps I should draw these dreams with pebbles on green moss, or scratch them in the snow with a stick. But I can’t do that yet. I probably won’t live long enough to be so transformed. Perhaps a genius could do it, but I’m only a simple person who has lost her world and is on the way to finding a new one.”
The softest soul imaginable to find yourself bound to for 230 pages, it is hard in moments to bear her sense of duty to her animals, her wide open sense of their emotions that never anthropomorphizes. It is tragic because it is beautiful.
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
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:
Complicated
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Such a surprisingly riveting novel. Kept thinking about it even when not reading it. Haushofer is able to make the mundane exciting and different every time and it was wonderful seeing how it all ended. One truly feels like they are living in that hunting hut throughout this novel, and the aspects slightly hidden on motherhood, female social expectations, and gender in general are wonderful.
It’s a slow, at times slightly tense, and peaceful novel. I’ll definitely be thinking about this for a while to come.
It’s a slow, at times slightly tense, and peaceful novel. I’ll definitely be thinking about this for a while to come.
dark
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
No complaints on the writing, the plot or the characters. Repetitive at times, but as an accurate description of her life it didn’t bother or bore me, but brought me into her life effectively. It is quite a gloomy book though, which pulled me into a state of isolation and muted horror. I spent the whole book worried about all the animals and hoping for births which could introduce new companions for her. Interesting medium to slowly brood on the question of who you are when you strip away everyone else and what makes a life worth living.
It is considered a feminist book. For me the complete and permanent removal of society and human interaction marks it as something beyond feminism, losing the aspect of gender altogether. The character is only focused on survival and care for the animals around her. There is hardly any reflection on her life as a woman. She loses the identity marker and any reflections quite early on.
Though the ending does suddenly mirror a completely different attitude I (perhaps due to being a woman myself) hadn’t deemed possible. This text becomes more feminist as you imagine the narrative from his perspective.
It is considered a feminist book. For me the complete and permanent removal of society and human interaction marks it as something beyond feminism, losing the aspect of gender altogether. The character is only focused on survival and care for the animals around her. There is hardly any reflection on her life as a woman. She loses the identity marker and any reflections quite early on.
Though the ending does suddenly mirror a completely different attitude I (perhaps due to being a woman myself) hadn’t deemed possible. This text becomes more feminist as you imagine the narrative from his perspective.
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-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
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This is a melancholic and eerie novel that, despite the oppressively lonesome atmosphere, still manages to present moments of affection and beauty.
For those unfamiliar with the concept, the unnamed narrator is vacationing in the Alps when something catastrophic happens, creating an invisible wall between herself and the rest of the world. Upon investigation, she discovers that all living creatures on the other side of this wall are petrified, and so she finds herself stranded with just a dog, a feral cat and a cow, and whatever deer are in her alpine forest.
The narrator has to focus on her survival in this brutal environment—as high altitude mountains are not particularly arable. But she also creates extremely close relationships of mutual reliance with her animals. She dotes on her cow, but also relies on her milk for sustenance. The dog is her truest friend, but also keeps on ever watchful eye on her. Like any true family, this unconventional group shares a touching love, as well as caring for each other through the thick and thin. And it’s these relationships that keeps the narrator from falling into true despair.
The writing is beautiful—quite plain and focused on the particulars of the narrator’s small and peculiar world, but also filled with profound insights on life, love, and the relationship humans have with the natural world, which can range anywhere from incredibly destructive to deeply caring.
As other people have mentioned, the novel I Who Have Never Known Me, published in the 1990s appears to be in conversation with this one, published in the 1960s, so I would suggest reading them pretty close in time with each other, which is what I did.
Anyway, excellent novel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death