Review by lorettalucia - The Wall

lorettalucia 's review for:

The Wall by Marlen Haushofer

4.5

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