The Wall

Rating:
Summary: The story of the last woman
Review: A woman on holiday goes in search of her friends who didn't return during the night. She runs into an invisible wall which surrounds her apparently, and every living thing on the opposite side is dead. Struggling to keep her wits and to survive, she must change from the rhythms of living with other people to living according to the seasons and the animals she must take care of (a dog, a cow, some cats, others). Haushofer's stellar tale is a concise, powerful indictment (much like Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale") on the destructive capabilities of our world as run by men. It's through the rhythms of women and of nature that survival is possible through any adversity. My favorite quote: "Loving and looking after another creature is a very troublesome business, and much harder than killing and destruction. It takes twenty years to bring up a child, and ten seconds to kill it."

Rating:
Summary: On my all time top 10 list
Review: I read The Wall because it was assigned to me as part of a German Women Writers in Translation course. Wait... don't stop reading, quite yet... I had reservations about the novel when I first started it, because I thought it would either be dull and boring, or it would be too much like science fiction/fantasy or a nature novel, two genres I don't enjoy most of the time. It is neither.

This novel is actually a portrait of courage. As others have said, the unnamed author finds that she is the last person left after a nuclear holocaust. She is protected by an invisible shield and must learn to survive on her own.

The woman copes by writing a diary of her situation. She tell us, on the first page: "I'm not writing for the sheer joy of writing; so many things have happened to me that I must write if I am not to lose my reason."

The narrator comes across as very honest and the story is very moving. As she writes, "I can't think who I should lie to today. I can allow myself to write the truth; all the people for whom I have lied throughout my life are dead."

There are wonderful passages throughout the novel; my book is covered in highlighter pen because so many lines stood out. The process the author goes through to come to terms with what has happened and survive is realistic and gripping. The portrait of nature is quite captivating.

Overall, this novel has an important message about what it means to be human. It speaks to the need to work for peace; to come together to avoid creating a situation where this novel could actually take place. It is an important work that I believe everyone who is concerned for the future of our planet should read. You will be moved and you will be changed by this book.

Rating:
Summary: My Favorite of ALL TIME Book
Review: Years ago I was looking for a "fiction" book to read, after having read so many self-help type books and I came across The Wall. I had no idea what a fabulous read I was in for on that day. I was drawn into the story in a way that is difficult to describe. I truly felt that I was there experiencing every single moment. The pictures were drawn so deftly, my mind came alive! One minute it was all peaceful and calm, and the next minute there was a horror and a fright -- then this was followed by a resolve and an inner strength. This is a most beautiful "woman's" story - to me. I read this book in the 80's, and in all that time, I have been looking for it again - as I must have given it out for another to read and never got it back. The Wall has haunted my life since -- and today I waded through 100's of titles trying one more time to find the book and there it was..... Any book that can stay with a person for 15 or more years, has to be a book that touches a true place. Brava!