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The Wall
The Wall | Marlen Haushofer
21 posts | 24 read | 28 to read
I can allow myself to write the truth; all the people for whom I have lied throughout my life are dead writes the heroine of Marlen Haushofers The Wall, a quite ordinary, unnamed middle-aged woman who awakens to find she is the last living human being. Surmising her solitude is the result of a too successful military experiment, she begins the terrifying work of not only survival, but self-renewal. The Wall is at once a simple and moving talk of potatoes and beans, of hoping for a calf, of counting matches, of forgetting the taste of sugar and the use of ones name and a disturbing meditation on 20th century history.
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review
sarahbarnes
The Wall | Marlen Haushofer
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Pickpick

This book somehow presents circumstances that are both tempting and terrifying. Such a unique premise, although the themes felt familiar. The MC‘s relationships with animals in the story are poignant, and I felt so much suspense and dread about what was to come. This is a book that I‘ll be thinking about for a long time. Thanks @batsy for putting this one on my list.

Suet624 Hmmm - I seem to have stacked this already - sounds intriguing. 3w
BarbaraBB Such an intriguing review, another recommendation by @batsy and that cover 🥰… sold! 3w
batsy Great review. Her relationship with the animals—that was so moving. Glad you liked it! 3w
35 likes1 stack add3 comments
review
Night_Reader
The Wall | Marlen Haushofer
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Pickpick

3.5/5 🌟

The first third of the book was great and had me hooked from the beginning. However, it became monotonous, and my interest wavered as I progressed.

review
batsy
The Wall | Marlen Haushofer
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Pickpick

A brilliant book that I won't forget easily. I went into it knowing as little as possible about it and I think that's the best way to experience it. Probably one of the best texts around in terms of defining one's humanity as the world ends, so to speak, in relation to kinship with animals. What a feat that Haushofer and translator Shaun Whiteside have pulled off: a book about a woman alone with her family of animals that has tremendous power.

batsy It's a masterclass in writing: there is so little to work on, and yet a whole novel is produced out of a woman's reckoning about the strange things that lead to her current circumstances. But most of all it was achingly tender and sad, but never sentimental, how she existed with the animals in her life and her sense of duty towards them that transformed into dependence and love. The cow is her "sister"; the dog, her trusted "friend" ? 12mo
Tamra Well that sounds interesting! 12mo
Cuilin Intriguing for sure. 12mo
See All 11 Comments
batsy @Tamra @Cuilin It is definitely that! A 5-star pick for me. 12mo
jlhammar I haven‘t read the book yet, but I loved the 2012 film adaptation (Die Wand starring Martina Gedeck). 12mo
Cuilin @batsy well now it‘s a stack on mount TBR. 12mo
batsy @jlhammar I wasn't aware there was a film adaptation! I will have to look it up. 12mo
sarahbarnes I want to read this! Great review! 12mo
batsy @sarahbarnes I love it so much! I highly recommend. 12mo
tpixie Great review. I came over here because I saw it mentioned on your other post. Very interesting concept. 3mo
batsy @tpixie Thank you! It's so well written (and translated), too. 3mo
85 likes6 stack adds11 comments
blurb
jenniferw88
The Wall | Marlen Haushofer
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@ju.ca.no #litsylove

Thankyou for the birthday present - I opened early as the box was battered, I hope you don't mind!

The book looks really interesting, and I need a lot of dystopian options for a challenge prompt as I don't read a lot of it, so I may get to it this year 🤣

Anna40 I love this book 12mo
ju.ca.no It‘s one of my favorite austrian authors, I hope you will enjoy it, even though it‘s not your usual genre🤗🤗 12mo
batsy I'm reading it right now and it's brilliant. 12mo
See All 6 Comments
jenniferw88 @ju.ca.no 😊 it's good for me to have options for the prompt, as I know it's one I'm going to struggle with. @batsy good to know! 12mo
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks 🎉🎊🎈 12mo
51 likes1 stack add6 comments
review
Lindy
The Wall | Marlen Haushofer
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Pickpick

Slow and powerful. I don‘t think I will ever forget this tale of a woman who appears to be the last human alive in a remote Austrian valley that is inexplicably & suddenly surrounded by a clear wall. Looking through to the other side, she sees only death. Her journal records the details of her day to day survival. It‘s a meditative novel that left me with much to ponder. #Translation by Shaun Whiteside and #audiobook read by Kathe Mazur.

jlhammar I loved this adaptation (starring Martina Gedeck). Such a great movie! I should try the book sometime. 2y
Lindy @jlhammar It looks like this audiobook cover is a movie tie-in. Is that correct? 2y
29 likes2 stack adds2 comments
quote
Lindy
The Wall | Marlen Haushofer
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I knew I couldn‘t go on like this. But I‘d never been capable of simply nipping an anxiety in the bud. I always had to wait until it was ripe and mature, and fell from me.

Ruthiella Oh man! If only I could do either? 😂 My anxiety is evergreen I think. (edited) 2y
Lindy @Ruthiella 🌲… or maybe 🌵? 😉 2y
34 likes1 stack add2 comments
quote
Lindy
The Wall | Marlen Haushofer
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I was very wise but my wisdom had come too late. And even if I‘d been born wise, I couldn‘t have done anything in a world that was foolish.

Centique That is a fabulous quote 🙌 2y
Lindy @Centique This is a special book. It grows on me the more I think about it. 2y
32 likes2 comments
quote
Lindy
The Wall | Marlen Haushofer
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Perhaps man‘s megalomania comes from dogs. Sometimes I even imagined there must be something special about me that made Lynx almost keel over with joy at the sight of me. Of course, there was never anything special about me. Lynx was, like all dogs, simply addicted to people.

LittlePixels OMG, so cute! 2y
Lindy @LittlePixels Thanks. Our girl is a sweetheart. 🐶 2y
35 likes2 comments
review
Jari-chan
The Wall | Marlen Haushofer
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Pickpick

This was my #BookSpin for June and landed on my TBR list because a customer recommended it to me. Honestly, I did not expect to finding me liking this book. But I did. What a surprise!

If you want a novel like The Dome by Stephen King and think this might be an early version of it, you might end up being disappointed. Haushofer focuses more on her character, her relationship with nature and especially her animals. The Wall reminded me a lot ⬇

Jari-chan of Walden - just in a more dystopian setting. The whole book is about a woman trying to survive alone in the woods, The Wall is just the reason why she's there. No explanation is given - because the narrator herself doesn't know where The Wall comes from.

To me it was a highly fascinating read and I got absorbed in those tiny details that now make the life of this woman.

@TheAromaOfBooks
2y
TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!!! 2y
25 likes2 comments
review
nosferatu
The Wall | Marlen Haushofer
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Pickpick

A compelling and occasionally monotonous story that continuously spirals towards a brief and sobering climax.

Soundtrack: Fleet Foxes - Shore

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hilded
The Wall | Marlen Haushofer
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#7Days7Books Day 6

A quiet and beautiful book with an unsetteling backstory. I was so pleasantly surprised by this little gem of a book, I knew very little about it before diving in and it quickly became a new favourite.

45 likes1 stack add
review
literarymermaid
The Wall | Marlen Haushofer
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Pickpick

How long could you survive living alone in a cabin in the woods with no electricity, a few potatoes, some beans, a little flour, and a cow?⠀
I hope I never have to find out but the resourcefulness of The Wall's protagonist is amazing and believable. It's an intriguing story. A full review is available on the blog today at allmybalancingacts.com. ⠀

14 likes1 stack add
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EadieB
Wall | Marlen Haushofer
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Ashley85 Great quote! 5y
63 likes1 comment
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tstan
The Wall | Marlen Haushofer
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Pickpick

Dystopian, because she‘s possibly the last human. But there‘s so much more to this- loneliness vs. solitude, relationships with others, our place in nature...I‘ll be thinking about this for a long time.

hilded Love this book ❤️ 6y
12 likes3 stack adds1 comment
blurb
hilded
The Wall | Marlen Haushofer
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Cinfhen Sounds heavy 6y
hilded Not at all @Cinfhen. Even though it's a dystopian novel, it's not a typical survivalist novel, as it is not an exciting or thrilling book. Rather a quiet book with an unsetteling backstory.The process the protagonist goes through to come to terms with was has happened and survive is realistic and gripping, and the portrait of nature and its animals are quite captivating.Really not much going on,but there was something about the mood that got to me 6y
Cinfhen Thanks to Litsy, I‘ve grown to really like dystopian reads...I‘m stacking this for #rainydayread ☔️⛈☔️ 6y
36 likes2 stack adds3 comments
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RiotMom
The Wall | Marlen Haushofer
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1. This one is in our upstairs hallway and has my favorite bookends.
2. Futuristic, please!
3. I‘ll have a soda water with lime.
4. Brown
5. The tagged book, for #gameoftomes. I love the premise but the slump has got me like whoa right now.
#humpdaypost @MinDea

EvieBee I love your dog lamp! Everything in this pic is so gorgeous! 6y
RiotMom @EvieBee ☺️ thank you!! 6y
77 likes2 comments
blurb
Yellowpigeon
The Wall | Marlen Haushofer
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When you want to read (or fix your broken manicure) but your cat has other ideas #catsoflitsy

Tanzy13 🐱 6y
rubyslippersreads 😹😹😹 6y
SassyBookworm Attention attention 🐱🐱😹 6y
45 likes3 comments
blurb
MyNamesParadise
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Watching the film adaptation. This is the booklet that came in the DVD I got from the library. I can't help but think her situation would be somewhat better if the cabin she was in was filled with books! #BlameItOnLitsy #BooksFixEverything

review
Babs_book_obsession
The Wall | Marlen Haushofer
Pickpick

Loved the main characters connection with her animals, that her animals were actual characters in a way. She had some great reflections on being a woman and mother. It was lovely, but at the same time a bit long and monotonous.