Reviews

The Wall by Marlen Haushofer

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pencilspeaker's review against another edition

reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

1.25

So lang, so viele Wiederholungen, keine Kapitelunterteilungen, eine Protagonistin die sich mit ihrer Situation abfindet, nichts hinterfragt,

eine Wand, die nicht erklärt wird

. Ich musste das Buch für die Uni lesen, sonst hätte ich es sicher nicht beendet.
Es fühlte sich teilweise so an, als wolle die Autorin in diesem 'Bericht' alle wichtigen Fragen des Menschseins angehen, doch erschuf stattdessen eine Protagonistin, die immer vor allem die Augen verschließt, und nur für die kleinen Probleme Lösungen sucht, nicht aber die großen und wirklich wichtigen.
Oh und content warning:

es sterben sehr viele Tiere

Content Warnings

maggi__'s review against another edition

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adventurous challenging slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

I like the narration and atmosphere but it got too repetitive as the book progressed

sburbanjungle's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad slow-paced

4.75

captivating, devastating, yet also peaceful in many ways. on paper I wouldn’t think it would be interesting but wow, this really sucked me in

honeysun's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective sad slow-paced

5.0

cb1984's review against another edition

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Just found it incredibly repetitive and the main character very irritating. Feel a bit guilty DNFing as it was for book club. Hopefully others enjoyed it more!

msjared's review against another edition

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4.0

I really liked this one although it was a very quite, lonely, melancholy story. It was so well written though, and I really cared about the narrator and her animal companions and their well-being.

It's a story about the last woman on Earth who finds herself surrounded by an invisible wall that borders an area in the Austrian Alps where she had gone to vacation with family. When her family doesn't return the next day and she discovers the wall she realizes she must figure out how to survive all alone. Although she does fairly well, it is still a sad and lonely existence as she worries for the animals she finds and cares for.

Although the premise is science fictiony, her predicament isn't discussed much as she mostly just describes her daily toils and the bits of pleasure she finds in nature and being able to survive and the love and joy she shares with her dog, the cats, and the cow and bull.

Not for those expecting action and adventure, but very thought provoking and realistic and clearly written by someone quite sensitive and insightful about nature and animals, human and non.