Stunningly Gorgeous Once Past the Grief

I can see how listeners can go either way on this: I made myself listen to it at one go because I knew the sorrow of it all might make it difficult to pick up again, but there was soooo much there I wanted to see it through. I know others might listen, think, Crap, what a bummer, and just stop. Oh, DON'T! Yes, the woman (who doesn't bother giving her name as it doesn't matter any longer) speaks slowly, what's the rush after all? (By the way, I listened at x1.25, and it worked out splendidly, flowed well.) Yes, the world has, for all intents and purposes, ended and all she knows may very well be dead. Yes, her own death will be upon her. Yes, she suffers the deaths of animals she loves.
Sounds awful and depressing, right? But only those who aren't listening closely will turn it off and go on to another book because the prose is beautiful, the way the woman picks the truth from the tangles of her thoughts is beautiful, the way she learns to love what is around her is beautiful.
And the way that, through it all, AFTER the very worst, her heart beats with love and with hope, glorious hope? It's drop dead gorgeous! Because the whole book has these wonderful golden threads of love and truth woven in, quiet, yes, no bells or whistles, just simple warmth.
Extraordinary!
Plus, it made me start looking at the world around me, crows in particular, with new smiles, special affection.

15 people found this helpful

TERRIFIC!

The biggest differences between The Wall and other solo survival stories are that the main character is a woman, and she is an ordinary woman, not an explorer or a scientist with any survival skills that will help her during the ordeal of finding herself alive, alone, cut off from the rest of the world.

Haushofer's (unnamed) survivor is staying at a friends hunting lodge in rural Austria when she discover her companions haven't returned from a night out. She finds that between the lodge and the village where her friends went the last evening an invisible wall has manifested. Every being she can see on the outside of the wall is immobile. There's no suggestion of any recognisable disaster, but there's also no evidence that anything remaining outside the wall is alive.

The friend at whose lodge our survivor has been holidaying believed catastrophic disaster was likely and has stocked his hunting lodge accordingly. She has food - for a little while at least. But without survival knowledge her story boils down to a lot of very hard physical labour and some occasional good luck.

The wall remains largely unexplained. It is invisible, so she is able to observe the lack of goings on outside. Weather passes across it, and she endures powerful storms. Water from a creek passes through the wall but she herself is unable to breach it.

It is a simple, classic storyline but Haushofer's is an all class example. It's excellent storytelling, brilliant pacing, and utterly compelling. It was a difficult one to press pause on - I just wanted to read further.

The translation is solid throughout. In spite of the book being originally published in 1963 it was only in 1990 that Shaun Whiteside translated it from German into English.

Kathe Mazur's audio performance is spot on throughout. All around this is an excellent audiobook. If you've got as far as checking out this book it's definitely one for your virtual audio bookshelf. I loved it and it's an easy one to recommend.

When I finished the book I bought my husband a print copy, which he got through in a day. It's that sort of book - one you want to share with all of your reader friends, regardless of format. It's a very entertaining, enjoyable read.

4 people found this helpful

Introspective and a little hard to read/listen to

What made the experience of listening to The Wall the most enjoyable?

I have always had a curiosity about survivor stories. What does one need to know to survive? What does one really need? Consequently I have read a whole lot of books of this ilk. But this one was different.

What did you like best about this story?

I particularly enjoyed the introspective thoughts..."stream of consciousness" thoughts that constantly run through this woman's mind. Thoughts of her children and humanity in general. Concerns for her beloved animals. Thoughts of her inadequacies to create and maintain a relatively comfortable nitch for herself and her animals in circumstances that befall them all when she is cut off from what appears to have been a holocaust of death and destruction beyond imagination.

For that is the book.....this lone woman finding herself in circumstances not planned for and in a very precarious position. The book is talk.....her thoughts......her sorrows.......her contemplations of what to do. Like I said, this one was different.

What about Kathe Mazur’s performance did you like?

Ms Mazur's voice is somewhat solemn but under the circumstances, this fits somehow.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

This was probably the first book I've listened to that took a good five days to complete. Reason was the sadness of it all.....also because the reader's voice was so depressed sounding. As for taking that much time, I consider this a "difficult read" as I am an enormous animal lover and the death of many such cut me to the core. I found myself getting too depressed if I listened to the story too long. I had to put it down for awhile and come back when I felt I was somewhat stronger. It is very sad. If you are seriously depressed already, you might want to look elsewhere.

Any additional comments?

I recommend this book highly but with warning ahead of time.....animals die and are killed and the lady is beyond consolation with it all.

A difficult read but oh how personal it was! This felt like a real WOMAN who "finds herself" only after she has to decide to go on and through all the losses and difficulties, she is still determined to win in this very precarious existence.

I doubt that I could have done better with this subject or the situation. Bravo! You made me think!

5 people found this helpful

Not the most interesting book

It seemed as if the same territory was covered over and over. I kept hoping and waiting for it to get more interesting, but it never did. I found myself relieved when it was finally over. The narrator wasn't the problem. The storyline was.

6 people found this helpful

Compelling.

Unforgettable story. I found it compelling and was completely engrossed throughout the entire audiobook. The forshadowing of the tragic events of the dog, cat, and bull were unusual in that I felt sadness and acceptance in advance. I kept wondering when I was going to hear the details of how these tragic events occurred, and as the story kept on and on I watched the book draw nearer and nearer the ending, I could not see how it as ever going to totally fit together in a coherent way, but the author succeeded, and in a sad but unusually gentle way.

1 person found this helpful

You could almost smell the Alpine air...

This soft, poignant diary, does not attempt to explain what happened but perfectly encompasses the experience of a person who was living it. You could feel you were there with her, experiencing events and not knowing why this or that is happening, but simply doing what has to be done. Going with the flow. Sad, charming, peaceful, beautiful.

1 person found this helpful

Boring

I really struggled to get through this book. I think part of it was me not agreeing with any of the decisions of the main character, the lack of curiosity about the wall, and just the day to day blah.

3 people found this helpful

Haunting, yet unexpectedly realistic

Lots to think about in this book: how would I react in this situation, what would I do, what would be the worst parts, maybe some good parts? Just as one thinks there is something that has gone unconsidered or that one could argue with the character's actions, the story addresses that point. The narrator is pitch perfect to convey the feel of the story, which is in the form of a report written by perhaps the last person alive: quiet, yet urgent. One can clearly visualize the main character telling the story in her own head as she writes it down.

1 person found this helpful

Narrator is a Snooze

I gave this one up almost immediately due to the soporific narration. Plot sounds interesting.

A must listen/read

the narrator was a bit too dull for me the entire way through but overall this was a wonderful story. One of my favourites