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The Wall

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The Wall

By: John Lanchester
Narrated by: Will Poulter
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About this listen

Nominated for the Booker Prize 2019.

Narrated by BAFTA-winning actor Will Poulter.

Kavanagh begins his life patrolling the Wall. If he's lucky, if nothing goes wrong, he only has two years of this, 729 more nights.

The best thing that can happen is that he survives and gets off the Wall and never has to spend another day of his life anywhere near it. He longs for this to be over; longs to be somewhere else.

He will soon find out what Defenders do and who the Others are. Along with the rest of his squad, he will endure cold and fear day after day, night after night. But somewhere, in the dark cave of his mind, he thinks: wouldn't it be interesting if something did happen, if they came, if you had to fight for your life?

John Lanchester's thrilling, hypnotic new novel is about why the young are right to hate the old. It's about a broken world you will recognise as your own-and about what might be found when all is lost.

©2019 Orlando Books Limited (P)2019 W.F. Howes Ltd Fiction Post-Apocalyptic Science Fiction
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I must say before I get into the review. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The post apocalyptic world I’d imagine is extremely hard to write for predominantly because there’s so many books about it out there, and I know it can be really difficult coming up with original ideas. The storyline just sucked me in and made me want to keep listening to find out what happens.

However. I feel like the book was far too short and felt almost hollow. In my opinion, there was so much that could’ve gone into the different parts, so many places left open. I felt like the book could have been expanded to two or even three books with so much detail and plot available.
John, I don’t know if you read these, but you’ve made an amazing book with great original content and characters. I hope that you expand on his universe some day as I’d love to know more about it.
Regards
Jaydan

Great story/plot

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The narrator tells this undramatically leaving the story the room it needs to, bit by bit, occupy me and my imagination.

Lanchester explores many themes without being obvious or heavy-handed. One reviewer (the great Michael Lewis) said it was 1984 for our times. Not sure about that. 1984 is still for our times, and besides, ‘The Wall’ is more an exploration of self and otherness than of politics and foretelling.

Loved it.

Sparse, humane, compelling

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The narrator’s voice suited the story perfectly and the story itself conveys such a sense of gloom. At the same time it’s so very British which is a nice change for dystopian novels. I finished this in two sittings and fell slightly dejected it is over.

Great dystopian listen

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