REVIEW: The Wall

The Wall
Author: Marlen Haushofer

A woman visits an alpine hunting lodge with two relatives for a weekend getaway. She stays behind when her cousin accompanies her husband to the nearby village to buy supplies. The next morning the two still have not returned. The woman decides to walk to the village with her cousin's dog. She loses sight of the dog but when she finds him again, the dog is acting confused and will not start walking again. The woman knows the dog will follow so she continues....only to walk into an impenetrable barrier. It's like a glass box has come down over the area surrounding the hunting lodge. She can see through the barrier to the world outside, but there is no way through the wall. She sees no birds, small animals or even live insects on the other side. The people she can see are inanimate like they are sleeping or died where they stood. She knows in an instant that everyone she knew is dead. Everything on the other side of the barrier is dead. Soon she has gathered up the dog, a cat, and a cow. She spends years caring for the animals, learning to grow food and care for herself, and writing a diary about her experiences.

This is a psychological and thoughtful story, rather than an tale with a recognizable plot or even a real ending. But given the situation the woman must endure, the sharing of everyday thoughts, concerns and horrors is perfect. She has no other people for company, only her animals. It has a profound effect on her to the extent that she is never given a name. Why do you need a name if you are the only person left? She comes to see her animals as her family and does her best to survive. The ending is abrupt with no real resolution, but realistically the resolution will come when the woman dies and there is nobody left at all.

I listened to the audiobook version of this novel. Narrated by Kathe Mazur, the audio is just over 9 hours long. I'm glad I chose the audio version of this book. The story moves slowly (which is appropriate given the subject of a woman being totally alone for years with just animals for companions). I don't think I would have finished the print version....her daily diary and inner monologue about her animals, growing food, etc would have bored me quickly if I was reading it for myself. The audio brought the woman's situation to life.....it was like hearing her thoughts, so I was more interested in the story despite its tendency to plod along without any real developments.

I think it is a distinct possibility that Stephen King got the basic idea for his Under the Dome story from this book. He just added more people, a real plot and some horror -- he "Kinged'' it up and made it his own. The Wall is a totally different sort of story. It shows what happens to a person's mind when they are utterly cut off from all human contact and how it comes down to a person's will to survive. I'm glad that the main character found animals she could befriend and love, otherwise I think she would have weakened and died, or might have killed herself.

Interesting and very thought provoking book. I'm glad I listened to it. I really want to re-read King's Under the Dome now!