Last year I stumbled on Lanchester's novel The Debt to Pleasure and was quite impressed. I looked up the reviews that book got on Goodreads and found that it hovers at 3.7. That surprised me, until I read the reviews. One of the 1 stars was from someone who didn't even read the book, just skimmed it to pretend she had to discuss it with a co-worker.
It's funny, when you read a good book and then head to goodreads to have a look at what other people think. It has become more and more depressing. I see amazing novels reviewed by morons. People with terrible taste in books choose to read something utterly outside their interests and capabilities and then review it poorly because it doesn't appeal. And they don't just do it once. It's as if they enjoy reading books to hate them. Reading classics, not getting them, just to brag that they read a more challenging book and didn't enjoy it.
You don't see me reading Twilight and getting a gob on over it.
Anyway, The Debt to Pleasure was a great novel and I highly recommend it. The Wall is utterly and completely different. I had to look up the author to make sure it was the same person. The reason I bring up the previous novel is to point out that the style in that one is intentionally pretentious. The main character is a snob, and its heavy-duty on the snobbery. However The Wall's main character is the antithesis of that. It really is a demonstration of the authors skill. To have been able to write two utterly fleshed-out and totally realistic main characters with such diametrically opposite personalities. Fantastic.
The Wall follows a character sent to the coastal defences of Britain. This is routine for young people. They do two years on The Wall, a structure constructed after a worldwide calamity that seems to have resulted in higher sea levels as well as a number of other issues. The defences prevent Others (people outside) from entering the country.
The writing style is clear and the language is very accessible. The character is an uncomplicated young guy and we follow his journey as he protects the country from a tide of desperate people. It loses a star for not giving a little more focus to the systems at work. A lot of left unexplained. I wanted to know more about the society and was a little upset that the gulf between the young and old wasn't explored more.
It's cool in its delivery of a world that is infinitely plausible; given recent political figures and their particular love of tall structures. Things are eerily familiar. In this world, Others, will take your place inside the wall. If they get in, you're out. Simple transfer.
If you enjoyed the writing of Ballard, it has that vibe and pacing. It reminded me of a blending of The Drought and 1984. Because it has this landscape of something missing. In The Dought, it is a lack of water. In The Wall it is a lack of warmth. And in 1984 there is this resignation to the world as it is, until it becomes impossible to accept it any longer.
Having lived near the coast all my life. And having lived right on the coast barely 200 yards from the sea wall. I definitely related to the character's experiences. It rings true. The cold on the coast comes in two forms.
Coupled with that and the way the world seems so real and seems only a short jump away from where we are after Brexit... This book is a really timely reminder of our responsibilities when it comes to both climate and our neighbours and those who require refuge.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
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