Book Review: The Wall by John Lanchester
on Sheila Ash (India), 26/Dec/2023 15:13, 34 days ago
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The WallbyJohn LanchesterMy rating:4 of 5 starsI first heard part of this book abridged on BBC R4 and only recently
managed to sit down and start it in earnest. Dystopian fiction, a world
after what is only known as The Change, after which sea levels have
risen dramatically and Britain was built a defensive perimeter Wall
round all its shoreline to keep out the Others. Lanchester creates well
his bleak world where people man the wall as sentries for years at a
time,where the Others try to scale it, those who succeed are chipped and
put to work as Help, those that don't die, the sentries on duty when
there is a breach are sentenced and put to sea. Kavanagh is our narrator as he begins his two year stint on the Wall.This
an addictive read, with good world building and a steadily building up
storyline. The compelling book was longlisted for the 2019 Booker and
deservedly so.ashramblings
