'The Wall' by John Lanchester

FTC disclaimer: I was not sent this product. I am not affiliated with the companies mentioned. All opinions are my own.

Overall Rating: 4/5

Plot Intro:

Two years on the Wall. Everyone in the UK has to do it. Everyone since the Change. Kavanagh just wants to pass the two years as quickly as possible, get off the Wall and become an elite with a helicopter or two. All he has to do is stop the Others getting over. Just finish the two years Kavanagh…

This is probably my favourite ecological dystopia I’ve read so far. The prose is simple; world building takes centre stage. And it is a world all of us can envision: one ravaged by climate change. The xenophobia was especially discomforting, as today Britain is rejecting refugees travelling in inflatable life boats from our shores, and Donald Trump was in the process of building a wall between the USA and Mexico. Lanchaster occasionally over-explains things, but the plain writing mostly suited the “concrete”, lifeless nature of the dystopian world. I only could have asked for a little more characterisation, and a more believable romance.

It takes a little while for the action to really get going, but once it does the book becomes a gripping adventure. If you liked Divergent or Life of Pi, this book is for you!

Although we end on a relatively happy note, this novel needs a sequel, or needed to be extended by a third, as there are a few too many loose ends. However, I rated it highly because it was a simple, funny read -Lanchester knows his satire! If you want to find out more about the author, click this link: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/33359.John_Lanchester

My Fave Quotation:

“It’s cold on the Wall. That’s the first thing everybody tells you, and the first thing you notice when you’re sent there, and it’s the thing you think about all the time you’re on it, and it’s the thing you remember when you’re not there any more. It’s cold on the Wall.”