Richard Pelham

I was directed to this book after listening to a discussion with its author on the Talking Politics podcast. From this I knew that The Wall tackles the subject of climate change, and the possible catastrophic scenarios the world and all life on it could come to face. This is obviously a very pressing issue, as well as a contentious and highly complex one, so I was keen to find out what kind of a statement this Booker Prize-longlisted work had to make. The answer is a relatively concise story, a pretty unrealistic one, that is very short on detail. In fact, it is nearly possible to conceive of somebody reading the book and not making the link between the happenings in the plot and global warming. The premise is based on societal collapse brought about by significant sea level rises. As a result, a concrete wall has been constructed around the perimeter of the United Kingdom, presumably to keep the sea out, but also to keep out ‘the Others’, who are climate-displaced refuge...

Perhaps the most enthusiastic I can be about this novel is to say that, if you begin reading it, and if you are in any way interested in history, you will finish it. This, surely, is an indication of a book worth reading, although not necessarily an indicator of a good book. How can this be? Well, first of all, the novel is not difficult to read. Anyone who is any more a prolific reader than I am will probably make short work of it, despite its 800+ page count. I embarked on this book after a copy was lent to me, explaining why I have only read the middle instalment of Follett’s The Century trilogy, which follows the same set of families through the fortunes and hardships of the previous century. This episode covers the most tumultuous period of those 100 years, from Hitler’s rise to power to the defeat of Japan and post-war carving up of Europe. The scope of the book is therefore vast and the plot ambitious by any standards, although, of course, you already know the backdrop of...