The Wall

Synopsis

A woman wakes alone in an Austrian mountain lodge to discover that an invisible wall has appeared overnight, cutting her off from the rest of humanity. On her side of the barrier are only a dog, a cat, and a cow. With no explanation and no hope of rescue, she learns to survive by tending animals, growing food, and adapting to a world stripped of modern comforts. As the seasons pass, survival becomes something deeper: an examination of solitude, grief, and what it means to remain fully human.

Originally published in 1963, The Wall is one of the great undiscovered classics of twentieth-century literature. Marlen Haushofer transforms an extraordinary premise into a profoundly intimate novel about resilience, nature, and the fragile structures of civilization. Spare, unsettling, and quietly philosophical, it has become a landmark of feminist and ecological fiction, admired for its haunting beauty and emotional depth.

About the Author

Marlen Haushofer (1920–1970) was an Austrian novelist, playwright, and author of children's books. Although little known during her lifetime outside the German-speaking world, she is now recognized as one of Austria's most important postwar writers. Her work explores isolation, domestic life, and women's inner worlds with remarkable psychological insight. The Wall, translated by Shaun Whiteside, is her best-known novel and has become an international modern classic.

Publisher

New Directions

Publication Date

June 21, 2022

Format

Paperback

Pages

248

Subjects

Literary Fiction · Fiction in Translation · Austrian Literature · Dystopian Fiction · Survival Fiction · Ecofiction

ISBN

9780811231947