The Wall

by John Marks

When was the last time you read a thriller with half a dozen major characters, all of whom you could believe in? John Marks pulls off this amazing trick in his first novel--and also manages to capture perfectly the heady mixture of hope and fear surrounding the collapse of the East German government in 1989. Captain Nester Cates, a 35-year-old African American intellectual and former radical who is now working for U.S. Army Intelligence is not the most popular man in West Berlin. Ridiculed by his military colleagues for his interest in obscure concepts such as democracy and German culture, Cates befriends another Army outcast named Stuart Glemnick--a complex, weak man with a shadowy past in the Middle East. Glemnick quickly gets Nester and several other key characters (including Glemnick's brother, a conflicted entomologist who sees everything in terms of bugs) into serious trouble by defecting to the East just a few hours before the Berlin Wall comes down. The cast also includes a wonderfully gutsy, naive young American journalist who stumbles into a career-making situation, and one of the scariest CIA spooks ever--Carlton Styles, who lost much of his face and mind to a terrorist bomber. Carlton is now convinced that the man who disfigured him is masquerading as the bug expert. Author Marks covered Eastern Europe for U.S. News & World Report, and scenes like the attack on demonstrators in Prague vibrate with authenticity that could only come from firsthand experience with Iron Curtain culture. --Dick Adler

Genres: Fiction

Audio Cassette

First published January 1, 1998

Reviews

[Shauna Ubersox · Rating 5 out of 5]

i found this book at a garage sale in my teens and regularly reread it, more than 15 years later - for me, it holds up over time, as not many things do. the events surrounding the fall of the berlin wall were incredibly turbulent and shifting, as soviet states reorganized, splintered and rebelled. marks tells an intricate story, balanced on these landmark events, with great humanity and empathy for the choices people in immensely difficult positions must make. yes, some parts of it may be trite and overwrought/overwritten. but honestly, as someone who regularly avoids spy novels and thrillers: this novel has served me well as an avid re-reader over many years, and it is one i adore.

[Anna Bornino-glusac]

The Wall gives a taste of life during the period of time when the wall between eastern and western Europe. This book has a very complicated story with many characters. It is not a book for casual readers, rather for history buffs who enjoy involved stories.

[Peter Burton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Began well but tapered off into a spy romp. Not bad but I decided to stop half way through as I lost interest in the characters.

[Nick · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book started off well as historical fiction novel set in West Berlin around the fall of the Berlin Wall, but really came off the rails when it descended into an outlandish spy romp across the revolutions of eastern Europe.

[nathan halsan]

Berlin, Prague, Budapest, Cluj, Bucharest.

[Allie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I thought this was going to be an actual historical fiction book, not a horrible spy novel. Couldn't get past the second chapter.

[Nova · Rating 2 out of 5]

mmmm I think I'll side with the readers who gave it a one or two star rating; a bit disappointed in this book.

[Lynette Barfield · Rating 1 out of 5]

Stupid book!

[Erich Fassnacht]

So far okay. Not grabbing me like I hopped it would given the dynamic setting.