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The Wall
Reuniting with his former climbing partner to recreate their ascent of the world's greatest monolith, Hugh Glass remembers their former wives and is caught up in a dangerous rescue effort to save three young women who suffered an accident on a neighboring climb. By the author of The Reckoning. Reprint.
416 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
18 people are currently reading
355 people want to read
About the author
Jeff Long
22 books404 followersLong is a veteran climber and traveler in the Himalayas rock climbing often manifests in his writing. He has also worked as a stonemason, journalist, historian, screenwriter, and elections supervisor for Bosnia's first democratic election.
Many of his stories include plot elements that rely heavily on religious history or popular perceptions of religious events.
Many of his stories include plot elements that rely heavily on religious history or popular perceptions of religious events.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 70 reviews
December 16, 2014
The first chapter is so descriptive. Absolutely amazing in its description. No spoilers here, though, but just the first chapter is well worth the read. And the last one too. Lots of surprises there which I didn't see coming. Two old friends, Hugh Glass and Lewis Cole, climbing buddies, decide to climb El Capitan in Yosemite one last time before they give up climbing. Their lives had gone in different directions and even though they had had kept in touch over the years, it's a chance for them to reconnect on the mountain. They just had no idea what would come out of that reconnection.
May 2, 2007
This book was fantastic. To me it was this great adventure of two best friends trying to concur and overcome midlife, trying to gain a small measure of who they once were back. By climbing an old familiar mountain face together, trying to work their own personal demons, they are brought into a climbing accident gone wrong. One woman is dead and two others trapped high above. As these men work their own way up and encounter a rescue teams things get more than personal. Questions are asked and lies shared so that only until the last page of the book does it all truly come together. I LOVE books like this and totally suggest it.
In the end, to me at least, this is a guys kind of love story. (Not about the two best friends though, not THAT kind of love story.)
In the end, to me at least, this is a guys kind of love story. (Not about the two best friends though, not THAT kind of love story.)
March 18, 2014
Aside from being a great read, this book is a technical masterpiece, a novel length "O. Henry" story. I compare it to Elisa Albert's "The Book of Dahlia" in that it rewards the reader who has invested themselves in the story with a closing line that is shattering. I challenge anyone who reads "The Wall" not to immediately begin flipping through the book's pages in search of proof that Long could not have pulled off his literary slight-of-hand as flawlessly as he does. Go ahead, go back to the beginning with full knowledge of the ending and realize what a masterpiece of writing "The Wall" is and how completely taken in you were.
And if you think "starting at the end" will help, you're wrong.
Read "The Wall." Its worth the climb.
And if you think "starting at the end" will help, you're wrong.
Read "The Wall." Its worth the climb.
January 17, 2010
No one scares me like Jeff Long.
March 8, 2015
Good premise. Decent plot. Ridiculous ending.
May 5, 2017
I love this book. I am not even sure where to begin the praises.
This book is about characters and each of their journeys and we learn a little bit more about each of these characters history and motivations as the journey progresses. Because there are so few characters in the story to begin with and coupled with the remoteness of the setting, the author spends plenty of time rounding out each character. These characters begin to feel like old friends and you start to empathize with them and agonize over their decisions along with them.
The author's descriptions of everything were superb. Starting with the opening scene, a beautifully tragic fall from the wall of El Cap, I was hooked. Everything is alive in this book, but not in the verbose manner of some authors where more words equal better descriptions. Here, the author just chooses more efficient words, making you feel like you are there with the characters. There is not really a lot of action in this book. If I was to verbally describe what happens in this book, you would wonder how Jeff Long could fill out this book, but he does, and he does it well.
The author really brings alive the culture of climbing. I never felt too lost within all the terminology but by the end, I felt like I could climb the local rock wall. The author portrays the climbers as rock stars but fallible and with a large dose of humility and self-effacing humor. I felt like I was let inside the clubhouse for a few days.
This is the second time I have read this book and it was just as good the second time as it was the first. The first time I read it I remember feeling much the same way and the ending was completely out of left field. This time, armed with foreknowledge, the book was probably more entertaining with the exception of the ending not being a surprise. But what you get instead is the double meanings of many statements and situations throughout the book. They are so subtle that you miss them the first time, and just barely pronounced the second time.
It is really just a well-written book all the way around. It seems that I am more adept at pointing out flaws in a book than pointing out the best qualities of one. I feel that there are so many positive things to say about this book, but if I could write as well as what this review deserves, I would probably be writing books myself instead of reading them.
Just trust me. Read this book.
This book is about characters and each of their journeys and we learn a little bit more about each of these characters history and motivations as the journey progresses. Because there are so few characters in the story to begin with and coupled with the remoteness of the setting, the author spends plenty of time rounding out each character. These characters begin to feel like old friends and you start to empathize with them and agonize over their decisions along with them.
The author's descriptions of everything were superb. Starting with the opening scene, a beautifully tragic fall from the wall of El Cap, I was hooked. Everything is alive in this book, but not in the verbose manner of some authors where more words equal better descriptions. Here, the author just chooses more efficient words, making you feel like you are there with the characters. There is not really a lot of action in this book. If I was to verbally describe what happens in this book, you would wonder how Jeff Long could fill out this book, but he does, and he does it well.
The author really brings alive the culture of climbing. I never felt too lost within all the terminology but by the end, I felt like I could climb the local rock wall. The author portrays the climbers as rock stars but fallible and with a large dose of humility and self-effacing humor. I felt like I was let inside the clubhouse for a few days.
This is the second time I have read this book and it was just as good the second time as it was the first. The first time I read it I remember feeling much the same way and the ending was completely out of left field. This time, armed with foreknowledge, the book was probably more entertaining with the exception of the ending not being a surprise. But what you get instead is the double meanings of many statements and situations throughout the book. They are so subtle that you miss them the first time, and just barely pronounced the second time.
It is really just a well-written book all the way around. It seems that I am more adept at pointing out flaws in a book than pointing out the best qualities of one. I feel that there are so many positive things to say about this book, but if I could write as well as what this review deserves, I would probably be writing books myself instead of reading them.
Just trust me. Read this book.
May 12, 2021
A brilliant and exciting literary novel trashed by a cheap ending.
***SPOILER ALLERT***This is a critique than than a review and contains spoilers.
I wish I'd had this guy in a graduate writing workshop. I wish he'd submitted THE WALL and we'd had a chance to talk about it. Maybe someday Jeff will do version 2 with a new ending. We can only hope.
Now it isn't an easy book to read if you are not a climber. I'm not a climber but I had reason to do a bit of research on climbing so I was familiar with much of what was going on: much but not all. If you are not familiar with climbing you might need to do some online searches or watch some YouTube videos.
But I'm not worried about the terminology. What is important here is that Jeff creates a believable character who changes during the story. And the writing I terrific. The descriptions, the insights all are great.
So why the sudden leap in the end into a trashy ghost story. I am wondering if some editor at the publishing company didn't say he needed to pump things up and they came up with this thing about how he actually killed his wife and her ghost decided to get revenge by taking over Cuba's body and having her kill him.
What is wrong with that is this wasn't necessary. The book would have been better if he saved Cuba and Augustine. If Rachel had killed him once he was down I would have been okay with that. Because that way Hugh would have still been the Hugh we came to know as we read the book.
There is no foreshadowing at all in the major part of the book that he took Annie into the desert and watched her die, but for one hint.
He did not let the dog that loved Annie join the hunt for her. I knew there was something wrong there. Throughout the novel Hugh comes through as a reliable, thoughtful guy, who cared deeply about his late wife.
The story that he killed Annie just doesn't fit. For one thing it is so cold in the way it was done it seems impossible for Hugh to have done it. Long builds this great tension with the instability of both Augustine and Cuba. Would they kill him? Should he trust either of them. His rescuing them would have been a triumph.
He could even worry about the stone knife instead of having Cuba actually use it. He could use the dog to look for Annie and not have been able to keep up with it.
Anything but this stupid ending where his wife's ghost takes over Cuba and kills him.
If there was THE WALL: VERSION 2 A NEW ENDING I'd buy it.
***SPOILER ALLERT***This is a critique than than a review and contains spoilers.
I wish I'd had this guy in a graduate writing workshop. I wish he'd submitted THE WALL and we'd had a chance to talk about it. Maybe someday Jeff will do version 2 with a new ending. We can only hope.
Now it isn't an easy book to read if you are not a climber. I'm not a climber but I had reason to do a bit of research on climbing so I was familiar with much of what was going on: much but not all. If you are not familiar with climbing you might need to do some online searches or watch some YouTube videos.
But I'm not worried about the terminology. What is important here is that Jeff creates a believable character who changes during the story. And the writing I terrific. The descriptions, the insights all are great.
So why the sudden leap in the end into a trashy ghost story. I am wondering if some editor at the publishing company didn't say he needed to pump things up and they came up with this thing about how he actually killed his wife and her ghost decided to get revenge by taking over Cuba's body and having her kill him.
What is wrong with that is this wasn't necessary. The book would have been better if he saved Cuba and Augustine. If Rachel had killed him once he was down I would have been okay with that. Because that way Hugh would have still been the Hugh we came to know as we read the book.
There is no foreshadowing at all in the major part of the book that he took Annie into the desert and watched her die, but for one hint.
He did not let the dog that loved Annie join the hunt for her. I knew there was something wrong there. Throughout the novel Hugh comes through as a reliable, thoughtful guy, who cared deeply about his late wife.
The story that he killed Annie just doesn't fit. For one thing it is so cold in the way it was done it seems impossible for Hugh to have done it. Long builds this great tension with the instability of both Augustine and Cuba. Would they kill him? Should he trust either of them. His rescuing them would have been a triumph.
He could even worry about the stone knife instead of having Cuba actually use it. He could use the dog to look for Annie and not have been able to keep up with it.
Anything but this stupid ending where his wife's ghost takes over Cuba and kills him.
If there was THE WALL: VERSION 2 A NEW ENDING I'd buy it.
February 22, 2017
Exhausting. I am either exhausted from the scares, the action, or something else when I read a book by Jeff Long. It was the something else this time. The reader is along for the climb with the characters in this book. The long, treacherous climb up a sheer wall.
Jeff Long must be a climber as the descriptions are very precise and have the feel of someone who has done this many times. Where to put what, how climbers behave, what can be found on ledges (ick).
I can highly recommend Jeff Long's books. Not a dud in the bunch that I have read of his. THE DESCENT is my favorite. THE WALL is in the top five.
Definitely recommend.
Jeff Long must be a climber as the descriptions are very precise and have the feel of someone who has done this many times. Where to put what, how climbers behave, what can be found on ledges (ick).
I can highly recommend Jeff Long's books. Not a dud in the bunch that I have read of his. THE DESCENT is my favorite. THE WALL is in the top five.
Definitely recommend.
February 25, 2014
Reading this will be fine for anybody who likes climbing, or mountains.
But as a novel it doesn't work really well.
Though there's enough tension to keep you going and you want to know where it's heading, the ending was very much a cheap, dirty trick... which I hated.
It had little or nothing to do with what came before it.
I think if an author wants to make something like this work, he/she has to make an honest effort to pave the road before, while the action is going on, and not drop the axe all of a sudden to kill the book.
But as a novel it doesn't work really well.
Though there's enough tension to keep you going and you want to know where it's heading, the ending was very much a cheap, dirty trick... which I hated.
It had little or nothing to do with what came before it.
I think if an author wants to make something like this work, he/she has to make an honest effort to pave the road before, while the action is going on, and not drop the axe all of a sudden to kill the book.
October 8, 2018
If I had any knowledge of rock climbing I would have given it 3. Since most people don't have a lot of knowledge or experience with rock climbing, I figured I would let others know that there is a LOT of rock climbing terminology used.
August 3, 2022
I read some of the negative reviews of The Wall by Jeff Long, and I know where people are coming from on some points like the ending. However I disagree with them. I give this book five stars. Here’s why:
First - the opening chapter was one of the…correction…it WAS the most gripping start to a book I have read.
Second - This story is original - at least it was for me. This is not a murder mystery, not a romance, not a fantasy, not a paranormal, not a let’s-blowup-the-White House (or such) for the hundredth time, not a medical drama, not a corrupt political or business drama, not a war movie, not a comedy, not a travelogue, not Sci-Fi and not literary.
It does have some mystery, romance, relationship struggles, and maybe…or maybe not…some paranormal aspects to it. My conclusion on that last one may be different than your conclusion. And, it definitely is not a travelogue. Except for flashbacks, it takes place almost exclusively on a vertical rock face on the side of a mountain. And yet it held my interest throughout. I knew nothing about mountain climbing, but it intrigued me, and still does. For me it was one of the most original stories I have read.
Third - I liked the characters and the premise. They were real and some were weird.
Fourth - It left me wanting more knowledge. It left me wanting to learn about climbing. I wanted to see actual pictures of how people sleep on the side of the mountain. It made me wonder what really propels people to attempt such feats, and to suffer such pain.
Fifth - It’s ending left me somewhat uncertain, questioning, yet strangely satisfied. This is where some other reviewers and I really part company. I don’t want this to be a spoiler. I’ll just say that after thinking about it, the ending was the only ending that was possible, or at least plausible - in my opinion. And that’s why the ending satisfied me. It made me question and think, after which, it made sense to me.
First - the opening chapter was one of the…correction…it WAS the most gripping start to a book I have read.
Second - This story is original - at least it was for me. This is not a murder mystery, not a romance, not a fantasy, not a paranormal, not a let’s-blowup-the-White House (or such) for the hundredth time, not a medical drama, not a corrupt political or business drama, not a war movie, not a comedy, not a travelogue, not Sci-Fi and not literary.
It does have some mystery, romance, relationship struggles, and maybe…or maybe not…some paranormal aspects to it. My conclusion on that last one may be different than your conclusion. And, it definitely is not a travelogue. Except for flashbacks, it takes place almost exclusively on a vertical rock face on the side of a mountain. And yet it held my interest throughout. I knew nothing about mountain climbing, but it intrigued me, and still does. For me it was one of the most original stories I have read.
Third - I liked the characters and the premise. They were real and some were weird.
Fourth - It left me wanting more knowledge. It left me wanting to learn about climbing. I wanted to see actual pictures of how people sleep on the side of the mountain. It made me wonder what really propels people to attempt such feats, and to suffer such pain.
Fifth - It’s ending left me somewhat uncertain, questioning, yet strangely satisfied. This is where some other reviewers and I really part company. I don’t want this to be a spoiler. I’ll just say that after thinking about it, the ending was the only ending that was possible, or at least plausible - in my opinion. And that’s why the ending satisfied me. It made me question and think, after which, it made sense to me.
August 11, 2020
I've read one novel by Jeff Long earlier. It was good, but this was very good. Some other would give five stars but I'm very stingy with my points. Too stingy perhaps.
The story was captivating and capturing. It was hard to put down the book and do something else instead.
Especially the climbing sequences were absolutely chilling and I could almost feel I was there in the heights, hanging and scaring, slipping and sliding.
I've been interested in rock climbing but not even in my wildest dreams on El Capitan level with several days on the wall, below just the lethal abyss.
It is obvious that Jeff Long has climbed himself; nobody can be that precise just by studying the subject or interviewing the climbers. The knowledge was evident and it made the happenings on the wall very much alive.
I recommend you google some pictures of El Cap and Cyclop's Eye while you read. It gives you good perspective and you can more easily picture the scenes and surroundings. El Cap is definitely something else, both majestic and frightening.
Definitely worth reading!
Seinämä
LIKE 2006
The story was captivating and capturing. It was hard to put down the book and do something else instead.
Especially the climbing sequences were absolutely chilling and I could almost feel I was there in the heights, hanging and scaring, slipping and sliding.
I've been interested in rock climbing but not even in my wildest dreams on El Capitan level with several days on the wall, below just the lethal abyss.
It is obvious that Jeff Long has climbed himself; nobody can be that precise just by studying the subject or interviewing the climbers. The knowledge was evident and it made the happenings on the wall very much alive.
I recommend you google some pictures of El Cap and Cyclop's Eye while you read. It gives you good perspective and you can more easily picture the scenes and surroundings. El Cap is definitely something else, both majestic and frightening.
Definitely worth reading!
Seinämä
LIKE 2006
January 27, 2025
3.5 audiobook
I enjoyed reading all about climbing. Since Tobin does this kind of stuff, it was quite intriguing.
These were a couple of older fellas, doing the final climb of their careers up El Capitan.
They did a lot of reminiscing and we learn about their past.They had relationship issues (one had lost his wife to Alzheimer's), the other's wife was probably going to leave him.
The start of the book, Hugh finds the body of a young female climber.
As they proceed their climb, the two friends find out there were 2 other climbers with her and they then get involved in a kind of rescue climb.
There are some pretty scary scenarios and some rather 'crazy' people they meet up with.
Unfortunately, the ending was not to my liking.
Spoiler (both friends will no longer be climbing or doing anything else)
I enjoyed reading all about climbing. Since Tobin does this kind of stuff, it was quite intriguing.
These were a couple of older fellas, doing the final climb of their careers up El Capitan.
They did a lot of reminiscing and we learn about their past.They had relationship issues (one had lost his wife to Alzheimer's), the other's wife was probably going to leave him.
The start of the book, Hugh finds the body of a young female climber.
As they proceed their climb, the two friends find out there were 2 other climbers with her and they then get involved in a kind of rescue climb.
There are some pretty scary scenarios and some rather 'crazy' people they meet up with.
Unfortunately, the ending was not to my liking.
Spoiler (both friends will no longer be climbing or doing anything else)
January 7, 2022
This was a good read. The descriptions of climbing and big wall logistics were engaging, especially as a climber myself. Reviewers have mixed feelings about the ending, but I honestly quite liked it.
From the start, I had a weird feeling about the way the women were written about in this novel. A few examples - in ch. 2, the MC finds a dead woman and his first thought is “small breasts”. Multiple times, he expresses surprise that women are climbing on El Cap. I struggled to decide whether this was sexist writing or intentional hints of the MC’s misogynist personality and history. By the end of the novel, I am firmly in the latter category, and admire the author for writing MC’s unhealthy relationships with women so poignantly.
From the start, I had a weird feeling about the way the women were written about in this novel. A few examples - in ch. 2, the MC finds a dead woman and his first thought is “small breasts”. Multiple times, he expresses surprise that women are climbing on El Cap. I struggled to decide whether this was sexist writing or intentional hints of the MC’s misogynist personality and history. By the end of the novel, I am firmly in the latter category, and admire the author for writing MC’s unhealthy relationships with women so poignantly.
July 18, 2024
I haven’t read a Jeff Long book I didn’t like.
I’ve always been fascinated by climbing, I’ve watched all the movies and documentaries and read all the mountain horror I can find. I’ve never climbed myself but it doesn’t matter. Despite how technical some of the climbing jargon was and the description of the climb, Long makes it easy to follow.
I really hated in The Fisherman all the talk of fishing. Unbelievably boring and brings nothing to the story. I didn’t it feel that way about the climbing in this book. I absorbed all of it and it all felt relevant to the backbone of the story.
Hugh and Lewis. Poor guys. And wow I did not see that end coming, the truth about his wife, and the last moments of the last chapter. Really great. Another 5 star Long read.
I’ve always been fascinated by climbing, I’ve watched all the movies and documentaries and read all the mountain horror I can find. I’ve never climbed myself but it doesn’t matter. Despite how technical some of the climbing jargon was and the description of the climb, Long makes it easy to follow.
I really hated in The Fisherman all the talk of fishing. Unbelievably boring and brings nothing to the story. I didn’t it feel that way about the climbing in this book. I absorbed all of it and it all felt relevant to the backbone of the story.
Hugh and Lewis. Poor guys. And wow I did not see that end coming, the truth about his wife, and the last moments of the last chapter. Really great. Another 5 star Long read.
March 22, 2021
This is my second read of this amazing work. I don't re-read many books, but this one is, quite simply, a masterpiece.
No one creates climbing fiction like Jeff (not to be confused with John - another amazing craftsman of climbing tales) Long. The Stephen King of climbing literature. He masterfully weds psychological and physical tension (feel your muscles contract when you read the passages describing the act of ascent), and will have you turning pages in rapid succession.
Aside: If you can find it, read his short story, "The Soloists Diary". There is a brief, cryptic reference to it hidden in plain sight in this book.
No one creates climbing fiction like Jeff (not to be confused with John - another amazing craftsman of climbing tales) Long. The Stephen King of climbing literature. He masterfully weds psychological and physical tension (feel your muscles contract when you read the passages describing the act of ascent), and will have you turning pages in rapid succession.
Aside: If you can find it, read his short story, "The Soloists Diary". There is a brief, cryptic reference to it hidden in plain sight in this book.
April 10, 2020
I expected more rock climbing suspense; I liked the technical details of climbing and the on-the-edge-of-your-seat parts. I didn't care for the mystical, almost ghost story aspect. Still, I found myself thinking about the ending and putting all the pieces together after I finished the book. I just didn't think the writing was that great, although I have liked some of Long's others.
May 28, 2020
This was my first Jeff Long book, and I found it to be excellent. I do offer the caveat that the bits I found most interesting were regarding the rock climbing itself, a topic on which I knew practically nothing prior to reading this book. The book influenced me enough that it spawned an interest in the subject in general, and I now watch rock climbing competitions.
November 20, 2020
Excellent story
This climbing book had me on the edge the whole time I read it. Twists and turns everywhere. Much better if you know climbing terms and attitudes. If you do know a bit about climbing-it helps. For those of us that only climb lead or sport, it's fun to climb along.
This climbing book had me on the edge the whole time I read it. Twists and turns everywhere. Much better if you know climbing terms and attitudes. If you do know a bit about climbing-it helps. For those of us that only climb lead or sport, it's fun to climb along.
July 25, 2019
This was fantastic. Not only a great plot but beautiful and haunting writing. Highly recommend even if you know nothing about rock climbing.
August 26, 2019
Interesting premise but predictable ending.
May 21, 2023
Trying to relive the old days of climbing sheer sides of mountains? No thanks! But these men decide do the deed, but stuff happens! Mother nature? Witches? Old age? Pollution? Keeps you guessing.
November 28, 2023
Beautifully written with an unexpected ending.
January 17, 2024
Hovering around a 3.5-4 rating, but closer to a 3. Engrossing read, the climb was a page turner for sure. I don't know anything about climbing but didn't find the "technical" bits inaccessible as all climbing-related parts are easy to understand from context (but climbing and caving fiction has become my niche interest which is why I read this, so YMMV). Unsure whether or not I liked the ending, which I think seems to be a general consensus based on other reviews. The fantastical elements blending with the mundane = 10/10 though.
September 11, 2012
I picked this one up after Der-Shing Helmer's recommendation of Jeff Long's work (I, in turn, will enthusiastically recommend Der-Shing's work). This book is the story of two old climbing buddies who reunite for a final ascent of El Capitan in Yosemite, and how everything basically does not work out (to put it mildly). I feel like going over the plot might spoil some things, and I don't really like putting spoilers in reviews (although the book jacket does kind of give away about the first 200 pages), but there's isolation, inclement weather, some disturbing unexplained things, and demons of the past to haunt the climbers on their way up. It starts with Hugh Glass's ominous discovery of one member of a team of climbers, dead at El Cap's base. Things do not go well from here.
The writing is good. I think a lot of time is devoted to describing the conditions on the eponymous wall, and I wonder if it might have been possible to pare it down a bit, but the atmosphere evoked is very real, and quite chilling. There's also quite a lot of climbing terminology, which I'm familiar with for the most part, but a quick run-through of a rock climbing glossary would be a good idea if you're not.
I didn't think the dialogue was great. It wasn't bad, I just never really got the character's voices into my head. But a lot of the action, anyway, is the actual climbing and Hugh's interior monologue; it's not tremendously dialogue-based.
Also, it's pretty scary. Most of the horror is implied rather than explicit, and even though I kept wondering "what. was. that.", I think a full explanation of things would have killed the mood. There's one particular part, very near the end, where... yeah. It's weird. You'll know it when you get there.
So if you like extremely large rocks and the horror of isolation (sometimes in spite of companions), you might like this one. (I feel like a grade-schooler ending books with recommendations, but that's not a bad way to do it, right?)
The writing is good. I think a lot of time is devoted to describing the conditions on the eponymous wall, and I wonder if it might have been possible to pare it down a bit, but the atmosphere evoked is very real, and quite chilling. There's also quite a lot of climbing terminology, which I'm familiar with for the most part, but a quick run-through of a rock climbing glossary would be a good idea if you're not.
I didn't think the dialogue was great. It wasn't bad, I just never really got the character's voices into my head. But a lot of the action, anyway, is the actual climbing and Hugh's interior monologue; it's not tremendously dialogue-based.
Also, it's pretty scary. Most of the horror is implied rather than explicit, and even though I kept wondering "what. was. that.", I think a full explanation of things would have killed the mood. There's one particular part, very near the end, where... yeah. It's weird. You'll know it when you get there.
So if you like extremely large rocks and the horror of isolation (sometimes in spite of companions), you might like this one. (I feel like a grade-schooler ending books with recommendations, but that's not a bad way to do it, right?)
September 18, 2012
The Wall is the latest in a group of books I've listened to (Audio CD) about mountain climbing, and it was one of the few fiction titles I was able to find. It seems natural that hard-core rock climbing would make a good setting for a thriller, where death is just a finger-slip away, yet I had a hard time finding many.
In The Wall, two aging rock climbers return to the site of their biggest glory, Yosemite's El Capitan, to reclimb a route they first pioneered in their youth. Both are hounded by the wreckage of their personal lives: one is a widower and the other is on the verge of divorce. They think that on this multi-day climb up 3000 feet, on the knife's edge of life and death, they will rediscover the meaning in their shattered lives.
Of course, things start off badly before they even get off the ground. A group of women climbers on a neighboring route have an accident, and the men's mission is threatened with being caught up in the rescue.
Long does a good job with the intricacies and technique of rock climbing. Some passages virtually made me dizzy with vertigo while others left me white-knuckled and clutching my steering wheel. The plot is well suited to the setting, with the tension ratcheting tighter as the climb progresses. Just about everything that could go wrong happens, often in unexpected ways, the way good thrillers should.
But ultimately, the ending is a bit of a let down. As what happened when I read one of Long's earliest novels (The Ascent, which is set on Mount Everest), the ending seemed to come out of nowhere, betraying the potential of what was being set up. I wondered if I missed a CD.
Even given that, I would still recommend The Wall to any fans of adventure sports, just so they don't mind being left hanging at the end.
In The Wall, two aging rock climbers return to the site of their biggest glory, Yosemite's El Capitan, to reclimb a route they first pioneered in their youth. Both are hounded by the wreckage of their personal lives: one is a widower and the other is on the verge of divorce. They think that on this multi-day climb up 3000 feet, on the knife's edge of life and death, they will rediscover the meaning in their shattered lives.
Of course, things start off badly before they even get off the ground. A group of women climbers on a neighboring route have an accident, and the men's mission is threatened with being caught up in the rescue.
Long does a good job with the intricacies and technique of rock climbing. Some passages virtually made me dizzy with vertigo while others left me white-knuckled and clutching my steering wheel. The plot is well suited to the setting, with the tension ratcheting tighter as the climb progresses. Just about everything that could go wrong happens, often in unexpected ways, the way good thrillers should.
But ultimately, the ending is a bit of a let down. As what happened when I read one of Long's earliest novels (The Ascent, which is set on Mount Everest), the ending seemed to come out of nowhere, betraying the potential of what was being set up. I wondered if I missed a CD.
Even given that, I would still recommend The Wall to any fans of adventure sports, just so they don't mind being left hanging at the end.
January 10, 2016
I paid full price at Borders for the hardback version of The Wall by Jeff Long. For me that is really saying something. I've written about Jeff Long before, especially about the wonderful scary book The Descent, which by the way the movie sucks and isn't anything like the book.
I like Jeff Long like I like Robert Ludlum. I pretty much read everything they write and like it. I think that over the years Long has worked on his craft and gotten better and better at writing. I started reading him because of his ties to rock climbing and mountaineering. I continue to like him for the same reason, but I always enjoy his books and his writing.
The Wall takes place in Yosemite. Think of it as The Descent on crack (get it). It's not the great thriller that the Descent is, or the story that Angels of Light is. But it's a good quick thriller that is different than all the rest that's out there. It might give you a shiver or two. Or make you think twice about that big wall climb. But I think you'll enjoy it.
I like Jeff Long like I like Robert Ludlum. I pretty much read everything they write and like it. I think that over the years Long has worked on his craft and gotten better and better at writing. I started reading him because of his ties to rock climbing and mountaineering. I continue to like him for the same reason, but I always enjoy his books and his writing.
The Wall takes place in Yosemite. Think of it as The Descent on crack (get it). It's not the great thriller that the Descent is, or the story that Angels of Light is. But it's a good quick thriller that is different than all the rest that's out there. It might give you a shiver or two. Or make you think twice about that big wall climb. But I think you'll enjoy it.
March 30, 2012
Jeff Long produces books pretty infrequently. For The Wall, he obviously wanted to write a climbing book instead of a thriller...maybe that contributed to the big delay. The general plot is about a couple guys trying to have one last climb before they're too old, but things go horribly wrong...Despite my misgivings about that, it was a good read.
My favorite Long books are still The Descent and Year Zero (in that order), but this was still very dark and good. There's a surreal feel to it (which he started using in The Reckoning) that's pretty unusual for the thrillers I usually read. He manages to give the tension of a horror story for some scenes, and it's a great change in style for a thriller. You leave the books never really 100% sure exactly what happened. A little magic and mystery give his last couple books a unique voice, and I'm looking forward to more.
My favorite Long books are still The Descent and Year Zero (in that order), but this was still very dark and good. There's a surreal feel to it (which he started using in The Reckoning) that's pretty unusual for the thrillers I usually read. He manages to give the tension of a horror story for some scenes, and it's a great change in style for a thriller. You leave the books never really 100% sure exactly what happened. A little magic and mystery give his last couple books a unique voice, and I'm looking forward to more.
April 29, 2016
Two aging climbers, Hugh and Lewis, reunite to make a final climb of Yosemite’s treacherous El Capitan. Each man arrives with a lifetime of baggage and vastly different approaches to life.
Internal struggles wage war alongside, and often with, external struggles in a novel that never lets up on edge-of-your-seat intensity. More than a thriller, this work is a study of the human psyche, relationships, philosophy, life and death, and right and wrong.
With one of my favorite opening chapters of all time, fully developed, complex characters, intricate and intertwining plot lines, intense action, kick-ass plot twists, ever building tension and intrigue, and page after page of vivid imagery, this is a book I’ve loved reading over and over.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys smart, psychological thrillers.
Internal struggles wage war alongside, and often with, external struggles in a novel that never lets up on edge-of-your-seat intensity. More than a thriller, this work is a study of the human psyche, relationships, philosophy, life and death, and right and wrong.
With one of my favorite opening chapters of all time, fully developed, complex characters, intricate and intertwining plot lines, intense action, kick-ass plot twists, ever building tension and intrigue, and page after page of vivid imagery, this is a book I’ve loved reading over and over.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys smart, psychological thrillers.
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