The Wall - Softcover

Sutcliffe, William

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1408834812 ISBN 13: 9781408834817

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2013

Synopsis

Joshua is thirteen. He lives with his mother and stepfather in Amarias, an isolated town on top of a hill, where all the houses are brand new. At the edge of Amarias is a high wall, guarded by soldiers, which can only be crossed through a heavily fortified checkpoint. Joshua has been taught that beyond the concrete is a brutal and unforgiving enemy, and that The Wall is the only thing keeping him and his people safe. One day, looking for a lost football, Joshua stumbles across a tunnel which leads towards this forbidden territory. He knows he won't get another opportunity to see what is beyond The Wall until he's old enough for military service, and the chance to crawl through and solve the mystery is too tempting to resist. He's heard plenty of stories about the other side, but nothing has prepared him for what he finds... The Wall is a novel about a boy who undertakes a short journey to another world, to a place where everything he knows about loyalty, identity and justice is turned upside down. It is also a political fable that powerfully evokes the realities of life on the West Bank, telling the story of a Settler child who finds there are two sides to every story.

About this title

Review

A bold and important novel. Whatever your views of Israel and Palestine, reading The Wall - a moving portrait of private pain and tragic conflict - will make you think again * A. D. Miller (author of Snowdrops) * A work with a lot of backbone, story writing skill, verve and integrity. A novel that is about justice and peace, and against colonialism and war ... a great achievement * Raja Shehadeh * MORE PRAISE FOR WILLIAM SUTCLIFFE: 'Dark, witty ... dramatises the human craving for approval and strong leadership and the lengths we'll go to satisfy it * Kazuo Ishiguro, Observer on Bad Influence * Horribly and plausibly disturbing * Geoff Dyer, Sunday Times * Shocking, horribly credible, hilarious * Independent on Sunday * Sutcliffe is an unflinching observer of the primitive power struggles underlying both child and adult interaction. His darkest novel yet * Observer * A thoughtful, gripping piece of work * Time Out * Conveys the way you felt aged ten ... a clever, very powerful book * Guardian * Painfully funny, wonderfully vivid, truly menacing * Daily Telegraph *

Book Description

A powerful, searing story of a divided city - where one boy strays on to the wrong side of the wall, and finds his life changed for ever . . .

About this edition

• Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 1408834812
• ISBN 13: 9781408834817
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 304