John Lanchester - The Wall (2019), 2/10

A rather laughable representation of colonialism, The Wall is not just on the nose in its narrative rendition of England but simply an example of poor fiction writing in its ultimate form. It is predictable and problematic, replicating YA tropes more than its borrowings from adult focused literature. It is most egregiously dull and uninteresting, especially in its characters which fall flat by any definition. Any semblance of a "twist" or subversion of expectations is so palpably expected that it borders on parody, but accomplishes nothing with this interaction with reader expectation. The characterization of the wall itself is woefully tedious, down to the attempts at creativity with Kavanagh's personally narrated experience during service. The world building is perhaps even more frustrating, depending on ridiculously straightforward yet unbelievable attempts at making sense of what is simply a poor idea for a novel. The only redemption within its pages comes from its experiments with narration, yet these are by and large squandered. The critical attention for this novel only supports the preferential joke that modern fiction criticism has become.