The Wall
Jeff Long
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Buy *The Wall* by Jeff Long

The Wall

Jeff Long
Atria
Hardcover
304 pages
January 2006
rated 5 of 5 possible stars
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You know, they say (who ever they are) that you should hook the reader with a clever or attention-grabbing opening sentence that will keep them reading all the way until the end. New York Times bestselling author Jeff Long (Angels of Light, Empires of Bones, The Descent, Year Zero, The Ascent, and The Reckoning) has done that to absolute perfection in his latest effort, a nightmarishly fascinating thriller entitled The Wall. From the opening page:

“When God throws angels down, it starts like this. A breeze stirs. It carries the slightest distraction, a scent of trees perhaps, or a hint of an evening chill, or a song on the radio in a car passing three thousand feet below. In some form, temptation always whispers. High above the earth, toes smeared against the stone, finger crimped on microholds, the woman turns her head. Not even that: she turns her mind, for an instant, for even less. That’s all it takes. The stone evicts her. The wall tilts. The sky bends. Her holds… don’t hold. She falls.”
Wow, an amazing start indeed. In fact, the whole chapter and book continues to be amazing. The Wall is the incredibly touching story of widowed geologist Hugh Glass and his longtime friend Lewis Cole. Now both in their fifties, they return to Yosemite Park to climb El Capitan, a mountain they conquered thirty-five years ago. It’s a trip to put their troubles behind them. Both Hugh Glass and Lewis Cole met their wives on El Cap; Hugh lost his wife to Alzheimer’s in Saudi Arabia. Cole is about to lose his wife to divorce. In the last half of the book, the psychological aspect comes to play in what is really a psychological thriller - more so than an action-adventure.

The real strength of The Wall is how Long vividly describes everything, really making you feel like you are there. There is no need to be a climbing enthusiast to enjoy this book. It is a top-notch piece fiction that will move you and thrill you.



Originally published on Curled Up With A Good Book at www.curledup.com. © Bobby Blades, 2006

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