In a world all but drowned, a man called Bran has been living on an island for ten years. He was sent there in exile by those whose leader he was, and he tallies on the wall of his cave the days as they pass. Until the day when something happens that kindles in Bran such memories and longing that he persuades himself to return, even if it means execution. His reception is so unexpected, so mystifying that he casts about unsure of what is real and what imaginary. Only the friendship of a child anchors him as he retraces the terrible deeds for which he is answerable, and as he tries to reach back, over his biggest betrayal, to the one he loved. Wall of Days is a profoundly moving novel about guilt, loss and remembering.
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'Bruce's exceptional novel has echoes of JM Coetzee's 'Waiting for the Barbarians', against which it more than holds its own' --Financial Times
'Bruce's debut novel is both ambitious and hugely readable - holds its own in the deluge of post-apocalypse literature.' --Independent
'Bruce's debut novel is both ambitious and hugely readable - holds its own in the deluge of post-apocalypse literature.' --Independent
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A stunning novel of guilt and loss and remembering - now an Amazon Rising Star
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
22 of 22 people found the following review helpful
By VB
Format:Paperback
What makes a good book a great book? I am not sure that I can articulate that, however Wall of Days is a GREAT book. Were it possible at the time I would have read it in one sitting. The book is beautifully written and thought provoking. Between reading it I found my thoughts wandering back to the story and the book's narrator, Bran.
Bran has committed a terrible crime against his community for which he has been exiled. An event leads Bran to return to the people who have sentenced him knowing that it may result in his own death. The author gives you enough information to guess what this crime is, however when your thoughts are confirmed one is still horrified. Bran had clearly committed this act but was it a crime given the circumstances and why should he alone be accountable? There is a complex morel dilemma that Bruce forces the reader to think about throughout the book. While this is revealed fairly early in the book the reader is kept interested through the gradual addition of detail, by Bran who is the narrator of the story (can his views be trusted) and the fact that one really never knows where the book is going and how it will end.
I read the book too quickly but I couldn't put it down. I want to read it again as I know I missed so much the first time. I have never felt the need to read a book twice. That is what makes it a great book for me.
Bran has committed a terrible crime against his community for which he has been exiled. An event leads Bran to return to the people who have sentenced him knowing that it may result in his own death. The author gives you enough information to guess what this crime is, however when your thoughts are confirmed one is still horrified. Bran had clearly committed this act but was it a crime given the circumstances and why should he alone be accountable? There is a complex morel dilemma that Bruce forces the reader to think about throughout the book. While this is revealed fairly early in the book the reader is kept interested through the gradual addition of detail, by Bran who is the narrator of the story (can his views be trusted) and the fact that one really never knows where the book is going and how it will end.
I read the book too quickly but I couldn't put it down. I want to read it again as I know I missed so much the first time. I have never felt the need to read a book twice. That is what makes it a great book for me.
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
By FAF
Format:Paperback
I loved this book. It is elegantly written in deceptivly simple prose, which leaves plenty of space for interpretation and consideration. In a nutshell it is about guilt, both personal and collective, and the role of the scapegoat. Or perhaps it is about love and duty. I found that I was thinking about it whenever I stopped reading, and while reading I was entirely wrapped up in it.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By S. B. Kelly
VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review
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In the far future, Bran has been on his island for ten years, carefully counting the days. He expects to be there another 20 years, until he dies. He feeds himself on fish, crabs and vegetation and keeps a fire lit in his cave on the high ground by digging peat and felling a tree every eight weeks. It rains almost all the time, making the island continually smaller as the sea rises. He has long since stopped talking to himself. He is 53.
Almost all the earth is under water, civilisations long lost and forgotten, whole dead cities visible on the ocean bed. Bran was the leader of his people, first a warrior, then the broker of peace with the rival land of Axum, exiled later for creating The Programme -- a plan to cull the old and infirm to conserve resources and ensure the survival of his race.
One day a silent man is washed up on the island and Bran believes that he recognises him as Andalus, the leader of Axum. Concerned by this trespass, he determines to go home again, even if it means his death. But his land has changed: people are no longer short of food, no one he knows is to be found and no one seems to know who he is. He has been erased from history.
Has he miscounted the years of his exile? Does Andalus exist outside his imagination? Is he mad? Dead? Has he left the island at all? I honestly did not expect these questions to be answered but, largely, they are, although that raises other questions.
Human sacrifice can take many forms: willing victims to appease the gods; or men who make the hard decisions -- decisions that their more prosperous successors want to bury beneath a mound of lies and denial.
It's an intriguing novel, original, compelling and, perhaps surprisingly, a good and easy read.
Almost all the earth is under water, civilisations long lost and forgotten, whole dead cities visible on the ocean bed. Bran was the leader of his people, first a warrior, then the broker of peace with the rival land of Axum, exiled later for creating The Programme -- a plan to cull the old and infirm to conserve resources and ensure the survival of his race.
One day a silent man is washed up on the island and Bran believes that he recognises him as Andalus, the leader of Axum. Concerned by this trespass, he determines to go home again, even if it means his death. But his land has changed: people are no longer short of food, no one he knows is to be found and no one seems to know who he is. He has been erased from history.
Has he miscounted the years of his exile? Does Andalus exist outside his imagination? Is he mad? Dead? Has he left the island at all? I honestly did not expect these questions to be answered but, largely, they are, although that raises other questions.
Human sacrifice can take many forms: willing victims to appease the gods; or men who make the hard decisions -- decisions that their more prosperous successors want to bury beneath a mound of lies and denial.
It's an intriguing novel, original, compelling and, perhaps surprisingly, a good and easy read.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very Clever... Or?
I found this book started incredibly well and was ultimately an atmospheric, thought-provoking and suspenseful read, though the middle section did seem to drag somewhat. Read more
Published 3 months ago by CaSundara
1.0 out of 5 stars
I hated this book
I hated this book like I've never hated a book before.
I found the first few chapters gripping, then the massive amount of detail started to get tedious. Read more
I found the first few chapters gripping, then the massive amount of detail started to get tedious. Read more
Published 6 months ago by K. Moir
5.0 out of 5 stars
A truly riveting read
It is rare for a book to make me stop and think so often whilst reading it, even when when I had finished it, I reflected on what it meant for a long time. Read more
Published 11 months ago by K. Brockbank
4.0 out of 5 stars
A well written book.
The wall of days is a well written, suspenseful fiction. It is beautifully written in the first person narrative. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Uenna
4.0 out of 5 stars
Moving and compelling
I have had this novel sitting on my 'to read'' pile for a few months now, the first time that I tried to read 'Wall of Days' I just couldn't get into it, I must have been in the... Read more
Published 14 months ago by I Readalot
5.0 out of 5 stars
Inspiring and very thought provoking
Initially it took me a little while to get into this, but that was more perhaps to do with my state of mind at the time. It is well worth the perserverence, a very rewarding book. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Mr. M. L. Cawood-campbell
4.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant and thought-provoking debut
The premise of "Wall Of Days" is simple: a man has been exiled on a island for ten years. It's a damp, inhospitable place, home to a few stunted trees and some seabirds;he lives a... Read more
Published 15 months ago by C. O'Brien
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fantastic
A simple story, beautifully written, but with real depth of emotion, not to mention edge of your seat suspense. Read more
Published 16 months ago by chris
1.0 out of 5 stars
Utterly Depressing
I bought this book after reading the above five star reviews. I was looking forward to its arrival and started reading it as soon as it arrived. Read more
Published 17 months ago by Sandgrounder
5.0 out of 5 stars
A captivating novel from a new author.
This is Alastair Bruce's debut novel and in my opinion he has a great writing career ahead of him. He writes in a style that makes his novel an easy read - and a book that you... Read more
Published 18 months ago by Mr. P. HAIGH
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