This anthology from Jean Paul Sartre is hard to pin down. I found the stories in The Wall all intriguing in various ways, yet somehow they mostly missed the mark for me. Hence I’m only able to award a modest 3 star rating.
My favorite story in the collection of five tales, is a toss up between Herostratus and The Wall. The former recounts the downward spiral of a man who has become misanthropic and finds refuge in the lascivious fringes of society. It reminded me somewhat of Sartre’s novel Nausea, which is an ode to his philosophy of existentialism (indeed there is a strong existentialist thread in all the stories in this anthology). The latter story, The Wall, tells the gripping tale of a man, who is imprisoned and awaiting execution for being a rebel during the Spanish Civil War. Sartre does an exquisite job of taking readers into the man’s mind during his waning hours of life.
My least favorite story was The Childhood of a Leader. The story unfortunately meanders through a sort of “Freudian” coming of age of a French boy, the son of a wealthy industrialist, as he grows up to fulfil his destiny as a future leader, with vehemently fascist beliefs (and commensurate violent actions). The fascism (in particular antisemitism) and sexual promiscuity recounted in the story is quite jarring, but perhaps was acceptable/understandable at the time when the story was published in the late 1930s (ironically just before the outbreak of WWII). This story in particular may contain potential triggers for some readers, who may want to consider skipping it.
Overall The Wall is worth reading if you are interested in exploring the full breadth and depth of Sartre’s literary body of work. Readers should bear in mind that these stories are ill-suited for a light Sunday afternoon read!
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