I could not get into this book, ultimately it was not form me and I could not finish it. It may be one for other readers

A taut, disturbing novella about Sylvi, a teenager spending a fortnight with her abusive father and defeated mother, trying to recreate Iron Age life on a moor in the north of England. Sarah Moss writes very well of the feeling of being in a family with no prospect of escape. The conflicting feelings of wanting to protect the family and hating it at the same time. Sylivi’s dad is a passionate amateur using his fortnight’s holiday from driving a bus to live in discomfort hunting and foraging. This is thrown into relief by the presence of three archaeology students and their professor (Sylvi, our narrator listens to the university students chat about inter-railing and travelling to Berlin, knowing she doesn’t have a passport and is unlikely to go anywhere.) Sylvi’s dad and Jim the professor bond over their enthusiasms and their ideas of the Iron Age rituals that may or may not have happened. To say more would be heading into spoiler territory, so I’m just going to recommend this as a short, breathless read.

I love Sarah Moss's writing. This was the best book I've read in 2021 and I love the cover. Dark and compelling.

A very uncomfortable read but there is so much power within the storytelling. The writing was subtle but you could feel the menace, you could feel the fear and the anger. At moments I couldn't believe what was happening and I wanted to rush to save Silvie. My heart hurt for the poor girl.

Ghost Wall is a slightly oddly pitched book – it is ostensibly a YA novel, but it seems to be a little ‘grownup’ in parts to fit comfortably in this genre. But simply, it is a story of an adolescent’s view of her life experiences and when viewed as such it can be a powerful, challenging view of a difficult upbringing.

In general, this is an exploration of a controlling relationship and the mental and physical abuse involved. It can be a hard read at times. However, it is engagingly written and there is an honesty and reality offered that lifts it beyond a two-dimensional observation. There are some genuinely tender moments in the relationships shown here, but even these good moments can only be seen through the lens of abuse. These parts of the novel felt very real.
But where I feel the book lets itself down is in the expected and almost unavoidable denouement, where rather than being a shocking final illustration of the abuse suffered, the novel lost its grip on reality and in doing so lost its impact. But how else was a story of prehistorical re-enactment going to finish?

This short novel is very strong on atmosphere and place. I found the ramping up of tension almost unbearable with the isolation of the setting serves to distance the action from time and place very effectively. Well written and recommended as a disturbing, thought-provoking read.

This is my first proper experience of Moss (not including the time I started The Tidal Zone and didn’t get past the first couple of pages [I’ll attempt it another time]) and I’m not sure how I feel. I’ve seen a lot of praise for Ghost Wall, but something just didn’t sit right with me. It’s a very interesting concept, living as Iron Age Britons, so I think I’m disappointed that it didn’t go further. It’s a very short novel, and I think an extra 50 pages wouldn’t have gone amiss - just for a bit more character development, a bit more time to explore the concept of a ghost wall. Even though the book is named after it, the whole section of the ghost wall was almost an afterthought - it appeared very close to the end for no apparent reason, and then suddenly everything is over. I think it’s length and the breadth of topics Moss was trying to include made it feel disjointed. Plus, the ending - whilst it felt plausible given the build up - also felt abrupt. One moment we were meandering through the story, the next it’s all over.

What I will say, though, is that Moss’ characterisation of Silvie’s father was incredible. Like I said, it’s not a long book, but in those 150-odd pages you do develop a fear of Bill. Moss quickly created an atmosphere of extreme tension, and it did feel like you were on the edge of your seat whenever he was present. It was a succinct but realistic depiction of domestic abuse.

The Ghost Wall of the title is a defence used by local tribes to deter the invading Romans by hanging skulls of their ancestors, most likely those lost to human sacrifice.

This is a powerful and dark novella set in Northumbria in the north of England where Silvie, aged 18, and her family and others have gathered to re-enact an Iron Age camp. Silvie’s father and Professor Jim Slade have a morbid fascination with the darkest aspects of history and uses this as an excuse for extreme behaviours. Silvie describes this as the wildness of men’s spirits. This novel is carefully crafted and delivered with with a delicate foreboding. It is about family, Britishness and the re-writing of history.

I thought the premise for this novel sounded really great, sadly for me it just didn't deliver. I didn't ever feel anything for the characters, and it was a struggle to get through the 150 pages.

This was... disturbing.

I've loved several of Sarah Moss's longer novels, so approached it with high expectations. Although initially unsure, I was absolutely drawn in, and think it will haunt me for a long while.

Silvie accompanies her parents on an experimental archaeology fieldtrip. With her abusive father, and an oblivious professor, it was never going to be an easy week, but things become progressively darker. I loved her growing-yet-difficult relationship with Molly, one of the students on the trip, whose experience and worldview is so far from her own. And my heart broke for her mum's acceptance of everything.

Claustrophobic, atmospheric and a book I will recommend.

This is a stunning novella, and one that I still keep thinking about. It follows Silvie who is staying at an Iron Age reconstruction in the middle of nowhere with her mum and anthropologist father. There are moments where we see what happened to an iron age girl that are visceral and heart-breaking. We then see that whilst Silvie doesn’t face the same savage life as that girl, the pain and lack of understanding that teenagers go through perhaps is such as it ever was. The writing in this book is beautiful, there is so much said in so few words. It’s a book that still goes through my mind and it’s weeks since I read it. I think it’s a book that I will re-read in the future. I recommend it!

What a sublime and clever book. Should have made the shortlist! Now off to read everything else she's ever written.

I think I went into Ghost Wall thinking it was going to be a different kind of book. I didn't end up finishing it, truthfully. My library did purchase it.

I must preface this review by saying never in a million years did I think I would be sat here giving a book by Sarah Moss a five star review! I read The Tidal Zone by this author a few years a go and hated it and although it was well written in places and looked at mens roles in society the author rubbed me up the wrong way by the belittling of nursery workers in her narrative (which is my profession!) I swore I would never pick anything up by this author again!! fast forward to 2019 and this book is nominated for The Woman's Prize *sigh* I want to read as many of the long list as possible so felt obliged to give this one a go and it was the shortest on the list and it blew me away!

This the story of Silvie and one summer spent with her mother and cruel father, some students and a professor as part of an experimental archaeology exercise, the aim to live as the iron age people of the time did, foraging for food, living in huts and even building a ghost wall, a wall made up of the skulls of the dead. The narrative is haunting at times and very atmospherics you really get a feeling of what it must have been like in Iron Age Britain through the eyes of Silvie and her dad, at other times this story was extremely funny with some of the best moments coming from one of the students named Molly who forms an beautiful friendship with Silvie. This story builds up the tension to the chilling climax. I really enjoyed a look at gender rolls of the past and thinking about if much has changed, about father/daughter relationships and about how we see the modern world. There are some trigger warnings in this book for domestic abuse so be aware of that going into this.

Overall I thought this was a haunting, well constructed little book and one I would highly recommend and that's coming from a person who said I would NEVER read a book from this author again, it's almost made me want to check out more of Sarah Moss's work.

Five well deserved stars!!

If you enjoy atmospheric, character-driven stories, you’re in for a treat. The story starts with a simple enough premise: Silvie and her family are going to spend two weeks living as ancient Britons. They are participating in a real life re-enactment of the Iron Age and joining them are a university professor and a team of anthropology students. Soon enough though, what starts off as a mere practical experience begins to take a turn for the dark as Silvie’s father becomes increasingly obsessed with making the experience as realistic as possible, and the lines between reality and the re-enacted past begin to blur. Although the story is not plot-heavy, the vividly rendered atmosphere, and the increasing sense of foreboding that sets in as the story progresses, will definitely keep readers hooked in.

The main complaint I have, and the reason why I am not rating this book higher, is to do with the ending. Towards the end of the book, we finally reach the climactic scene that the story has been building up to, and it is every bit as harrowing as it is powerful. And then, the ending just kinds of fizzles out, ending in a mundane resolution that is at odds with the surreal atmosphere of the rest of the book. I understand that most people would find the ending satisfactory enough, but personally, I thought that the resolution was a little lacklustre.

So well written, this short book uses every word to advantage to tell the intense tale of life in a reconstructed Stone Age camp where tensions increase through the summer. Quality writing.

Genuinely one of the best books I read in 2018. Throughly enjoyed the story, Sarah Moss is fast becoming a favourite author of mine.
The story is really about a father and daughter relationship and how the fathers obsession with history impacts on the family life when they go away on holiday to live as they would have in bronze age times with a group of archeology students, and how group mentality soon escalated.
Beautiful driven prose with a purpose!
Please read this

This was an interesting read. I loved the setting that Moss chose for this as it added atmosphere to the novel. The relationships was varied and this created an extra layer of depth to it. The familial story between Silvie and between was fractured and broken and that was an element I would have liked to have seen fixed at the end. The queer element that other reviewers have mentioned, I completely missed first time and it was only when I thought about it more that I realised it was there. Moss's treatment of the female attraction was quiet and subtle and was handled beautifully.

This novella really packs a punch. Its uncomfortable subject matter is presented in an uncomfortable setting. Slivie, her checkout assistant mum and bus driver dad, spend their summer holidays recreating life in Iron Age Britain, along with an archaeology professor and some of his students. Silvie's dad is a very keen, knowledgable amateur archaeologist, and is well respected by the professor. However, he is an unhappy man. He seems to hate the way he lives, and takes his frustrations (physically) out on his wife and daughter. I actually thought Silvie was far younger than it transpired that she was, purely because of the way her father spoke to and treated her.
The book becomes darker as it goes on, as we see more of Silvie's dads' outdated ideas of masculinity and a woman's station in life, and the conclusion is simply stunning.
This is well worth a read in my opinion.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy of this book to read and fairly review.

Having read (and loved) the Tidal Zone I was really looking forward to this one. A very short novel but one that has lingered in the mind long after finishing. The father character was pure evil. Thanks for the advance!