Riddley Walker - Russell Hoban

An original and challenging read, but ultimately unrewarding

Set in the region of modern Kent, thousands of years after a nuclear disaster destroys civilisation as we know it, Russell Hoban's "Riddley Walker" is an imaginative story of society's struggle to continue amidst the wreckage of the past. Riddley, the book's eponymous hero, is just twelve years old and on the verge of manhood. When his father is killed and he inherits the role of his tribe's 'connexions man' - a kind of prophet, he begins his search for meaning in his world and an understanding of how it came to be.

The first thing that the reader will notice is that, rather than using standard English, the book is written in the degenerate, phonetic language of its own imagined time - an interesting device, certainly, but not without its problems. Because the reading of every sentence is so challenging, it demands a great deal of persistence from the reader. On the one hand, this can be seen as a positive thing: by forcing the reader to slow down, the hope is that he or she will digest more of the meaning of the text. On the other, the reader naturally expects there to be a substantial pay-off to justify such a high investment of time and effort. Unfortunately this pay-off is never delivered; the plot does not really progress, and though we meander through Riddley's world, there is little sense either of direction or of unravelling its many mysteries. This is the kind of style that could work well for a brief period - a short story, for example - but that over the course of 230 pages, merely becomes wearing and, ultimately, fails to hold the reader's interest.

This is not to say that Hoban does not present some interesting ideas. The culture and mythology - part Judaeo-Christian, part Punch and Judy - of this imagined post-nuclear future are incredibly rich, if peculiar, and Hoban has evidently done much research in order to create it. It is fascinating to see how his characters weave fragments of surviving documents and artefacts together to create interpretations of their past - our civilisation's demise - and the implications for our own reading of historical and religious truth are clear. To a limited extent, too, it is interesting to decipher the words and terms used by Riddley - and though there is a glossary at the back, it is by no means complete.

This edition - published to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the book's original publication - also includes an Afterword by the author, in which he explains the evolution of the idea through some early drafts of the text (written in standard English), and an introduction by Will Self, whose own novel, "The Book of Dave", shares many of the same themes as this book.

"Riddley Walker" is an unusual and original reading experience, defying the conventions of modern literature. Unfortunately, despite the detailed world Hoban has created, the story within it is ultimately neither strong enough, nor rewarding enough to leave the reader wholly satisifed.

I Don't Like it, But...

According to amazon, I should award it 2 stars if I don't like it. I don't, but it is not without merit - in fact it is with a lot of merit. Its merits I am sure has been reviewed by others here, so I shan;t dwell on that. The problem with it is that to me one - and the most important - raison d'etre of literature is to divert. The linguistic audacity of this book is simply pushed too far for even the masochistic school of pleasure. Also, this 20th Anniversay edition does contain very good, albeit rather insufficient, notes and introduction. The glossary I found very helpful when it expounds the crypt I was looking for, which most of the time it does not. The Afterward definitely raised my appreciation of the work a fair deal.

I read it every year

Hoban's images of a post-nuclear England where the characters hearken back to a legendary past of "picters on the wind" (television) etc and his masterful weaving of Christian mythology and future mythology are powerful stuff. This coupled with his reworking of the English language to conjure up new mental pictures of familiar (to us) places, objects and concepts make this a Deffo Desert Island choice.

Honestly....

Artistic snobs delight! For the rest of us, it's just a shile of pite...

Just read it

You have to read this book. It's worth every moment of thought you have to put in to translate some of the Riddley Speak. It is English used and abused to it's best. Thought provoking; it's the future and the past.
I have read other post apocalyptic sci-fi and this is by far the best; it tackles society, religion, war, family and humanity to name but a few. It is a beautifully constructed story that takes you on an often harrowing journey with a boy who is struggling to understand the world. His only reference and guidance being that of a confused society whose history has been constructed using only scraps of information and Chinese Whispers. Just read it, you won't regret it.

An original and challenging read, but ultimately unrewarding

Set in the region of modern Kent, thousands of years after a nuclear disaster destroys civilisation as we know it, Russell Hoban's "Riddley Walker" is an imaginative story of society's struggle to continue amidst the wreckage of the past. Riddley, the book's eponymous hero, is just twelve years old and on the verge of manhood. When his father is killed and he inherits the role of his tribe's 'connexions man' - a kind of prophet, he begins his search for meaning in his world and an understanding of how it came to be.

The first thing that the reader will notice is that, rather than using standard English, the book is written in the degenerate, phonetic language of its own imagined time - an interesting device, certainly, but not without its problems. Because the reading of every sentence is so challenging, it demands a great deal of persistence from the reader. On the one hand, this can be seen as a positive thing: by forcing the reader to slow down, the hope is that he or she will digest more of the meaning of the text. On the other, the reader naturally expects there to be a substantial pay-off to justify such a high investment of time and effort. Unfortunately this pay-off is never delivered; the plot does not really progress, and though we meander through Riddley's world, there is little sense either of direction or of unravelling its many mysteries. This is the kind of style that could work well for a brief period - a short story, for example - but that over the course of 230 pages, merely becomes wearing and, ultimately, fails to hold the reader's interest.

This is not to say that Hoban does not present some interesting ideas. The culture and mythology - part Judaeo-Christian, part Punch and Judy - of this imagined post-nuclear future are incredibly rich, if peculiar, and Hoban has evidently done much research in order to create it. It is fascinating to see how his characters weave fragments of surviving documents and artefacts together to create interpretations of their past - our civilisation's demise - and the implications for our own reading of historical and religious truth are clear. To a limited extent, too, it is interesting to decipher the words and terms used by Riddley - and though there is a glossary at the back, it is by no means complete.

This edition - published to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the book's original publication - also includes an Afterword by the author, in which he explains the evolution of the idea through some early drafts of the text (written in standard English), and an introduction by Will Self, whose own novel, "The Book of Dave", shares many of the same themes as this book.

"Riddley Walker" is an unusual and original reading experience, defying the conventions of modern literature. Unfortunately, despite the detailed world Hoban has created, the story within it is ultimately neither strong enough, nor rewarding enough to leave the reader wholly satisifed.

I Don't Like it, But...

According to amazon, I should award it 2 stars if I don't like it. I don't, but it is not without merit - in fact it is with a lot of merit. Its merits I am sure has been reviewed by others here, so I shan;t dwell on that. The problem with it is that to me one - and the most important - raison d'etre of literature is to divert. The linguistic audacity of this book is simply pushed too far for even the masochistic school of pleasure. Also, this 20th Anniversay edition does contain very good, albeit rather insufficient, notes and introduction. The glossary I found very helpful when it expounds the crypt I was looking for, which most of the time it does not. The Afterward definitely raised my appreciation of the work a fair deal.

I read it every year

Hoban's images of a post-nuclear England where the characters hearken back to a legendary past of "picters on the wind" (television) etc and his masterful weaving of Christian mythology and future mythology are powerful stuff. This coupled with his reworking of the English language to conjure up new mental pictures of familiar (to us) places, objects and concepts make this a Deffo Desert Island choice.

Honestly....

Artistic snobs delight! For the rest of us, it's just a shile of pite...

Just read it

You have to read this book. It's worth every moment of thought you have to put in to translate some of the Riddley Speak. It is English used and abused to it's best. Thought provoking; it's the future and the past.
I have read other post apocalyptic sci-fi and this is by far the best; it tackles society, religion, war, family and humanity to name but a few. It is a beautifully constructed story that takes you on an often harrowing journey with a boy who is struggling to understand the world. His only reference and guidance being that of a confused society whose history has been constructed using only scraps of information and Chinese Whispers. Just read it, you won't regret it.