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corprew's review against another edition
4.0
Another depressing post-apocalypso book, this time written in a degenerate english that takes the droog-speak of clockwork orange as its starting point.
aoc's review against another edition
3.0
Part of me dreads talking about Riddley Walker, but six months after on and off reading I almost feel like I owe it to both the novel and myself.
Premise is pretty straightforward by itself - we follow the eponymous Riddley Walker after his old man has an accident and Riddley is poised to inherit his role of the "connexion man" aka someone who interprets prophecies and meanings as seen in traveling puppet shows' performances whenever they visit settlements. That sounds kinda silly until you factor in this is roughly two thousands years following a world ending event that more or less destroyed everything and society has slowly rebuilt itself to something akin to Iron Age technology except they don't really mine ore but rather remnants of now ancient material that they then deconstruct and re-purpose. This Inland territory with illustrious names for places like Arse Dead Town is seemingly organized and ruled by some weird amalgam of politics and religion riding in the same cart drawn by half-remembered science, folklore, whatever rolled into one with their influence propagated by already mentioned, you guessed it, traveling puppet shows adhering strictly to accepted stories and even puppets themselves are regulated. It's a world where creative thinking is called "clevverness" and highly discouraged because it could bring back whatever vague recollection people have of that which destroyed the world in the first place. But as our boy Riddley will soon discover there are plans afoot that could forever alter what Eusa Story preaches and warnings of Littl Shyning Man are all about it.
So that may even sound compelling, right? Let me just quote a brief paragraph from the book for you:
Entire novel is written like this as it replicates a language that re-invented itself from nothing following civilization's collapse. Being an ESL individual I felt a migraine coming on after periods of extended reading and that's probably the reason why finishing this took so long. Eventually I realized reading out loud helped because I phonetically connected the dots, but it was continual effort regardless. That's without mentioning parts that come from earlier in history and were carried over orally EXACTLY as uttered back then and are barely understandable so you get a guessing game until the very last act. On the flip-side, I don't think I've been more engrossed in a work than I have with Riddley Walker. Glossing over lines will get you nowhere and paying attention is actually required which results in high retention. When you add that little HAPPENS in the story and it's more focused on twelve year Riddley surviving in this world you end having to sift through musings and opinions more than actual plot. Needles to say there are lessons here on everything from morality to history and how some things are doomed to repeat, but does it have to be that way if we can change it?
Yay or nay? Single most obstacle present is really the Riddleyspeak itself Hoban chose to write the novel in. Everything else is solid and even intriguing once you piece together what's going and understand it was mainly terminology that hobbled you getting there sooner rather than later, but you're so actively engaged taking in this foreign world told through the eyes of a twelve year old kid figuring out a large part of it for himself.
Premise is pretty straightforward by itself - we follow the eponymous Riddley Walker after his old man has an accident and Riddley is poised to inherit his role of the "connexion man" aka someone who interprets prophecies and meanings as seen in traveling puppet shows' performances whenever they visit settlements. That sounds kinda silly until you factor in this is roughly two thousands years following a world ending event that more or less destroyed everything and society has slowly rebuilt itself to something akin to Iron Age technology except they don't really mine ore but rather remnants of now ancient material that they then deconstruct and re-purpose. This Inland territory with illustrious names for places like Arse Dead Town is seemingly organized and ruled by some weird amalgam of politics and religion riding in the same cart drawn by half-remembered science, folklore, whatever rolled into one with their influence propagated by already mentioned, you guessed it, traveling puppet shows adhering strictly to accepted stories and even puppets themselves are regulated. It's a world where creative thinking is called "clevverness" and highly discouraged because it could bring back whatever vague recollection people have of that which destroyed the world in the first place. But as our boy Riddley will soon discover there are plans afoot that could forever alter what Eusa Story preaches and warnings of Littl Shyning Man are all about it.
So that may even sound compelling, right? Let me just quote a brief paragraph from the book for you:
Belnot Phist wer stopping on at Widders Dump. That same day he put a crew to cutting timber for a new projeck of his. It wer going to be some kynd of a working. Where they gone for the timber it ben a special place of myn. Where the old track sydls the hy groun sholder. It wer woodit with oak there. Hy groun on 1 side of the track and on the other it sloaps off sharp tords Widders Dump. The track runs pas that holler they call Mr Clevvers Roaling Place it wer the track we all ways took going to and from the form. It wer the shape of the groun I liket and the feal of it. That fealing you get on hy groun over looking the low. Some times sydling that sholder youwd see crows be low you cruising. Looking down from there at Widders Dump it seamt so low and littl it lookit easy ternt a way from. Back then I never Ice ben on that hy groun sholder oansome. Never ben any where at all oansome. Never in my woal life put foot outside a fents without at leas 5 mor for dog safe. I ben saving up that hy groun in my mynd tho. Thinking may be some time there myt come a time Iwd chance it oansome. I dint want no woodlings cleart there I jus wantit that place lef the way it ben. I tol my self never mynd but I myndit.
Entire novel is written like this as it replicates a language that re-invented itself from nothing following civilization's collapse. Being an ESL individual I felt a migraine coming on after periods of extended reading and that's probably the reason why finishing this took so long. Eventually I realized reading out loud helped because I phonetically connected the dots, but it was continual effort regardless. That's without mentioning parts that come from earlier in history and were carried over orally EXACTLY as uttered back then and are barely understandable so you get a guessing game until the very last act. On the flip-side, I don't think I've been more engrossed in a work than I have with Riddley Walker. Glossing over lines will get you nowhere and paying attention is actually required which results in high retention. When you add that little HAPPENS in the story and it's more focused on twelve year Riddley surviving in this world you end having to sift through musings and opinions more than actual plot. Needles to say there are lessons here on everything from morality to history and how some things are doomed to repeat, but does it have to be that way if we can change it?
Yay or nay? Single most obstacle present is really the Riddleyspeak itself Hoban chose to write the novel in. Everything else is solid and even intriguing once you piece together what's going and understand it was mainly terminology that hobbled you getting there sooner rather than later, but you're so actively engaged taking in this foreign world told through the eyes of a twelve year old kid figuring out a large part of it for himself.
pwc1919's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
vvolof's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.75
bret's review against another edition
4.0
Preface: I read this on a Kindle. No spoilers.
The short version: I found Riddley Walker to be linguistically interesting and very original. I'm glad I read it, even with its difficulties.
The long version: I spent the first 15% figuring out the language. The first chapter is the hardest and then it gets easier. I wish I'd known about the section in the back because it would have cleared a couple things up I didn't get on my own--but I was happy when I finally read through it to see I got most of them (many with double meanings).
From 15% to 65% I became engrossed in the story and the world painted by the author. The ideas and the philosophy behind the time and location were engaging and balanced within the story line.
65% to 75% almost killed it for me because the author waxed completely philosophical. This can go both ways in any book, but trying to decipher Idea and Thought for 10% straight was exhausting.
I muddled through it and came out happy on the other side to the end of the book.
The short version: I found Riddley Walker to be linguistically interesting and very original. I'm glad I read it, even with its difficulties.
The long version: I spent the first 15% figuring out the language. The first chapter is the hardest and then it gets easier. I wish I'd known about the section in the back because it would have cleared a couple things up I didn't get on my own--but I was happy when I finally read through it to see I got most of them (many with double meanings).
From 15% to 65% I became engrossed in the story and the world painted by the author. The ideas and the philosophy behind the time and location were engaging and balanced within the story line.
65% to 75% almost killed it for me because the author waxed completely philosophical. This can go both ways in any book, but trying to decipher Idea and Thought for 10% straight was exhausting.
I muddled through it and came out happy on the other side to the end of the book.
eriynali's review against another edition
5.0
really very good ideas in this book. impossible to scan, have to read every word, so it took a long time to get through, although i was engaged the whole time. my favorite part was when they find a "normal" english text and try to translate it into their post-apocalyptic language.
gwalt118's review against another edition
1.0
This book was just strange. I didn't enjoy it at all. I went in with an open mind, but I didn't like it one bit. It was confusing and even by the end, I didn't understand the plot sequence or even the ending. Don't read it; life is too short.
rjbs's review against another edition
3.0
I'm glad I read it. Some parts I found very effective and profoundly sad. For a few long stretches, though, I felt uninterested in what was going on. It seems like I might come to appreciate it more as a whole if I read it another time or two, but I'm not sure I want to do that.
So: recommended, but with an asterisk.
So: recommended, but with an asterisk.
ocurtsinger's review against another edition
3.0
This might just be the straw that broke the camel's back of my obsession with post-apocalyptic novels. I couldn't do it. I couldn't get through the muddled/invented English. It was wonderfully playful and creative, but I just didn't have the patience to read 200+ pages of it. Perhaps I've finally read too much of one genre and have lost my interest in it. I'm sure that if I had read Riddley Walker when it first came out or at least earlier in my own life, I would have loved it, and I'm sure that it was pretty radical for it's time. Today, though, the genre is so saturated and I've read so many similar books (the middle segment in Cloud Atlas being the easiest comparison, though I'm sure David Mitchell pulled most of his inspiration for that from this novel) that I just grew tired with it halfway through. There are some real shining moments, some that are made even more brilliant by Riddley's garbled English. Hoban was a clever author and a pioneer for science fiction, but the reader that picks up Riddley Walker must be patient and ready to do some thoughtful logic and deciphering.
sssaff's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
You know when you see/ read/ watch something and you’re like ‘wow I love what you did with this medium. This is an amazing artwork congrats’ but then you don’t super love the work on a more personal and intimate level?
It’s like I think this is objectively great but on a personal note not really for me, thank you, well done?
Those are my main feelings about this book.
It’s like I think this is objectively great but on a personal note not really for me, thank you, well done?
Those are my main feelings about this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence, Violence, and Rape
Moderate: Sexual harassment