A strange, post-holocaust tale rendered magical by its extraordinary invented language. An astonishing feat of imagination.

This sounds great. Thanks for sending it to me! I will write another journal entry as soon as I'm finished reading it.

I'm a huge fan of post-apocalyptic fiction. It is probably my favorite genre. But as soon as I saw the made up language, I thought "uh oh". I tried reading it but I could not get very far. I know that it was important for Hoban to write this book in a made up language, it was just so hard to trudge through for me. If it was in standard English, I probably would have loved it, but the story would have lost something if Hoban had not written it his way. thanks so much for the opportunity to read this, miketrollstigen, but it is going on to the next reader!

RELEASE NOTES:

Sent to nancydotslash as part of a trade!

This book arrived yesterday, and I'm looking forward to it, thanks for the trade, cinnycat!

I read this book in a couple of days, and hated to put it down. Riddley Walker is such a compelling figure and his life, well, seems so “hoapless” -but he just goes right on. Perhaps my fondness of “Mad Max” explains why I love this book. For one thing, I did not have a problem reading and understanding his invented language, as I understand some do. Riddley is a 12 yr-old boy and one of few literate people in his society, who writes down his story by spelling many words phonetically. He wonders why his people are so primitive and senses the greatness of civilization that was destroyed long, long ago,- thousands of years actually, during which humans have undergone an evolutionary breakdown and are existing in a tribal society comparable to the Iron age. There is no simple plot, or simple story here, but a work of genius, IMHO. It is gripping, funny, and utterly without sniveling and whining, w/references to things humans do that cause the downfall of society. Humans are violent, why? There are confusions of religious beliefs, references to folk tales, and myth, metaphor and allegory. It is hilarious in places, especially the dialogue, and more than once I was reminded of a Monty Python sort of humor. I can only say that I was amazed by this fearless and non-preachy vision of a post apocalyptic world of the future. It gives me much to ponder and wonder over, and I may have to re-read it once or twice, its that kind of book. I would advise anyone who enjoys post-apocalyptic sci-fi type fiction, to dive in and give it a try, --and “Trubba not.”
Thank you for this book, cinnycat


edited for typos 5/30

Awesome! I can't wait! Thanks so much, nancydotslash.

This is a hard journal entry to write, because I really feel that another go-round is necessary to fully grasp what I read. However, I feel so exhausted from reading it, I think I'll have to pass it on for now.

I can not remember ever having so much trouble reading a book. Not just having trouble getting into it, but really spending effort trying to follow what was going on. I haven't had that much trouble reading a book since I tried War and Peace as an 8 year old. The beginning was really fascinating, but I found myself getting lost halfway through. It wasn't just the language, but the story itself seemed confusing. As for the language, which you really have to mention when talking about the book, I liked that it made me slow down, think about what I was reading, even say things out loud. It was so gritty and bleak, with some beautiful passages early on where Riddley is talking about what was lost.

Post-apocalyptic fiction! Say no more! I am in!

Thanks rednumbertwo!

I loved the idea of this book but I had a hard time reading it. I found it pretty easy to get into the language of Riddley but I too had trouble following the storyline. In fact, I'm kind of embarassed to say that I'm still not sure what happened at the end! Perhaps it is one of those books that leaves a lasting impression on you but not a clear picture of why.

I'll bring this to my bookcrossing meeting tonight.