Riddley Walker

Riddley Walker

1st edition
Author	Russell Hoban
Language	English
Genre	Science fiction, Dystopian novel
Publisher	Jonathan Cape
Publication date	1980
Publication place	Great Britain
Media type	Print (Hardback & Paperback)
Pages	220
ISBN	0-224-01851-5
OCLC	7313161

Riddley Walker is a science fiction novel by Russell Hoban, first published in 1980. It won the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for best science fiction novel in 1982, as well as an Australian Science Fiction Achievement Award in 1983. It was additionally nominated for the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1981.

Hoban began writing the novel in 1974, inspired by the medieval wall painting of the legend of Saint Eustace at Canterbury Cathedral. It is Hoban's best-known adult novel and a drastic departure from his other work, although he continued to explore some of the same themes in other settings.

Plot summary

Riddley Walker is set about two thousand years after a nuclear war has devastated world civilizations. The main action of the story begins when the young narrator, Riddley, stumbles upon efforts to recreate a weapon of the ancient world.

The novel's characters live a harsh life in a small area which is presently the English county of Kent, and know nothing of the world outside of "Inland" (England). Their level of civilization is similar to England's prehistoric Iron Age, although they do not produce their own iron but salvage it from ancient machinery. Church and state have combined into one secretive institution, whose mythology, based on misinterpreted stories of the war and an old Catholic saint (Eustace), is enacted in puppet shows.

Narrative style and themes

Though its premise is similar to other post-apocalyptic novels such as A Canticle for Leibowitz, Riddley Walker is unusual in its style and focus. The first person narrator, Riddley, writes in a distinct form of English whose spelling often resembles a phonetic transliteration of a Kentish accent.

Many modern words (especially technological and religious terms) have changed in meaning; many of the place names are folk etymologies, such as "Dog Et" for Dargate, and "Do It Over" for Dover. While the unfamiliar language is a projection of how historical linguistics might apply in the future, it also provides clues to the nature of life in Riddley's world (e.g., being "et" by wild dogs is a common fate), and creates suspense as the reader gradually becomes accustomed to the idiosyncratic narration, and comes to understand some of the references of which Riddley is unaware. Religious philosophy and the supernatural are also central to the novel, elements which are also present in Leibowitz but which Hoban treats in a more allusive, mystical sense, drawing on elements of many religious traditions. Hoban also draws on the history of his adopted country, including Celtic mythology and Punch and Judy.

Critical reception

One reviewer noted that this book draws "on such well-known dystopias as A Clockwork Orange, Lord of the Flies, and A Canticle for Leibowitz", and "what is unique in Hoban's haunting vision of the future is his language" which is described as being similar to the Nadsat slang spoken in Anthony Burgess' A Clockwork Orange. Library Journal called the book "a unique and beloved place among the few after-Armageddon classics". The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists stated that "The force and beauty and awfulness of Hoban's creation is shattering" and also praised the use of a crude "Chaucerian English" by the author. It was included in David Pringle's book Science Fiction: The 100 Best Novels.

References and entities from the novel

Riddley Walker is set in the far future; two millennia after a nuclear war which changed human society deeply. The characters continually refer to cultural and political concepts and figures from history, which they themselves only dimly understand. Below are some of the more important concepts, to give a sense of the novel's tone.

• Punch - While the authorized narrative of society, The Eusa Show, appropriates many of the familiar puppets from the Punch and Judy show, Punch himself is suppressed until Riddley happens to find an ancient Punch puppet which sets him on his journey.

• Eusa - The protagonist in several folk tales and ballads depicting the nuclear conflict. Hoban has stated that Eusa was meant to represent the typical mindset of modern society. Eusa also refers to Saint Eustace, particularly the painting of him in Canterbury Cathedral [1]. Hoban states that this painting, and the story of St Eustace, inspired him to write the novel.

• Puter Leat - Riddley Walker-speak for the "Computer Elite", referring to those who existed before the "Bad Time" and their seemingly endless abilities; "What Goodparley calls Eusas head which it ben a girt box of knowing and you hook up peopl to it thats what a puter ben. We ben the Puter Leat we had the woal worl in our mynd and we had worls beyont this in our mynd we programmit pas the sarvering gallack seas."

Theatrical version

A theatrical adaptation (by Hoban himself) premiered at the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester, in February–March 1986. Its US premiere was at the Chocolate Bayou Theatre, in April 1987, directed by Greg Roach [2].

In November 2007 Riddley Walker was produced by Red Kettle in Waterford, Ireland, to positive reviews [3].

Riddley Walker was also adapted, with permission and aid from Russell Hoban, for Trouble Puppet Theater Co. by Artistic Director Connor Hopkins, with performances September 29 through October 16, 2011, at Salvage Vanguard Theater in Austin, Texas. This production employed tabletop puppetry inspired by the Bunraku tradition and supported by an original score by Justin Sherburn and layered sound and image design. [4]

Use in popular music

"The Rapture of Riddley Walker" is the eighth song on the Clutch album From Beale Street to Oblivion (2007).

External links

• Russell Hoban's Riddley Walker
• Riddley Walker Annotations
• Russell Hoban on Riddley Walker (The Guardian, 26 November 2010)

See also

• Pilgermann
• The Book of Dave