This immediately gives us an insight into Riddley’s society, as since children become adults by age twelve then they probably don’t have a very long life expectancy. The plot itself is also fairly simple the story begins on Riddley’s twelfth birthday, which he describes as the day he becomes a man. We can recognise some of the landmarks, such as “Cambry” (Canterbury), “Fork Stoan” (Folkestone), and “Do It Over” (Dover). We can see it is Kent from the map Ridley has drawn at the beginning of the book. It’s set in “Inland” (England), in the county of Kent. The setting of Riddley Walker is quite simple, by fantasy standards. The reader is forced to slow down and really concentrate on understanding what is being said, just as Riddley is trying to understand his “connexions”. But the fun part is that this is intentional, as Russell Hoban wants the reader to feel as confused as Riddley does.

But I won’t lie – I found it a tricky book to read! I had to read it out loud several times in order to hear what the word sounded like, rather than just seeing it on the page. It becomes easier to read after the first few chapters, after you become used to the language and rhythm, and it’s worth the effort. Although this makes the book quite hard to read at first, it makes it easier to really throw yourself into Riddley’s mind and his world. What is left is ‘Riddleyspeak’ - a strange mix between a phonetic version of English and a new, made up slang. It is clear that at some point after the nuclear war, language suffered a near complete breakdown. What really makes this novel stand out from other dystopian fantasies is the language used, and it is arguably the most important aspect of the book. Religion has also converted into the worship of ‘Eusa’, which is a mistaken jumble between the story of St Eustace, and half forgotten facts from the nuclear war. Civilisation has reverted back to a second Iron Age where iron is salvaged from the broken machines of the old world. In this future, humanity has deteriorated back to a simple hunter/gatherer lifestyle, and technology no longer exists. The novel is set in a very desolate future, about two thousand years after a nuclear holocaust.

“Riddley Walker” is one of the most unique books I have ever read, and is also probably the most difficult book I will ever come across.

Riddley Walker by Russell Hoban