''Riddley Walker'' is a

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imagination, imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, Paral ...

novel by American writer

Russell Hoban Russell Conwell Hoban (February 4, 1925 – December 13, 2011) was an American expatriate writer. His works span many genres, including fantasy, science fiction, mainstream fiction, magical realism, poetry, and children's books. He lived i ...

, first published in

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Syst ...

. 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 nominated for the

Nebula Award The Nebula Awards annually recognize the best works of science fiction or fantasy published in the United States. The awards are organized and awarded by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA), a nonprofit association of prof ...

for Best Novel in 1981. 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.

Production

Hoban began work on the novel in 1974, inspired by the

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

wall painting of the legend of

Saint Eustace Saint Eustace (Latinized Eustachius or Eustathius, Greek Εὐστάθιος Πλακίδας ''Eustathios Plakidas'') is revered as a Christian martyr. According to legend, he was martyred in AD 118, at the command of emperor Hadrian. Eusta ...

at Canterbury Cathedral. The novel is written in a stylistic, imaginary dialect based on and inspired by the dialect of Kent.

Plot

Roughly two thousand years after a

nuclear war Nuclear warfare, also known as atomic warfare, is a theoretical military conflict or prepared political strategy that deploys nuclear weaponry. Nuclear weapons are weapons of mass destruction; in contrast to conventional warfare, nuclear wa ...

has devastated

civilization A civilization (or civilisation) is any complex society characterized by the development of a state, social stratification, urbanization, and symbolic systems of communication beyond natural spoken language (namely, a writing system). C ...

, Riddley, the young narrator, 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 Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, and know little of the world outside of "Inland" (England). Their level of civilization is similar to England's prehistoric

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...

, 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.

Critical reception

Peter Ruppert noted that Hoban's novel draws on "such well-known dystopias as '' A Clockwork Orange'', ''

Lord of the Flies ''Lord of the Flies'' is a 1954 novel by the Nobel Prize-winning British author William Golding. The plot concerns a group of British boys who are stranded on an uninhabited island and their disastrous attempts to govern themselves. Themes ...

'', and ''

A Canticle for Leibowitz ''A Canticle for Leibowitz'' is a post-apocalyptic social science fiction novel by American writer Walter M. Miller Jr., first published in 1959. Set in a Catholic monastery in the desert of the southwestern United States after a devastating ...

''", and "what is unique in Hoban's haunting vision of the future is his language" which is described as being similar to the ''

Nadsat Nadsat is a fictional register or argot used by the teenage gang members in Anthony Burgess's dystopian novel '' A Clockwork Orange''. Burgess was a linguist and he used this background to depict his characters as speaking a form of Russian-in ...

'' slang spoken in

Anthony Burgess John Anthony Burgess Wilson, (; 25 February 1917 – 22 November 1993), who published under the name Anthony Burgess, was an English writer and composer. Although Burgess was primarily a comic writer, his dystopian satire '' A Clockwork ...

' ''A Clockwork Orange''. ''The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists'' stated that, "The force and beauty and awfulness of Hoban's creation is shattering," and praised the author's use of a crude "Chaucerian English". John Mullan of

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

also praised Hoban's decision to narrate the novel in a devolved form of English: "The struggle with Riddley's language is what makes reading the book so absorbing, so completely possessing." ''Library Journal'' wrote that the book holds "a unique and beloved place among the few after-

Armageddon According to the Book of Revelation in the New Testament of the Christian Bible, Armageddon (, from grc, Ἁρμαγεδών ''Harmagedōn'', Late Latin: , from Hebrew: ''Har Məgīddō'') is the prophesied location of a gathering of armies ...

classics". It was included in

David Pringle David Pringle (born 1 March 1950) is a Scottish science fiction editor and critic. Pringle served as the editor of '' Foundation'', an academic journal, from 1980 to 1986, during which time he became one of the prime movers of the collective wh ...

's book '' Science Fiction: The 100 Best Novels''. In 1994, American literary critic

Harold Bloom Harold Bloom (July 11, 1930 – October 14, 2019) was an American literary critic and the Sterling Professor of Humanities at Yale University. In 2017, Bloom was described as "probably the most famous literary critic in the English-speaking worl ...

included ''Riddley Walker'' in his list of works comprising the

Western Canon The Western canon is the body of high culture literature, music, philosophy, and works of art that are highly valued in the West; works that have achieved the status of classics. However, not all these works originate in the Western world, ...

Adaptations

Film and theater

* Robert C. Cumbow wrote in ''

Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New Yo ...

'' that the post-apocalyptic film ''

Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome ''Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome'' is a 1985 Australian post-apocalyptic dystopian action film directed by George Miller and George Ogilvie and written by Miller and Terry Hayes. It stars Mel Gibson and Tina Turner in a story of a lone roving war ...

'' borrowed "whole ideas, themes and characterizations" from the novel. * Hoban's own theatrical adaptation premiered at the

Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester The Royal Exchange is a grade II listed building in Manchester, England. It is located in the city centre on the land bounded by St Ann's Square, Exchange Street, Market Street, Cross Street and Old Bank Street. The complex includes the Royal ...

, in February 1986. It was directed by

Braham Murray Braham Sydney Murray, OBE (12 February 1943 – 25 July 2018) was an English theatre director. In 1976, he was one of five founding Artistic Directors of the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester, and the longest-serving (he retired in 2012). Ea ...

and starred

David Threlfall David John Threlfall (born 12 October 1953) is an English stage, film and television actor and director. He is best known for playing Frank Gallagher in Channel 4's series '' Shameless''. He has also directed several episodes of the show. In A ...

. Its U.S. premiere was at the Chocolate Bayou Theatre, in April 1987, directed by Greg Roach. * In 1989, Russell Hoban gave permission for theatre students at Sir Percival Whitley/ Calderdale College, Halifax, West Yorkshire, to transcribe the book into a theatrical script, which was then staged in a new production at The Square Chapel, Halifax. * In November 2007, the play was produced by Red Kettle in

Waterford "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...

, Ireland, to positive reviews. * In 2011, the play was also adapted for Trouble Puppet Theater Co. by artistic director Connor Hopkins at Salvage Vanguard Theater in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

. This production employed tabletop puppetry inspired by the

Bunraku (also known as ) is a form of traditional Japanese puppet theatre, founded in Osaka in the beginning of the 17th century, which is still performed in the modern day. Three kinds of performers take part in a performance: the or ( puppeteer ...

tradition and was supported by an original score by Justin Sherburn. * In March 2015, a group of Aberystwyth drama students performed the play in Theatre y Castell over the course of two days. The production was directed by David Ian Rabey.

Popular music

* "The Rapture of Riddley Walker" is the eighth song on the

Clutch A clutch is a mechanical device that engages and disengages power transmission, especially from a drive shaft to a driven shaft. In the simplest application, clutches connect and disconnect two rotating shafts (drive shafts or line shafts ...

album '' From Beale Street to Oblivion'' (2007). * "Widder's Dump", named after a location in the book and notes on the credits as being inspired by the novel, is the fifth song on the 1989 '' King Swamp'' album. * "In the Heart of the Wood and What I Found There" from the album ''Thunder Perfect Mind'' by

Current 93 Current 93 are an English experimental music group, working since the early 1980s in folk-based musical forms. The band was founded in 1982 by David Tibet, who has been Current 93's only constant member. Background Tibet has been the only cons ...

features references to Riddley Walker. Another Current 93 song, "The Blue Gates of Death" from the album Earth Covers Earth incorporates a rhyme from the book. Also, their album ''

Of Ruine or Some Blazing Starre ''Of Ruine or Some Blazing Starre - The Broken Heart of Man'' is an album by English band Current 93. Although musically one of Current 93's gentlest albums it is also lyrically very dark, prominently featuring the motif of blood, menstrual ...

'' cites the

story. * "Ode to Riddley Walker" is the title track of the second solo album by The Owl Service vocalist Diana Collier (2020). The song refers directly to Hoban's novel.

References

Sources

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

External links

Riddley Walker Annotations

The ''Riddley Walker'' Concordance

Russell Hoban on ''Riddley Walker''
(''The Guardian'', 26 November 2010)
Gallery: Quentin Blake illustrations for Russell Hoban's Riddley Walker

Photographs of Trouble Puppet Theater Co's production
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ridley Walker 1980 British novels 1980 science fiction novels British novels adapted into plays British science fiction novels British post-apocalyptic novels John W. Campbell Award for Best Science Fiction Novel-winning works Books written in fictional dialects Novels set in Kent Novels by Russell Hoban Jonathan Cape books Future dialects