They offer riddles to crack, and polarizing characters and conclusions to argue about. And with any companion-especially on a road trip-listening to an audiobook together can be spellbinding, or at least give you something to laugh about.īelow are five books made even better by experiencing them with somebody else-a significant other, a friend, or a family member. Making my way through a book at the same time as friends who are more attentive readers helps me notice details I may have missed entirely. When my fiancée and I adore, or despise, an author’s work for the same reasons, it’s a rush-like the feeling of finishing each other’s sentences. But lately, I’ve tried to make more room for wandering through a plot alongside someone I love. Because I no longer read with classmates and I’m not in any book clubs, this delight has become a rare one for me-most of the time, reading is a solitary pursuit. I would also add the edition of Riddley Walker I read had an entertaining introduction by novelist Will Self, which provided some valuable insights and context.Until I’m actually doing it, I frequently forget how pleasurable it is to stop in the middle of a book and text a friend, aghast at what just happened. Infused with mythological, folkloric and religious symbolism, Riddley Walker is rich for endless interpretation it is not an easy read, but it is worth the effort – Trubba not. It is an uncompromising vision, and as bleak and well-conceived a dystopia as I have ever encountered. Riddley’s adventurous journey allows Hoban to build a grim portrayal of this ruined England, from the mysterious Eusa folk, the ruined cathedral in Cambry (Canterbury), the wandering packs of wild dogs and the Eusa Show, performed by the ‘Pry Mincer’ and the ‘Wes Mincer’, who on their travelling puppet shows perform allegorical propaganda stories to the, communities. The language can, in places, be very funny, for example in the twisted Kent placenames (Do-it-over = Dover, Horny Boy = Herne Bay) and the scene where Goodparley and Riddley attempt to interpret The Legend of Saint Eustace (written as it is in modern English). Hoban’s invented language fizzes with clever word-play, and through this we see echoes of the past, and adds to the sense shared by Riddley and other characters in the story of the heights civilization once reached, and the bitterness and sense of shame that all was lost through human aggression and greedy misuse of their technological wonders.

The language reinforces the sense we are seeing Riddley’s post-apocalyptic world through his eyes, adding to the force and energy of his descriptions.

You are forced to slow your reading, and if anything, I think the book would benefit from being read aloud. I found Riddleyspeak a challenge, especially in the early pages, but in time (and with the help of a glossary at the end of the book), I began to adapt to the rhythm and structure.

Riddley walker book