Title: The Knife of Never Letting Go
Author: Patrick Ness
Series: Chaos Walking #1
Publisher: Walker
Publication Date: May 5, 2008
Genre: Science Fiction; Futuristic; Dystopia; Fiction; Young Adult
Pages: 479
Format: Hardcover
Prentisstown isn't like other towns. Everyone can
hear everyone else's thoughts in an overwhelming, never-ending stream of Noise.
Just a month away from the birthday that will make him a man, Todd and his dog,
Manchee -- whose thoughts Todd can hear too, whether he wants to or not --
stumble upon an area of complete silence. They find that in a town where
privacy is impossible, something terrible has been hidden -- a secret so awful
that Todd and Manchee must run for their lives.
But how do you escape when your pursuers can hear your every thought?
But how do you escape when your pursuers can hear your every thought?
I used to wonder what it would be like to read minds. After reading this book, I’ve decided it wouldn’t be so great.
Todd is the last of the boys. He can read minds, just like everyone else in Prentisstown. Men, dogs, cows, everything. He has no say in what he hears, and he has no say in what other people hear. There are neither secrets nor privacy. Some men break under the constant pressure of the Noise, and some hide underneath alcohol and its effects. Some embrace the Noise, while others hone it like a weapon that needs to be finely sharpened. The Mayor is one of the people that believe the Noise is a gift that is yet to be used to its full potential. He believes the Noise enables the mind to be a vehicle of power and control. When Todd escapes the oppressive Mayor and his town, he runs into a girl and is shocked to discover he hears nothing. The girl has no Noise. The shocking discovery is the start of many more findings that will not only change Prentisstown, but Todd’s entire world as he knows it.
After reading his novel, A Monster Calls (review here), Patrick Ness became one of my idols. I absolutely adored his book, and I immediately wanted to read every book that he had ever written. When I learned about the existence of this series, it soon became number one on my to-read list.
This book is not only a narrative of this unusual story. It is the embodiment of the voice of a boy who struggles to understand not only his own thoughts but everyone else’s thoughts as well. While the Noise is a seriously awful thing, whenever I read about it, I can’t help but think about How the Grinch Stole Christmas. How does it go?
“And then! Oh, the noise! Oh the Noise! Noise! Noise! Noise! That’s one thing he hated! The NOISE! NOISE! NOISE! NOISE!”
Although I think the Grinch was talking about a different kind of Noise, and the Whos are infinitely happier than the citizens of Prentisstown, I still think that the message is the same. Noise = Bad.
Ness creates a captivating story by using both the words themselves and how the words look on the page to tell his story. He uses different fonts, carefully placed punctuation, and even the white space on a page to create both art and a story. It is intriguing and mysterious and very hard to look away from.
Fair warning: You have to be a very strong person to resist the sequel. If you pick up the first book, in all likelihood, you’ll end up with reading the whole series, one after another.
Patrick Ness, once again, deserves five stars for his ingenuity, creativity, and expert skill at language. Reading more of his work is at the top of my list.
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