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The Knife of Never Letting Go (Chaos Walking, #1)
by Patrick Ness
by Patrick Ness
Monique's review
bookshelves: fiction, young-adult, dystopia, series-books
Nov 09, 10
bookshelves: fiction, young-adult, dystopia, series-books
Read from November 05 to 09, 2010 — I own a copy, read count: 1
If this book represents the relatively-new (to me) genre called 'dystopia', then I guess 'dystopia' is just not for me.
I didn't get it. I simply didn't.
Majority of the time, I felt agitated and stressed out (and that says a lot because you should feel relaxed if you're engaged in a good read... right?). I didn't like the way the story progressed (which is basically just the protagonists running and hiding, albeit impossibly, and then running again and hiding from an army, but for what reason they wouldn't even realize 'til the end of the book), the way the main protagonist, Todd, was built, and the writing... oh, the writing... The book was actually written from the first-person point of view (meaning, Todd's point of view), so the narrative was tailored to fit the way he would speak (or think), so the result was particularly horrendous ~ if I even read another "effing" or "yer" instead of "your", I think I'm going to hit the ceiling. And using "-shun" instead of "-tion" in some nouns -- "attenshun", "informashun", "inspirayshun" -- just made my head ache.
I've read "The Hunger Games" trilogy months before, so dystopia as a genre isn't really an issue for me. Maybe it's just the book ~ and how it was written (or not) ~ that I wasn't able to appreciate. Unfortunately.
Guess I won't be reading the next 2 books. :(
I didn't get it. I simply didn't.
Majority of the time, I felt agitated and stressed out (and that says a lot because you should feel relaxed if you're engaged in a good read... right?). I didn't like the way the story progressed (which is basically just the protagonists running and hiding, albeit impossibly, and then running again and hiding from an army, but for what reason they wouldn't even realize 'til the end of the book), the way the main protagonist, Todd, was built, and the writing... oh, the writing... The book was actually written from the first-person point of view (meaning, Todd's point of view), so the narrative was tailored to fit the way he would speak (or think), so the result was particularly horrendous ~ if I even read another "effing" or "yer" instead of "your", I think I'm going to hit the ceiling. And using "-shun" instead of "-tion" in some nouns -- "attenshun", "informashun", "inspirayshun" -- just made my head ache.
I've read "The Hunger Games" trilogy months before, so dystopia as a genre isn't really an issue for me. Maybe it's just the book ~ and how it was written (or not) ~ that I wasn't able to appreciate. Unfortunately.
Guess I won't be reading the next 2 books. :(
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Reading Progress
| 11/06/2010 | page 16 |
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3.0% | "Having trouble with the writing style..." |
| 11/07/2010 | page 183 |
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38.0% | "Quite tired of the word "effing", if that's even a word." |
Comments (showing 1-40 of 40) (40 new)
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message 1:
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K.D.
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rated it 2 stars
Nov 09, 2010 05:31am
Oh uh, I have this in my currently-reading folder!
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Aww, too bad you didn't like this, Monique. It's definitely different (harsher, I think) compared to The Hunger Games. I think it's written that way to show the effect of what the germ did to Todd and all the males in their world. This gives us Todd's unfiltered thoughts, save for the "effing", and I think he spoke using "-shun" because Todd is basically not educated, ever since the mayor took out education (educashun? haha kidding).They say Todd grows up in the next two books, which I have yet to find out since I haven't had the time to read them. ^^
TINA~ Sorry about that. :( Maybe there's something in the book I just didn't get, so I couldn't appreciate it the way I should. Anyway, I'll just read your reviews of the next 2 books so at least I'd know what happened to Todd. ;)JOYZI~ Hehe, it's up to you. :) And yes, "effing" meant the "F" word but the character (Todd) couldn't say it because... well, you can just read the book if you're interested. :D
It can't be just you, Monique. We both liked POTE so there is a big chance that I will not like this ha ha!I checked our profiles by clicking "Compare Books"
With Monique: 72%
With Tina: 70%
With Joyzi: 62%
What are the odds? ha ha
KD~ I'm not sure how accurate that data is but you're a much wider reader than I am, so I'll leave it to you to decide. ;-)JOYZI~ Look up mo na lang dito sa GR yung "Pillars of the Earth". :)
JOYZI~ Tama lang siya. Simpleng basahin. Pero tulad ng sabi ni Kwesi, medyo makapal, tapos pag yung paperback pa yung copy mo, medyo fine pa yung print, tapos 980-something pages pa. Hehe. :)
Woah. First off, I am thoroughly enjoying reading this conversation, even though I can't understand a word. :)Secondly, The Knife of Never Letting Go IS considered dystopian, but it is a very strange dystopian. I wouldn't give up on the genre because of this (and it doesn't sound like you plan to). I also found it difficult to read, and if you don't want to be stressed you DEFINITELY shouldn't read the next two.
Enna Isilee (Squeaky Books) wrote: "Secondly, The Knife of Never Letting Go IS considered dystopian, but it is a very strange dystopian. I wouldn't give up on the genre because of this (and it doesn't sound like you plan to). I also found it difficult to read, and if you don't want to be stressed you DEFINITELY shouldn't read the next two. "I think it also borders on SciFi? It's kind of a hard book to read, and definitely not your usual dystopian.
message 23:
by
Enna Isilee (Squeaky Books)
(last edited Nov 09, 2010 07:10am)
(new)
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rated it 4 stars
Tina wrote: "I think it also borders on SciFi? It's kind of a hard book to read, and definitely not your usual dystopian."I think you're exactly right. It should be considered MUCH more sci-fi than dystopian. It kind of reminds me of Enders Game (what with the aliens and all).
Actually... I don't think it's really dystopia at all. If it is, it's kind of a stretch.
ENNA & TINA~ I really enjoyed "The Hunger Games" so there may be some other dystopian books that would suit my fancy. Just not this one. :)
I just finished reading this, Monique. I have a mixed feelings about it and I think re-reading reviews of my friends will help me sort out those feelings. For one, I found the writing different but a non-issue for me.
Hi KD, I just read your review and am glad you enjoyed it. The manner or style in which a book is written is always a criterion for me with books. With this book, I understand that the writing was largely due to the character of Todd, from whose point of view it was written. But more than just the writing, I also had problems with the plot itself.
(By the way, I'm still trying to fix the multiple entries on your review. GR won't let me access my account on my laptop so I'm using my phone right now.)
Yay! I did not enjoyed the book too, but I need to finish the whole thing before giving it a rating and nice review!
I'm reading this book. As in right now. hahaha I hope this doesn't mess up my christmas. (Right now it doesn't, coz I really do like it, i don't mind the effs and the shuns) Merry Christmas!!! ^^,
Iyah it's pretty disturbing when you get to the middle up until the end, so much gore in this book but melikesit
I think you should know what effing means. It's an abbreviation spelled kinda funny. Anyways, I'd bash your review and tell you that this book is amazing and that you're completely wrong. But then people would comment back to me saying that it is your opinion and I should respect it. I can't do that, because you honestly just have the wrong opinion.
@Wmmiller4~ I don't mind you bashing my review. It would be a waste of time though seeing as I don't care. :)@Joyzi~ Kilala mo ba 'tong g*gong 'to? hahaha!
@Monique wala akong friend na troll no haha...TROLL ALERT...EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE!DI NA MAGCOCOMMENT YAN LOL
I agree also, spent a lot of time whilst reading this book going "oh my god!!!" and "aaaaarrrgh reveal more of the details!!!" Meh.
When I think dystopian, I think more of 1984, pretty much anything by Ayn Rand, and Brave New World. This and The Hunger Games fit well into the thriller or action/adventure genre of sci-fi. The difference is that The Hunger Games or this is set in a destroyed/desolate kind of world, where the future is dim. Whereas what I consider dystopian is set in the future as well, but society is stable. Usually these setting are utilized by the author to explore so kind of philosophy or concept.
