Patrick Ness has created a world in which men's thoughts are broadcast as Noise for all to hear. When a scouting ship crashes into the swamp, Todd meets Viola, the only survivor, and the only female human Todd has even seen, except in the distorted thoughts of the men of his town. Todd discovers that not everything he has been told about his town or the death of his mother is true, and that he and Viola are in mortal danger. They flee, heading for Haven, a place where it is said there is a cure for the Noise. They seek healing and hope.
The Knife of Never Letting Go and The Ask and the Answer are the first two books in the Chaos Walking Trilogy. Book three is due next spring. Each book is a tome of 500-odd pages, but they read quickly. Yes, they read very, very quickly!
Besides the intriguing discussion in a previous post, I will say there is much to like about these books. The characters are admirable, imperfect, driven. The bad guys are really, really bad, and the good guys are flawed and sincere.
The most appealing character in The Knife of Never Letting Go is Manchee, Todd’s dog, whom he never wanted, and for whom he seems to have little affection. Manchee is brilliantly crafted by Ness. Loyal, needy, and just as stupid as a dog can be, Manchee escapes with Todd and Viola. Manchee’s noise is poignant and often hilarious, and in his own way, he is the hero of the first book.
The plot is a little less believable, and even tedious at times. I found myself asking, "What's the point?" several times, wondering why the Mayor of Prentiss would seek Todd to the ends of the earth (or, whatever planet it is). But it is a trilogy, and maybe it will come to light in book three.
Nevertheless, there is a great deal of violence. The violence is brutal and graphically described. Todd is beaten senseless numerous times. He also gives his share of beating. But Ness allows Todd to feel an overwhelming and life-changing grief for the violence he perpetrates. This motivates his actions for the rest of the story. However, I could not help but cringe, and even skim when the violence seemed to go on and on.
The center of the book is the Noise. The Noise becomes a tool, even a weapon in the Mayor's personal war. It is like a character of its own. But it is more than that. Besides being a genius plot element, Ness has created a way to make his first person point of view into an omniscient narrator. This omniscience is limited only by the one female character, Viola. This limit is overcome (disappointingly, in my opinion) in the second book when the author alternates between Todd and Viola.
Chaos Walking is a young adult offering (grades 8-12). Many of the gentle families I know would not offer this to their 13-year-olds, or even 16-year-olds. There is violence. There is some harsh language. Todd relates that he said, "Effing, but I didn't use the word 'effing'." The real word is used at least once that I remember, as well as the word G.-d. There is no sex, at least not in the first two books. In fact, there is a genuine love that grows between Viola and Todd, to the point where they are willing to suffer for one another.
Would I recommend this for your child? I recommend you read it for yourself and decide what you think about it. The most astounding part of my job as a librarian is when mothers come in asking me what their children should read. How should I know what YOUR child should read? In the past, even among friends, I have made the mistake of offering books to parents, only to have them turn on me with judgment on my own parenting, "that I would EVER recommend such trash to a child!" So, I have no idea if your child should read it. This blog is not for me to recommend to you, but to tell you what I liked and disliked about books, reading, and writing. I read these two books and enjoyed them, even sitting up late to read just one more chapter. And I am waiting eagerly for book three!
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Thoughts Laid Bare
The Chaos Walking trilogy (still waiting for book three!), by Patrick Ness, has recently intrigued me. The first book, The Knife of Never Letting Go, introduces Todd Hewitt, the youngest member of a group of colonists on a futuristic planet much like earth. The settlers have been infected by a germ which has killed all the women, and left the men with an oppressive Noise. The Noise is the constant broadcasting of their thoughts. The author cleverly and convincingly depicts the Noise and the maddening confusion it causes. There are no secrets. There is no hiding. Dreams are public. The insults and rude remarks Todd would politely keep to himself are transmitted into the heads of anyone within his proximity. Everyone’s private plans are everyone else’s business. Even the animals’ thoughts are overheard.
Without rehasing the plot or even stating my opinion (although I may do that later), I want to focus on this aspect of the book alone. This is not about mind-reading, although there are some characters who are able to probe deeply into the thoughts of others. The characters in this book have no ability to prevent others from hearing them. There are rumors that another colony has discovered a cure for the germ, a medicine which quiets the noise, and which must be taken for the rest of one’s life. But the Noise is something the colonists have learned to live with, although many do not cope so well.
We find in the second book, The Ask and the Answer, that there are women in other colonies on the planet. But the women do not have Noise. They can hear the broadcast of the men’s thoughts, but female thoughts are not broadcast. In one town, the women move their sleeping quarters to a far corner of the town so they can sleep without being disturbed by the men’s Noise. In another town, loud music is played over speakers to drown out the Noise.
The sinister mayor of Todd’s town has gained such control over his thoughts that, by the second book, he has the power to hurl thoughts at people with enough force to injure them physically. The mayor’s efforts to command his own thoughts have become a religion to him. It is with prayer-like devotion that he practices his self-control, and he attempts to train others to do the same. He is disciplined and ruthless. His ability to silence his Noise, or to manipulate his thoughts give him a power no one can dispute.
There is no silence. There can never be silence. And when there is, it is terrifying and bewildering .
Imagine. If everyone knew what I thought at every moment, would I have any friends? If I knew what others truly thought of me, would I want their friendship? To have our thoughts made public would easily allow our enemies (dare I say Enemy?) to manipulate us. On the other hand, there would be no more façade. There could be no undetected lies. We might learn more about ourselves through other people’s thoughts than we do from our own self-aggrandizing meditations.
Todd’s real frustration is that it is hard to concentrate on things he wants to consider. His own thoughts are interrupted and lost amid the chaos. And really, are we so far from this? Although we do not hear each other’s thoughts, we are truly in a place where silence is terrifying and bewildering. We allow and invite Noise to such a level that we do not know what to do with silence. We do not know how to corral our thoughts when they are so jumbled in the Noise. I, for one, would have finished a half-dozen writing projects, but for the want of long, long silences.
This is fodder for discussion on so many levels!
Without rehasing the plot or even stating my opinion (although I may do that later), I want to focus on this aspect of the book alone. This is not about mind-reading, although there are some characters who are able to probe deeply into the thoughts of others. The characters in this book have no ability to prevent others from hearing them. There are rumors that another colony has discovered a cure for the germ, a medicine which quiets the noise, and which must be taken for the rest of one’s life. But the Noise is something the colonists have learned to live with, although many do not cope so well.
We find in the second book, The Ask and the Answer, that there are women in other colonies on the planet. But the women do not have Noise. They can hear the broadcast of the men’s thoughts, but female thoughts are not broadcast. In one town, the women move their sleeping quarters to a far corner of the town so they can sleep without being disturbed by the men’s Noise. In another town, loud music is played over speakers to drown out the Noise.
The sinister mayor of Todd’s town has gained such control over his thoughts that, by the second book, he has the power to hurl thoughts at people with enough force to injure them physically. The mayor’s efforts to command his own thoughts have become a religion to him. It is with prayer-like devotion that he practices his self-control, and he attempts to train others to do the same. He is disciplined and ruthless. His ability to silence his Noise, or to manipulate his thoughts give him a power no one can dispute.
There is no silence. There can never be silence. And when there is, it is terrifying and bewildering .
Imagine. If everyone knew what I thought at every moment, would I have any friends? If I knew what others truly thought of me, would I want their friendship? To have our thoughts made public would easily allow our enemies (dare I say Enemy?) to manipulate us. On the other hand, there would be no more façade. There could be no undetected lies. We might learn more about ourselves through other people’s thoughts than we do from our own self-aggrandizing meditations.
Todd’s real frustration is that it is hard to concentrate on things he wants to consider. His own thoughts are interrupted and lost amid the chaos. And really, are we so far from this? Although we do not hear each other’s thoughts, we are truly in a place where silence is terrifying and bewildering. We allow and invite Noise to such a level that we do not know what to do with silence. We do not know how to corral our thoughts when they are so jumbled in the Noise. I, for one, would have finished a half-dozen writing projects, but for the want of long, long silences.
This is fodder for discussion on so many levels!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)