Todd Hewitt is nearly thirteen years old and has never seen a woman. He knows what women look like, though, because he can see them in other men’s thoughts. The ability to see thoughts – words and images – is called Noise, and all the men in his town have the same ability. The Noise, a disease passed on by the Spackle, aliens who previously inhabited Todd’s world, isn’t just limited to men, as all animals can talk, including Todd’s slightly stupid dog, Manchee. On Todd’s thirteenth birthday, he will become a man, the last boy in his town to do so, but before that can happen, Todd encounters a pocket of silence that leads to his expulsion from Prentisstown and causes him to question everything he’s ever known.
This is a book that has been hyped throughout the blogosphere endlessly. I know I bought it because so many book bloggers I trust had read and loved it. I think my expectations made the book less of an experience for me. I simply knew it was meant to be amazing, so perhaps it’s not a surprise that it wasn’t. That isn’t to say I didn’t enjoy it, because I did, but it hasn’t immediately catapulted itself onto my list of all-time favorite books. The rest of this review might contain slight spoilers, so I wouldn’t suggest reading it unless you’ve completed the book.
The best and the worst thing about this book is the pace. It’s Todd’s frantic flight from his entire life, a girl and a dog in tow, with terrifyingly bad men behind them. The sense of urgency is overwhelming and is constantly pushing the reader to read on, to read faster, to find out what happens next. While this ability to absorb me is a great thing in a new era of books that only half-heartedly interest me, it also harmed the book’s impact, perhaps because I did read it so quickly. I did get attached to Todd and Viola and Manchee, but all of the tragedy within the book simply did not have the time to emotionally hit me. Something else happened so quickly that the characters couldn’t dwell on their losses or problems, so I didn’t really feel them the way I was supposed to. In addition, the many tragedies made the book feel somewhat emotionally manipulative. There is no respite from it at all.
There is still a lot to love here, though. The concept of the Noise is just fascinating and while the men of Prentisstown can’t be excused for what they did, it’s so easy to see how this could drive someone mad. Todd is an incredibly loveable character despite what he’s driven to do over the course of the novel. I even enjoyed the deliberate misspellings because I felt they revealed a lot of his childishness and innocence; they gave him part of his voice and I honestly don’t think the book would be the same without it. Best of all, I think, was his relationship with Viola, even though he’s obstinate as only a boy could be at the beginning. At first he sees Viola as a foreign object, then as a woman, and finally as a person, just like him, and I think the transformation of his thinking and their interactions was my favorite part of the entire book. If you read this blog you know I’m all about the relationships between characters and this is a great one.
So, in short, The Knife of Never Letting Go* didn’t totally blow me away and it’s not my favorite book of the year, but I seriously enjoyed it and I’m anxiously awaiting the return of The Ask and the Answer* to the library so I can continue the story.
*I am an Amazon Associate and earn a small referral fee if you purchase through these links. I purchased this book.
Sorry, you didn’t enjoy this quite as much as some of us, still glad you enjoyed it enough to keep reading the series. The Ask and the Answer, has a slower pace, but is not less intense a read.
Hope you enjoy it!
.-= Bart’s Bookshelf´s last blog ..Discuss: What Makes a Book of the Year? =-.
I loved it too. (well…loved and hated!) Still, I see where the intensity could actually cause problems with enjoying it.
I have The Ask and The Answer out from the library. Still haven’t cracked it open. I think I’m scared of it!
.-= Stephanie´s last blog ..Sunday Salon…a Whining Post AND Short Story Sunday =-.
I’m glad you enjoyed it! I have the second book waiting for me right now so hopefully I’ll get to it shortly.
.-= Stephanie´s last blog ..Book Review: The Hunger Games =-.
I didn’t enjoy this book at all. The pace was too fast and all those misspellings really annoyed me. I won’t be reading the rest of the series, but I’ll be interested to hear what you think of it.
.-= Jackie (Farm Lane Books)´s last blog ..The Best Books of 2009 =-.
Yeah, the hype of some people I think are really cool has actually made me hesitant to read this for fear I could never like it as much as they do. But since I think you’re really cool and you didn’t necessarily like it as much as they do now maybe I can read it.
.-= Amy @ My Friend Amy´s last blog ..The Sunday Salon — A Book Pulls Me Out of the Funk, Bookish Movies and TV Shows =-.
I’ve heard a lot of mixed reviews about this book- interesting, as the first reviews were all so positive, and then people started getting it on recommendations and not liking it as much. I think hype can really hurt a book! Still hope to read it, though
.-= Aarti´s last blog ..Sunday Salon: Reading Update =-.
I bought this one because of the hype too but haven’t had the time to read it yet. It sounds like something I would really enjoy though, so I guess I’ll just have to wait and see.
.-= Alyce´s last blog ..The Sunday Salon – November 8 =-.
I haven’t read the book yet, so I skimmed your review… but in a way, I’m glad to read a less stellar review so that I can lower my expectations. I tend to fear the hype because I often end up disappointed by a book that I would have loved if I had read it with no expectations whatsoever. I’ll be reading it though, because I’m very curious about it! I read the first few pages at the store and thought it was interesting enough.
.-= Kay´s last blog ..Sunday Salon : Books, Birthday and Read-a-thon =-.
Well, I haven’t read it–I probably won’t, either. It really doesn’t sound like my type of book. But I know what you mean about hype raising expectations to an unrealistic degree. It’s always better when a good book comes as a surprise, isn’t it?
.-= heidenkind´s last blog ..TSS: Angelic Edition =-.
Well it’s good to hear that blogger hype isn’t perfect! I was beginning to fear for all the books I need to read since most bloggers seem to love them, and so far, for me, the hype has turned out to have merit. Love hearing I can relax! :–)
I just got this from the library, but haven’t had a chance to start it (I skipped your review after the spoiler warning). I’m curious to see where I fall on the love/lukewarm scale.
.-= Beth F´s last blog ..What’s in a Name 2: Wrap Up =-.
I’m hesitant to read this for just that same reason. Maybe in a few months when I forget why I put this on my list…
.-= Jen – Devourer of Books´s last blog ..Children of Dust – Book Review =-.
Where was I when this one was talked about, I certainly missed it! Again this plot really sounds cool, it is nothing like i have read .. i will put it in my TBR anyway
.-= Veens´s last blog ..Short Story Review ReCap =-.
I only read the first two paragraphs of your review since I have this one from the library to read. I can’t wait to read it!
.-= S. Krishna´s last blog ..Bed of Roses – Nora Roberts =-.
I had not yet heard much about this book, so your review was really enlightening. It sounds like a really interesting book, but one thing that might keep me away is that it is so fast paced. I tend to like reads that are a little more meandering. I am sorry that you didn’t absolutely love the book, but you did write a very compelling review.
.-= zibilee´s last blog ..Home by Marilynne Robinson – 336 pgs =-.
I just finished it, and I was definitely non-plussed. I really don’t see how it got so much hype. *shrugs*
[…] I wasn’t so crazy about The Knife of Never Letting Go, I thought it was worth reading the rest of the series to see what happened with Todd and Fiona. […]