One Noisy Novel

In young Todd Hewitt’s bizarre world, created by ‘Patrick Ness’ in his award winning novel ‘The Knife of Never Letting Go’, Todd is just thirty days shy of officially becoming a man in the eyes of Prentisstown and its men. Being the last boy in Prentisstown can’t be fun and coupled with the fact that there are no women, this town is really like no other on ‘Old World’. However on ‘New World’ becoming a man at age thirteen and hearing the crazed, confusing thoughts of the men around you in one huge mess of ‘Noise’ is considered normal to a trusting Todd and his annoying, unwanted dog ‘Manchee’. All of these abnormalities don’t seem at all unnatural until one day at a stinking swap, the only place where Todd feels a sense of quiet; he hears it, absolute and undeniable silence.

The determined, strong-mined and illiterate Todd Hewitt is a boy who just can’t wait to become a man. He is one courageous young man who will do anything for the ones he loves and I really enjoyed seeing a change in Todd on so many occasions. The first of which being him meeting Viola, a mysterious girl from ‘Old World’. I found Todd very believable because of the way he spoke. Ness really gave him a voice right down to changing the spelling of words to show Todd’s illiteracy. An example of this is how Todd says ‘exploshun’ and ‘interrupshun’ and ‘ain’t’ as opposed to how they are actually spelt and said. Todd’s main challenge throughout the book really is that he cannot kill. The concept is always there throughout the novel however it is not actually revealed in any obvious way until later on in the novel.

In this novel there were more memorable, mind-blowing scenes than I could count on my fingers and toes! One that I think really helps to create the essence of the novel would definitely be (CAREFUL-LITTLE SPOILER AHEAD) when the boy who supposedly cannot kill, kills a ‘Spackle’. The Spackle are creatures that are look a little like human’s except much bigger, much whiter and much stranger. They were thought to be demolished in the Spackle War which was also when the Noise Germ spread and supposedly killed all the women. Let’s just say it wasn't really a great time for New World. I really like this scene because I think it really outlines how little Todd really knows about the world he lives in and this is yet another moment when Todd’s world as he knows it is flipped upside down.

I believe that this book was set mainly in the harsh bush and scrub of nature because the environment acted as a weighted reminder of the cruelty of the world. I also think that the scene mentioned above helps to remind the reader of that Todd really doesn’t know anything about what he’s doing and that he really trusted in what he was told by the malicious ‘Mayor Prentiss’, who’s army had been chasing Todd ever since he escaped into the bush.

I strongly believe that the themes explored in this novel include; adolescence, innocence, death, loss, determination and distrust. I believe that innocence is a pertinent theme because it is the whole reason that Todd has to run from Prentisstown. (SPOILER AHEAD) Being the last boy in Prentisstown means that Todd is the only one that hasn't participated in the ritual in which you become a man. This ritual consists of the boy killing a man. Todd, being the boy that can’t kill is the last one who hasn't killed which the mayor who constantly reminds Todd that “If one falls, we all fall” which is why Todd is the last piece of the puzzle, the last innocent person who the mayor cannot control, the last boy with a mind of his own which the mayor just cannot have.

I think that this book would suit anyone who likes a chase. Anyone who likes a novel with many exciting and carefully placed twists and turns would LOVE this novel. ‘The Knife of Never Letting Go’ is truly a novel that is not like any other and one that you will be lucky to read if you ever get the chance.