| The Knife of Never Letting Go | |
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UK Hardback Cover |
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| Author(s) | Patrick Ness |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Series | Chaos Walking Trilogy |
| Genre(s) | Young adult |
| Publisher | Walker Books |
| Publication date | May 5, 2008 |
| Pages | 496 pp |
| ISBN | 978-1406310252 |
| OCLC Number | 233261939 |
| Followed by | The Ask and the Answer |
The Knife of Never Letting Go is the first installment in the Chaos Walking Trilogy written by Patrick Ness and published on May 5, 2008. It has won numerous awards, including the Booktrust Teenage Prize, the Guardian Award, and the 2008 James Tiptree, Jr. Award.
Contents |
Todd Hewitt is the only boy left in Prentisstown, a small settlement on New World where all boys become men at the age of 13. He begins the novel oblivious to Prentisstown’s history, having been told that all women have been killed by a ‘germ’ released by the native species on his planet known as Spackles. As a side effect of this germ, the remaining men in Prentisstown can hear each other's thoughts, described as an ever-present cascade of ‘Noise’.
Todd, however, is soon forced to learn the truth. Ben and Cillian, his adoptive parents, have been planning his escape for the past eleven years. When Todd tells them of a spot of moving silence in the Noise, the two men immediately force him to leave Prentisstown. Todd unwillingly obeys, taking with him a rucksack Ben has prepared containing Cillian’s hunting knife and Todd’s deceased mother’s diary. He follows a map through the swamp. Whilst Todd is escaping, they are attacked by the town priest, Aaron, who has recently been provoking Todd in physical and mental fights. Managing to escape him, Todd comes across the spot of silence and meet a girl who is causing the silence. She says nothing but leads him through the swamp to her spaceship, where her parents’ bodies are half buried. It is apparent that she has crash-landed on New World. They begin traveling together.
During their journey, Todd realizes that he, infected with the germ, might transmit the germ to the girl and kill her. She hears this in his Noise and flees, but he pursues her until they both encounter Aaron and men from Prentisstown who are tracking them. The girl eventually saves them both and tells Todd her name, Viola.
After their escape, Todd and Viola are found by a woman. She tells Todd that the 'germ' is not fatal for women and in fact does not affect them at all. She then takes the two to her settlement. At nightfall, an army of men from Prentisstown arrives and burns down the town, killing all those who will not join them. Todd and Viola escape and flee for the most technologically advanced settlement on New World, Haven, where there maybe be a cure for Noise and a transmitter tower to contact Viola's people still in space.
After a few days, the Mayor’s son, Prentiss Jr., finds them. Todd tries to kill him but discovers he cannot. Instead, Todd ties up the Mayor’s son before heading off for Haven with Viola.
During this trip, they find a live Spackle. Todd is shocked, since he had believed that all Spackle had been killed in the war. Having grown up hearing terrible stories of the Spackle, Todd leaps at the Spackle and kills it, but is greatly disturbed by the Spackle's fear and the blood.
Aaron then finds them, stabs Todd, and kidnaps Viola. Several hours later, Todd wakes up and hurriedly goes after Aaron, although his stab wound becomes infected and sickens him. Todd rescues Viola, by choosing to sacrifice his hunting dog. The pair escape on a boat, where Todd collapses from his infection.
When he wakes up, Todd insists on a walk and surprisingly encounters Ben. Ben explains the truth: the Noise germ was a natural part of the planet, not an attack by the Spackle. The men of Prentisstown, driven mad by Noise and resenting the women's ability to remain silent, killed the women and were subsequently banished from the rest of the world for this crime. The boys were supposed to learn the truth on their thirteenth birthday. This was why Todd had been sent away - he could only be accepted by the rest of the world if his thoughts were wholly innocent.
Ben, Todd, and Viola continue toward Haven, but Prentiss Jr. finds them again. Ben distracts him to allow Todd and Viola to run, but then the two run into Aaron. Aaron corners them in a cavern near a waterfall.
Todd then realizes that the boys of Prentisstown become 'men' by killing someone upon turning thirteen. Aaron thinks of himself as a symbolic sacrifice for the 'last boy' in Prentisstown and tries to provoke Todd into killing him. Instead, Viola kills Aaron. She explains that this way, Todd does not let the Prentisstown ritual have power over him.
Prentiss Jr. again intercepts the pair on their way to Haven and shoots Viola through her stomach. Todd escapes him and carries Viola to Haven to try to find help. However, Mayor Prentiss is already there to greet them; Haven had surrendered without a fight, allowing the Mayor to declare himself President of New World. Through his despair, Todd realizes that he can no longer hear the Mayor's Noise.
The Knife of Never Letting Go is set on a planet that has been colonised by a small group of Christian settlers from "Old World". It is disputed whether or not "Old World" refers to Earth, as Viola refers to soil as 'earth' in the sequel The Ask and the Answer. Although the settlers have some high technology, they are mostly subsistence farmers. The rural setting has been compared to the worlds of the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Night of the Hunter[1]
The Knife of Never Letting Go has received greatly positive reviews. Ian Chipman from Booklist gave the novel a starred review, praising the “pure inventiveness and excitement” of Ness’ narrative, and supporting the book’s characters, adding that “the cliffhanger ending is as effective as a shot to the gut”.[2]
Frank Cottrell-Boyce, writing for The Guardian, praised the novel's opening, and added that the rest of the book "lives up to the thrill of that first sentence".[1] The Sunday Telegraph also praised the book, calling it “furiously paced, terrifying, exhilarating and heartbreaking”, labelling it as a book that “haunts your imagination”. The Times called it “a stunning debut” and “as compelling as it is original”. [3]
Similarly, Nicholas Tucker of The Independent wrote that The Knife of Never Letting Go "sets a high standard”[4], while the Chicago Tribune labelled the novel as “a read-alone, stay-up-way-too-late book”.