Never Letting Go of The Knife of Never Letting Go

This book review was written by Kyla Baker of Richard Montgomery

The Knife of Never Letting Go, the debut novel of the Chaos Walking trilogy by Patrick Ness, is one of the most methodically crafted works of Science Fiction I have ever read. The novel strategically utilizes a stream of consciousness writing style and dialect to build up his setting, New World, and it’s inhabitants. Additionally, The Knife of Never Letting Go has an unreliable and at times infuriating narrator, which only makes it harder to put down, as the reader is eager to see what happens next.

I ordered the Chaos Walking trilogy over the summer in hopes of finding something new to read during a long car ride. It was recommended to me by a friend, and despite bringing the first book with me on the trip, as soon as I returned home it joined most of my other books in the cabinet under my desk, still unread. Although it took me months to start reading, and weeks after that to fully get into it, reading this book was one of the best decisions I have made in a long time.

Todd, the main character, lives on New World, a planet without women, where your thoughts are projected into the world, called Noise, and each of the animals has their own voice. Todd’s dog, Manchee, is his companion throughout the novel, and was a gift to him, although he complains about him frequently. With the repetition of phrases throughout the novel, such as the usage of “Ow, Todd?” each time Manchee is harmed, or “effing” and “do you think I said eff?” there is a development of distinct character and an understanding of the habits of the characters. Additionally, Ness’ use of dialect in writing, such as “preparayshuns” in place of the word preparations, adds to an understanding of how those who live on New World speak.

As the story begins, Todd is out with his dog Manshee and finds silence in the Noise, alerting both him and his companion. In the moment, he has no clue how much danger he will end up in later on because of this discovery. The novel takes many different twists and turns, demonstrating that our allies may not always be our allies, and those who we distrust could be the most trustworthy of all. It explores both old ways of living and new technologies, and does all of this from the perspective of a boy who is just thirteen. Todd’s constant confusion and his reiteration of his beliefs while simultaneously questioning everything he is told really encapsulate the reader in the writing.

Overall, the book is an absolute must-read. Once the story started to pick up, I found myself unable to put the book down. Ness’ writing is complex and intricately thought out, making the story intriguing and exciting, and causing the reader to feel attached not only to the characters, but also to the world around them.