Academic SubmissionsMartin Boyne
Tolkien Would Have Loved It: A Journey through Russell Hoban’s Creative Wordplay
In tribute to Tolkien’s philological prowess, Martin Boyne discusses several aspects of Russell Hoban’s creative genius in Riddley Walker. The futuristic language of the novel, typically referred to as “Riddleyspeak,” is sustained across the entire work, with a couple of noteworthy and intentionally chosen exceptions. The language is at once a reflection of long-forgotten history and a failed attempt to understand the past; the characters’ misinterpretations can be hilarious yet at the same time eerily prescient of the dangerous places toward which our world is forever hurtling.
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