I just finished re-reading my favourite book, Riddley Walker by Russell Hoban. I first read it at school, at about the same time that I read my other favourite novel, Peter Carey’s Bliss. Put those two books together and you’ve got a map of about half my teenage character. I won’t try and explain Riddley Walker; you can find a fairly good essay about it on a science fiction website called graphesthesia, although it really isn’t science fiction. One of the things that’s interesting about the book is that it’s written in a made up language. It’s not like A Clockwork Orange but it’s a similar idea. Reading it this time I was amazed at how similar the language is to the way in which some people write nowadays. It doesn’t take a nuclear catastrophe, just a combination of text messaging, poor education and the wide availability of computers.
Chalker Marchman the 1stman of the digging he wer talking to a nothing looking witey bloak dint look no moren 10 years old. It wernt the shortness of him I aint a tall man my self but this 1 he lookit like his dad pult out too soon when they ben making him. Witey hair and pinky eyes nor you cudnt see his eye brows they were that lite.
And here’s an extract from an email from a friend. Spot the difference.
I no some people take a gap year between college and uni? what about the idear of a gap year between school and college cause its free 2 go 2 college tell u r 19 so if i took a gap yr and tryed 2 get a job and if i couldnt i went bck 2 college a yr later I would be 17 so even if i did a 2 year cource it would still be free and i would be able 2 get some experiance in theatre and re-take any exams I need 4 the course i wanna do cause GCSE retakes are only a yr long as appose to two years.