Riddley Walker

Riddley Walker is the protagonist of the novel and the novel's narrator. At the beginning of the narrative, Riddley is twelve years old and it is his "naming day," meaning the day he begins adulthood. Riddley loses his father to an accident only three days later and shortly afterward begins his epic adventure. Riddley is highly intelligent amongst his people and is granted ascendency as the next "connexion man" in the village, following in his father's footsteps.

Riddley kills a wild dog, the leader of the Bernt Arse Pack, on the day of his father’s death, and describes the antagonistic relationship between dogs and man since the Bad Time. However, once Riddley begins his journey, he finds himself surrounded by the Bernt Arse Pack and befriended by its new leader, a large black dog with yellow eyes.

Riddley’s journey is a journey for knowledge. He...