It is impossible to read Fiskadoro without comparing it to Riddley Walker (or choose your own favorite post-apocalyptic novel). Denis Johnson is an excellent writer, and this novel is easier to read than Hoban's, but not ultimately as satisfying. In Riddley Walker there was a wonderful sense of putting pieces of a puzzle together and gaining a growing understanding of the story [Note: this would be completely ruined by reading the glossary provided in recent American editions!] . Fiskadoro is more clear from the start, and while there are surreal sections, there is less of a sense of underlying logic.