
Publishing Information: 2009 (first publishing) 2009 (current edition)
Publisher: Ballantine Books, Hardcover, 312 pgs
ISBN-13: 978-0-345-49751-2
Series: Sequel
Reviewer: Andy
Copy: Out of Pocket
Synopsis: (from inside covert): New York Times bestselling author China Miéville delivers his most accomplished novel yet, an existential thriller set in a city unlike any other - real or imagined. When a murdered woman is found in the city of Beszel, somewhere at the edge of Europe, it looks to be a routine case for Inspector Tyador Borlu of the Extreme Crimes Squad. But as he investigates, the evidence points to conspiracies far stranger and more deadly than anything else he could have imagined. Borlu must travel from the decaying Beszel to the only metropolis on Earth as strange as his own. This is a border crossing like no other, a journey as psychic as it has physical, a shift in perception, a seeing of the unseen. His destination is Beszel's equal, rival and intimate neighbor, the rich and vibrant city of Ul Qoma. With Ul Qoman detective Qussim Dhatt, and struggling with his own transmission, Borlu is enmeshed in a sordid underworld of rabid nationalists intent on destroying their neighboring city, and unificationists who dream of dissolving the two into one. As the detectives uncover the dead woman's secrets, they begin to suspect a truth that could cost them and those they care about more than their lives. What stands against them are murderous powers in Beszel and in Ul Qoma: and, most terrifying of all, that which lies between these two cities. Casting shades of Kafka and Philip K. Dick, Raymond Chandler and 1984, The City & The City is a murder mystery taken to dazzling metaphysical and artistic heights.
Before beginning The City & The City, I knew that China Miéville was one of the most creative young writers on the shelf. The first two Bas-Lag books defied categorization, and proved that Miéville was a visionary. But, though I was enamored with world of Bas-Lag and all its weird and grotesque appeal, the resolutions were unsatisfying at best, containing some relatively disappointing moments.
China Miéville's the City & the City demonstrates real maturation as an author. Where I found Miéville overly verbose in the past, his hard-boiled style in The City & The City was succinct and satisfying. The style became more understated, which made Mievelle sound less like an adolescent trying to shock and more like a mature writer creating an atmospheric noir environment. Thematically, there is unity to this book - Miéville found an interesting premise and ran with it, writing a high concept novel worthy of Philip K. Dick or Ursula Le Guin.
Its not clear if The City & The City is quite science fiction. It takes place in present day, with a technology and pop culture very close to our own, in a fictional city in Europe. Actually it takes place in two cities that are really one city. Confused yet? You should be. The twin cities of Beszel and Ul Qoma are coincident in time and space and it requires a shift in perception to travel from one to the other. This shift in perception is called breaching, and its a serious crime, more serious than murder and will basically result in the perpetrator disappearing off the face of the earth. Luckily, the citizens of these twin cities are brainwashed from birth to compartmentalize what they perceive, allowing once city to completely remain below the level of consciousness.
The novel is not merely gimmicky - because the concept improves the plot. This is a murder mystery and witnesses to a murder become especially problematic when certain citizens are conditioned to ignore someone being murdered in the street. China Miéville really has done something quite interesting and original here. The book serves as a postmodern deconstruction of the very concept of location, and a political exploration of divided societies. These themes are echoed in the references to Derrida, Zizek, Gaza, and the Berlin wall. The interesting thing the story reminds us is that all cities are merely man-made fictions, and an individual's perception really can be altered by social institutions. Oh, yeah, and aside from all this, there's a pretty good murder mystery too.
Plot……….8.5/10
Characters………8.5/10
Style……….9/10
Overall……….9/10
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