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3.9 AVERAGE
3.9 AVERAGE
EDIT: I reread this immediately after listening to it because my ebook came due at the library right after I returned my audiobook. Reading it definitely helped clear up the issues with names and forgetting small plot points. The end felt a little more rushed than it did in the audio version which was interesting. Still somewhere between 4.25-4.5☆
4.5 ☆. I really enjoyed this book! Reminded me at first of Disco Elysium but I really got hooked by the premise. I listened to it, so I did feel like I missed some things and am going to reread it; I can't tell if I genuinely lost track of some characters or small clues bc of the writing or bc it was an audio book so I'm giving it the benefit of the doubt.
The audio narrator was a good VA and slightly changed his voice between characters, though there were a few places where the editing was less than ideal - too long of pauses was most common and volume/tone changes mid sentence or chapter a couple of times. Really, really recommend!
4.5 ☆. I really enjoyed this book! Reminded me at first of Disco Elysium but I really got hooked by the premise. I listened to it, so I did feel like I missed some things and am going to reread it; I can't tell if I genuinely lost track of some characters or small clues bc of the writing or bc it was an audio book so I'm giving it the benefit of the doubt.
The audio narrator was a good VA and slightly changed his voice between characters, though there were a few places where the editing was less than ideal - too long of pauses was most common and volume/tone changes mid sentence or chapter a couple of times. Really, really recommend!
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
A reread for dystopian book club, I had read it when it first came out. It's never been my favourite Mieville, but given it came out 15 years ago, I was impressed with how distinctive the divided city remains. There is still very little out there with as strange but believable world building. Plus it supports a reread, there is a lot you missed! And it helps the characters are great, it's nice to have likeable, competant heroes.
But I still didn't engage completely with the crime plot. That seems like a really minor complaint though, read it and immerse yourself in Beszel and Ul Qoma again.
But I still didn't engage completely with the crime plot. That seems like a really minor complaint though, read it and immerse yourself in Beszel and Ul Qoma again.
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
“Is it more foolish and childish to assume there is a conspiracy, or that there is not?” (141)
This book was hard to get into, but the pay off was worth it. Set in a fictional place where two cities overlap, but the citizens are restricted by law from “seeing” each other. This task is, of course, impossible. When someone passes you on the street, you can pretend not to see them, but you still know that they’re there. And, as this is a detective story, how do you solve a crime when the murder was committed in one city and dumped in the other? Unable to cross the invisible boundaries and take one step to the other side, unable to question half of the population, the detective is at a loss.
There’s plenty of secret societies, conspiracy theories, and mystery, but the plot itself still didn’t grab me. What did grab me and I continue to think about is the act of “unseeing” performed daily by citizens of both cities. Don’t we often do the same? I pass by a homeless person and ignore them. I see the news and pretend it doesn’t affect me. I won’t be taken away in the night by a force called “Breach” like the citizens in the novel, yet I don’t look and see the world around me. Or more accurately I do, but I don’t want to acknowledge it all of the time.
This book was hard to get into, but the pay off was worth it. Set in a fictional place where two cities overlap, but the citizens are restricted by law from “seeing” each other. This task is, of course, impossible. When someone passes you on the street, you can pretend not to see them, but you still know that they’re there. And, as this is a detective story, how do you solve a crime when the murder was committed in one city and dumped in the other? Unable to cross the invisible boundaries and take one step to the other side, unable to question half of the population, the detective is at a loss.
There’s plenty of secret societies, conspiracy theories, and mystery, but the plot itself still didn’t grab me. What did grab me and I continue to think about is the act of “unseeing” performed daily by citizens of both cities. Don’t we often do the same? I pass by a homeless person and ignore them. I see the news and pretend it doesn’t affect me. I won’t be taken away in the night by a force called “Breach” like the citizens in the novel, yet I don’t look and see the world around me. Or more accurately I do, but I don’t want to acknowledge it all of the time.
The more Mieville I read, the more I wonder if I'll enjoy anything as much as the first couple books I read by him.
The City & the City is solid, but it's not as good as BasLag or Embassytown. It has a bizarre premise, which is pretty interesting in that it takes one of the most absurd notions imaginable and takes it deadly serious. It even pushes the absurdity further and further, begging you to laugh at what's happening, but the earnestness of the narrator keeps you willing to accept this ridiculousness.
What's maybe strangest about this novel is that it's really not very funny. Like, it seems like at least some of this should be played for laughs. Really, it seems like the whole novel was meant to be a comedy just from reading the premise. But it takes itself so seriously that there's no real time for laughter, which weirdly works for it, I think.
Of course, the novel is a big one note, and so while I like how Mieville pushes the concept past the breaking point and makes you go along and follow his lead through shear willpower, it really could use some rounding out, I think.
Mieville's determined to write a novel in every genre, and I mostly think it's a terrible decision. I like the ambition of such a project, but I think a lot of his work is much weaker.
Anyrate, this is solid and I enjoyed it. I'll probably keep reading Mieville, and digging back into his catalogue. Railsea next.
The City & the City is solid, but it's not as good as BasLag or Embassytown. It has a bizarre premise, which is pretty interesting in that it takes one of the most absurd notions imaginable and takes it deadly serious. It even pushes the absurdity further and further, begging you to laugh at what's happening, but the earnestness of the narrator keeps you willing to accept this ridiculousness.
What's maybe strangest about this novel is that it's really not very funny. Like, it seems like at least some of this should be played for laughs. Really, it seems like the whole novel was meant to be a comedy just from reading the premise. But it takes itself so seriously that there's no real time for laughter, which weirdly works for it, I think.
Of course, the novel is a big one note, and so while I like how Mieville pushes the concept past the breaking point and makes you go along and follow his lead through shear willpower, it really could use some rounding out, I think.
Mieville's determined to write a novel in every genre, and I mostly think it's a terrible decision. I like the ambition of such a project, but I think a lot of his work is much weaker.
Anyrate, this is solid and I enjoyed it. I'll probably keep reading Mieville, and digging back into his catalogue. Railsea next.
Amazing premise and really interesting exploration of the world and build-up of the mystery. Unfortunately the disappointing conclusion turned what would have been a 4/5 star into a 3. Felt like a lot of wasted potential to deepen the conspiracy, and I thought the solution to the mystery made the whole story a lot less interesting.