9.91k reviews for:

Genèse de la cité

N.K. Jemisin

3.98 AVERAGE

raymond_murphy's review against another edition

3.0

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Very insightful and earnest and sweet. Also, sometimes--if not frequently--corny, but what do you expect a Philadelphian to think of a navel gazing New Yorker's ode to their city?

I ultimately loved it for two reasons: 1) It's BIPOC centered and 2) It's pro-city, but not in an annoying urbanist way, but more in the "let your freak flag fly/live and let live" manner that I associate with people who see cities as a challenge to conformity vs. a new frontier to be colonized by whiteness, i.e., "oh my god, my packages got stolen!" or "that music is too loud, let me call the cops!"

What resonated most for me was challenging a zero-sum/binary view of existence. Adding the Lenape layer was especially smart. What does it mean to have to vanquish a universe, other than your own, in order to survive?

laura_cremer's review against another edition

3.5

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

jsayre's review against another edition

DID NOT FINISH: 14%

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Boring, repetitive, no coherent plot to hold all the surreal magic together. It seems like there might be a good book in here, if an editor could cut it down to half the size. But as-is, with the constant introduction of new and totally dull characters and endless meandering around the actual conflict (some sort of supernatural threat to the city?), it is unreadably bad.

dontusesemicolons's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

mackenziencheez's review against another edition

5.0

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Recommending this book to everyone.

juno202's review against another edition

DID NOT FINISH: 8%

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Had to return to the library

mysticseekingmoonbase's review against another edition

4.0

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A fantastic allegory about racism, gentrification, and city life. I highly recommend the audiobook, for all the accents and sci-fi special effects. Loved it so much, I created the Wikipedia page for it!

bmartinpdx's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous emotional medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

gobby_gilbert's review against another edition

3.25

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

shhtaeisreading's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated