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3.62 AVERAGE
3.62 AVERAGE
4.5 *
Don't be fooled by the middle grade/YA adventure looking cover. It's actually a pretty gritty realistic view of the lives of the disenfranchised & poverty stricken in Johannesburg. Drug & alcohol use, nightclub life, prostitution, refugees, seedy underbelly of the music industry, pedophilia, rape plus actual underground sewers are explored by our flawed but rootable protagonist Zizi. The urban fantasy portion is quite fascinating as well, mainly from a process known as aposymbiosis i.e. those who've committed a crime and feel guilty are laden with an animal. Zizi's a sloth due to having killed her brother from a drug induced state. Others include an aardvark, meerkat, mongoose & various birds. Some also have various talents and Zizi's is ability to locate lost things.
Her recruitment to look for a young missing half of a twin singing sensation duo of course uncovers a lot more. There appears to be a fair bit of authentic information about Afropunk & Afrorock, as well as natural local dialogue.
I am glad the author did not coddle her audience and give us realistic outcomes for those in unpalatable circumstances. In fact, I'm wondering if the urban magic realism is a good cover to present to us hard cold facts about how these vulnerable people fare. Lauren Beukes writes with unflinching empathy for them and the real world situations they face.
Don't be fooled by the middle grade/YA adventure looking cover. It's actually a pretty gritty realistic view of the lives of the disenfranchised & poverty stricken in Johannesburg. Drug & alcohol use, nightclub life, prostitution, refugees, seedy underbelly of the music industry, pedophilia, rape plus actual underground sewers are explored by our flawed but rootable protagonist Zizi. The urban fantasy portion is quite fascinating as well, mainly from a process known as aposymbiosis i.e. those who've committed a crime and feel guilty are laden with an animal. Zizi's a sloth due to having killed her brother from a drug induced state. Others include an aardvark, meerkat, mongoose & various birds. Some also have various talents and Zizi's is ability to locate lost things.
Her recruitment to look for a young missing half of a twin singing sensation duo of course uncovers a lot more. There appears to be a fair bit of authentic information about Afropunk & Afrorock, as well as natural local dialogue.
I am glad the author did not coddle her audience and give us realistic outcomes for those in unpalatable circumstances. In fact, I'm wondering if the urban magic realism is a good cover to present to us hard cold facts about how these vulnerable people fare. Lauren Beukes writes with unflinching empathy for them and the real world situations they face.
There’s so much world building right up front I feel like I need footnotes and reference materials
I loved the setting and the worldbuilding of the book.
The plot was sometimes a little confusing
The plot was sometimes a little confusing
Zoo City is one of the most inventive urban fantasies I’ve read. It was an engrossing book with plenty to keep me interested, although I found the ending to be weak.
Zinzi is an animalled – a person for whom the shadows rise up out of the earth to give an animal after they commit a crime. If the animal dies, the shadows will rise out of the earth again and take the animalled with it. In Zinzi’s case, she’s got a dead brother and a sloth.
The set up of the “animalled” is very interesting and what makes the story so unique. The animal is like a physical representation of their past sins, but it’s up in the air whether the animal is meant to punish or rehabilitate.
The one bonus of being an “animalled” is that each one comes with a gift. For Zinzi, it’s a knack to find lost things, which is one of the ways in which she makes her living. The plot thus revolves around her tracking down a missing pop star with ensuing complications.
The concept was definitely the greatest thing about the book. Zinzi, a black South African woman trained as a journalist, was a fairly enjoyable antihero, and while I may never have connected to her very closely, I liked reading about her. The setting of Johannesburg was also aptly captured.
The plot is the weakest point. It was serviceable for the most part, but ultimately let me down at the end. I think that an ending needs some sense of achievement or conclusion, of which Zoo City had neither. The mystery may have been solved, but little of it’s end result related to Zinzi. Nor does her character arc provide any sense of growth or satisfaction. In short, there was not a sense of fulfillment. If this was a series, the ending might make sense, but it does not work within the context of a stand alone novel.
I would recommend Zoo City to people looking for an unique urban fantasy story. Despite the weak ending, I found it overall enjoyable and would recommend it.
Originally posted on The Illustrated Page.
Zinzi is an animalled – a person for whom the shadows rise up out of the earth to give an animal after they commit a crime. If the animal dies, the shadows will rise out of the earth again and take the animalled with it. In Zinzi’s case, she’s got a dead brother and a sloth.
The set up of the “animalled” is very interesting and what makes the story so unique. The animal is like a physical representation of their past sins, but it’s up in the air whether the animal is meant to punish or rehabilitate.
The one bonus of being an “animalled” is that each one comes with a gift. For Zinzi, it’s a knack to find lost things, which is one of the ways in which she makes her living. The plot thus revolves around her tracking down a missing pop star with ensuing complications.
The concept was definitely the greatest thing about the book. Zinzi, a black South African woman trained as a journalist, was a fairly enjoyable antihero, and while I may never have connected to her very closely, I liked reading about her. The setting of Johannesburg was also aptly captured.
The plot is the weakest point. It was serviceable for the most part, but ultimately let me down at the end. I think that an ending needs some sense of achievement or conclusion, of which Zoo City had neither. The mystery may have been solved, but little of it’s end result related to Zinzi. Nor does her character arc provide any sense of growth or satisfaction. In short, there was not a sense of fulfillment. If this was a series, the ending might make sense, but it does not work within the context of a stand alone novel.
I would recommend Zoo City to people looking for an unique urban fantasy story. Despite the weak ending, I found it overall enjoyable and would recommend it.
Originally posted on The Illustrated Page.
Oh, Zinzi. I wanted to like you, I really did.
The book picked me up and carried me along until three-quarters of the way through, when it promptly dropped me and went off to lose its way.
I found myself discombobulated at the start of chapters, because everything was in medias res and Zinzi had to backtrack to cover where she was and what was happening. It felt like an overly awkward way to tell the whole story - fine for chapters in which it was necessary, but that certainly wasn't the case everywhere.
Also, the end. No explanation of any damn thing, not just limited to exactly how Zinzi had earned her sloth. She admits to the murder, I guess, but there's no information about what in the world was going on. Was [person she murdered] between her and her drugs, or her boyfriend or a story or ?. The Maltese and the Marabou are just gone. There are plenty of bodies scattered about.
It feels like maybe Beukes was seeding the ground for a sequel, but that doesn't matter. Just dropping things like that is a bad choice. The Undertow isn't adequately explained. Animalling isn't, either. It's all too much handwaving, especially at the end.
The book picked me up and carried me along until three-quarters of the way through, when it promptly dropped me and went off to lose its way.
I found myself discombobulated at the start of chapters, because everything was in medias res and Zinzi had to backtrack to cover where she was and what was happening. It felt like an overly awkward way to tell the whole story - fine for chapters in which it was necessary, but that certainly wasn't the case everywhere.
Also, the end. No explanation of any damn thing, not just limited to exactly how Zinzi had earned her sloth. She admits to the murder, I guess, but there's no information about what in the world was going on. Was [person she murdered] between her and her drugs, or her boyfriend or a story or ?. The Maltese and the Marabou are just gone. There are plenty of bodies scattered about.
It feels like maybe Beukes was seeding the ground for a sequel, but that doesn't matter. Just dropping things like that is a bad choice. The Undertow isn't adequately explained. Animalling isn't, either. It's all too much handwaving, especially at the end.
The idea of having a constant, semi-intelligent animal companion, especially a cute one like a sloth, may sound like a lot of fun, but in Zinzi's world it's a curse. Those who have committed a grievous sin are marked with an animal, so everyone knows about their past transgression. Zinzi is one these people (often called “zoos”). She's also been blessed with the gift of finding things. She normally doesn't agree to use it to find missing people, but what happens when someone makes her an offer that she can't refuse?
Recently, I found myself reading a paranormal mystery that just wasn't doing anything for me. The book wasn't necessarily poorly written, but it lacked originality As someone who reads a lot of fantasy and urban fantasy, I occasionally find myself frustrated with authors that fail to go beyond the established tropes of the genre and tell a compelling story that it's truly their own. Enter Zoo City, a modern day fantasy story that certainly walks to the beat of it's own drummer. The results are very good.
The first thing that struck me about Zoo City was it's unique setting, a fictionalized Johannesburg, South Africa where the “Zoos” of the world have come to gather. When is comes to the worldbuilding, I really enjoyed this take upon the concept of the familiar. The closet I've seen to the animals in Zoo City are the daemons in Philip Pullman's The Golden Compass. Author Beukes really makes this concept her own by having the animal (like Zinzi's slot) by a physical manifestation of a past sin. Much like Hester Prynne's scarlet letter, the presence of an animal marks the Zoo as a pariah, resulting in a book that's also a commentary on how we tend to treat the "fallen" in or society Another strength of this book can be found in it's characterization. Zinzi is a flawed character. A recovering addict, she has made some terrible mistakes in the past, and isn't exactly a perfect person in the present either. She is also a African protagonist, which is not something you see too often in modern day fantasy. As far as the story goes, Zoo City has a mystery-like plot, where Zinzi must track down a missing local pop star. I quite enjoyed this story, and found it to be shockingly dark towards the end.
Final Thoughts: If you're looking for something that's a little different, then Zoo City would be a great book to try. I really enjoyed its exploration of animal familiars, and found Zinzi to be a flawed, yet likable heroine. My only regret is that this is a standalone book. I can see why Zinzi's story may end here, but the world is so rich that part of me wants to see it utilized again. This is my first book by Lauren Beukes but not my last. Four and a Half Stars
Recently, I found myself reading a paranormal mystery that just wasn't doing anything for me. The book wasn't necessarily poorly written, but it lacked originality As someone who reads a lot of fantasy and urban fantasy, I occasionally find myself frustrated with authors that fail to go beyond the established tropes of the genre and tell a compelling story that it's truly their own. Enter Zoo City, a modern day fantasy story that certainly walks to the beat of it's own drummer. The results are very good.
The first thing that struck me about Zoo City was it's unique setting, a fictionalized Johannesburg, South Africa where the “Zoos” of the world have come to gather. When is comes to the worldbuilding, I really enjoyed this take upon the concept of the familiar. The closet I've seen to the animals in Zoo City are the daemons in Philip Pullman's The Golden Compass. Author Beukes really makes this concept her own by having the animal (like Zinzi's slot) by a physical manifestation of a past sin. Much like Hester Prynne's scarlet letter, the presence of an animal marks the Zoo as a pariah, resulting in a book that's also a commentary on how we tend to treat the "fallen" in or society Another strength of this book can be found in it's characterization. Zinzi is a flawed character. A recovering addict, she has made some terrible mistakes in the past, and isn't exactly a perfect person in the present either. She is also a African protagonist, which is not something you see too often in modern day fantasy. As far as the story goes, Zoo City has a mystery-like plot, where Zinzi must track down a missing local pop star. I quite enjoyed this story, and found it to be shockingly dark towards the end.
Final Thoughts: If you're looking for something that's a little different, then Zoo City would be a great book to try. I really enjoyed its exploration of animal familiars, and found Zinzi to be a flawed, yet likable heroine. My only regret is that this is a standalone book. I can see why Zinzi's story may end here, but the world is so rich that part of me wants to see it utilized again. This is my first book by Lauren Beukes but not my last. Four and a Half Stars
This book started out with all the promise you'd expect from a Lauren Beukes novel. The concept of the animalled world laced with elements of traditional African magic along with the murder mystery and investigative storyline, is the perfect combination for a great story. Yet, I feel that the book is only halfway done. The ending is blunt and unsatisfactory. Events and character's stories aren't fleshed out enough, which makes you feel lost the closer you get to the end. There is so much more unsaid by Lauren in this book But nonetheless, she still proves to be a creative genius of a writer. Zoo City is truly a fun read.
adventurous
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
adventurous
emotional
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
I loved the premise of this book. I loved the reference to Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials, I loved Zinzi (even when she was making stupid choices), I loved the entire cast of quirky characters, I loved Beukes' down and dirty description of her version of Jo-burg (which had an awful lot in common with actual Jo-burg, despite an over-the-top feel). This gave me sense memories of my trip to South Africa last year.
I'm not a huge fan of urban fantasy, but when done in the right way, I can dig it. This was definitely the right way for me. A lazy wander through the urban landscape with plenty of juicy details and weird characters. The plot could have been tighter; there were times I wasn't sure what was going on or why it was important, but in the end everything added up in the best ways. It reminded by of [b:Rivers of London|9317452|Rivers of London (Peter Grant, #1)|Ben Aaronovitch|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1401385034s/9317452.jpg|13552476] by Ben Aaronovitch, in that it seemed to be more of a celebration of the eccentricities of the city than a plot-driven narrative.
After reading [b:Broken Monsters|23341578|Broken Monsters|Lauren Beukes|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1434675391s/23341578.jpg|27869457] by Beukes, I was not sure I really wanted to read more. It was a good book, but a hard slog to get through. This really reassured me about her writing and made me want to read more. Her prose works better for me when it's about fantastical zoo people in South Africa, rather than psychopaths in Detroit, evidently.
Like some of the other reviewers, the sudden plot swing two-thirds of the way through confused me, but the rest of the novel soothed my issues and did draw all the threads back together into something cohesive by the end. It wasn't a tightly plotted masterpiece, but then I don't think it was supposed to be.
Highly recommended, despite my disjointed review.
I received this book from the publisher in a Goodread's giveaway.
I'm not a huge fan of urban fantasy, but when done in the right way, I can dig it. This was definitely the right way for me. A lazy wander through the urban landscape with plenty of juicy details and weird characters. The plot could have been tighter; there were times I wasn't sure what was going on or why it was important, but in the end everything added up in the best ways. It reminded by of [b:Rivers of London|9317452|Rivers of London (Peter Grant, #1)|Ben Aaronovitch|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1401385034s/9317452.jpg|13552476] by Ben Aaronovitch, in that it seemed to be more of a celebration of the eccentricities of the city than a plot-driven narrative.
After reading [b:Broken Monsters|23341578|Broken Monsters|Lauren Beukes|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1434675391s/23341578.jpg|27869457] by Beukes, I was not sure I really wanted to read more. It was a good book, but a hard slog to get through. This really reassured me about her writing and made me want to read more. Her prose works better for me when it's about fantastical zoo people in South Africa, rather than psychopaths in Detroit, evidently.
Like some of the other reviewers, the sudden plot swing two-thirds of the way through confused me, but the rest of the novel soothed my issues and did draw all the threads back together into something cohesive by the end. It wasn't a tightly plotted masterpiece, but then I don't think it was supposed to be.
Highly recommended, despite my disjointed review.
I received this book from the publisher in a Goodread's giveaway.