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A review by amandaaaaa
The City & the City by China Miéville
4.0
This one was a slow start for me. Honestly, if I hadn't been determined to get through it, I would have quit.
I'm glad I didn't. Once I got into it, it consumed me -- I wanted to be reading it all the time, I wanted to be telling everyone about it. And it ended at the perfect place; I didn't feel like there were any threads left hanging.
HOWEVER. If you're the type of person who needs to know everything, this book is not for you. The central conceit -- that Ul Qoma and Beszel exist in the same place but in different places -- is never fully explained. Truly, it does not make logical sense. It's left up to you to figure out how it's actually pieced together, what it looks like, how it works. I don't mind this. I was able to suspend my disbelief far enough that I simply trusted that it was, not worrying about HOW it was. If that sounds frustrating to you, if your first response to explanation of two cities in the same space is "How?" rather than "OK," this book is not for you. Otherwise, it's a very good read.
I'm glad I didn't. Once I got into it, it consumed me -- I wanted to be reading it all the time, I wanted to be telling everyone about it. And it ended at the perfect place; I didn't feel like there were any threads left hanging.
HOWEVER. If you're the type of person who needs to know everything, this book is not for you. The central conceit -- that Ul Qoma and Beszel exist in the same place but in different places -- is never fully explained. Truly, it does not make logical sense. It's left up to you to figure out how it's actually pieced together, what it looks like, how it works. I don't mind this. I was able to suspend my disbelief far enough that I simply trusted that it was, not worrying about HOW it was. If that sounds frustrating to you, if your first response to explanation of two cities in the same space is "How?" rather than "OK," this book is not for you. Otherwise, it's a very good read.