Scan barcode
A review by ellipalmer
The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
The City We Became exists on two levels for me - the conceptual level and the story level. The central concept is that cities become embodied in a person (or in the case of NYC many people) who captures the core of that place this process is a city being born, going from just a place in our world to something more, something alive and immortal that exists across universes. There is an "enemy" who up till this point has been a sort of broad malicious force which tries to thwart these births. The Enemy is getting more strategic in its efforts, and as NYC is birthed its new tactics are being revealed.
Conceptually, I thought it was doing really interesting things - playing with and flipping tropes of whiteness (the color and by extension the race) usually being equated with goodness. Using the effects of gentrification, whiteness, and colonization as the basis for the antagonist. TCWB is about what makes cities/NYC special and beautiful (diversity, originality, collaboration) and what threatens them (capitalism, gentrification, fear of "other"). I think that N.K. Jemison has a brilliant mind and an amazing ability to use science fiction and fantasy as a site for exploring the pertinent questions of our time.
Narratively, I was left a little wanting. A member of my book club described the beginning of TCWB as like a weird acid trip and I think in some ways the whole book has some trippy qualities. We're dropped into this world without much information, which perhaps mirrors the experiences of the people/newly birthed boroughs who suddenly find themselves with new powers and at the center of a trans universal conflict. The pacing felt inconsistent and the narrative felt contrived.
I'm torn between feeling like the amount we're told about this multi-universe world is exactly based on how much the main characters know, and hungry for more world-building. We get tiny glimpses of the world the Enemy comes from, but I wanted to know more. Without understanding the world she/it comes from the Enemy felt a little one-dimensional. She mentions reasons which she uses to justify her attempts to kill cities and I wanted to understand more about the worlds outside of "ours" where the book is set and more about her place in that world, not because I wanted to empathize with her, but because without that context I couldn't really connect to the stakes. Her power felt like something I was just supposed to believe was great and serious, but I didn't feel the threat, for all we know in the grand scheme of this multiverse she could just as likely be a tiny speck with a Napoleonic complex, or a massive and powerful interdimensional being. Without that context, it felt hard to take her seriously even though the stakes for NYC were high. I know this is the first book of a trilogy so perhaps we'll learn more in future books which will tie everything together.
All in all, I trust N.K. Jemison's skill as a writer though to believe that she has more up her sleeve and whatever questions I have will be answered. I think she's doing really interesting things in her writing and in this book specifically. Some parts didn't land for me here as much as they have in other series, but this is only the beginning so I'm excited to see what she has still to come.
Conceptually, I thought it was doing really interesting things - playing with and flipping tropes of whiteness (the color and by extension the race) usually being equated with goodness. Using the effects of gentrification, whiteness, and colonization as the basis for the antagonist. TCWB is about what makes cities/NYC special and beautiful (diversity, originality, collaboration) and what threatens them (capitalism, gentrification, fear of "other"). I think that N.K. Jemison has a brilliant mind and an amazing ability to use science fiction and fantasy as a site for exploring the pertinent questions of our time.
Narratively, I was left a little wanting. A member of my book club described the beginning of TCWB as like a weird acid trip and I think in some ways the whole book has some trippy qualities. We're dropped into this world without much information, which perhaps mirrors the experiences of the people/newly birthed boroughs who suddenly find themselves with new powers and at the center of a trans universal conflict. The pacing felt inconsistent and the narrative felt contrived.
I'm torn between feeling like the amount we're told about this multi-universe world is exactly based on how much the main characters know, and hungry for more world-building. We get tiny glimpses of the world the Enemy comes from, but I wanted to know more. Without understanding the world she/it comes from the Enemy felt a little one-dimensional. She mentions reasons which she uses to justify her attempts to kill cities and I wanted to understand more about the worlds outside of "ours" where the book is set and more about her place in that world, not because I wanted to empathize with her, but because without that context I couldn't really connect to the stakes. Her power felt like something I was just supposed to believe was great and serious, but I didn't feel the threat, for all we know in the grand scheme of this multiverse she could just as likely be a tiny speck with a Napoleonic complex, or a massive and powerful interdimensional being. Without that context, it felt hard to take her seriously even though the stakes for NYC were high. I know this is the first book of a trilogy so perhaps we'll learn more in future books which will tie everything together.
All in all, I trust N.K. Jemison's skill as a writer though to believe that she has more up her sleeve and whatever questions I have will be answered. I think she's doing really interesting things in her writing and in this book specifically. Some parts didn't land for me here as much as they have in other series, but this is only the beginning so I'm excited to see what she has still to come.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Xenophobia, Racism, and Gaslighting