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A review by thepurplebookwyrm
Looking for Jake and Other Stories by China Miéville
dark
funny
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.75
Aaaah, to finally read good fiction again! 😩💜
Not that it's the best Miéville I've ever read either, mind you, but still.
Like Three Moments of An Explosion, this (older) collection brings together a selection of short stories; unlike the former, however, Looking for Jake felt 'tighter' in... genre scope, is how I'll put it. By that, I mean that almost all of the stories in this collection fall under the 'genre aegis' of weird urban fantasy (or weird urban fiction, period, at the very least). Most of them specifically take place in London as well. One story, for its part, takes place in New Crobuzon, and it was kind of fun to be taken back there for a spell!
I didn't really mind the tighter scope (this collection is shorter than Three Moments after all), but it's also true Looking for Jake had less 'conceptual variety' than its more recently published sibling. Still, overall, I'd say both collections display similar levels of depth with the world-building, and theming in their stories. Although... hmm, I'm not entirely settled when it comes to theming. Maybe I would, in fact, give a point to Looking for Jake over Three Moments for theming, but that could also simply be because the former was shorter and, again, 'tighter' than the latter, and because I was kind of looking a little more actively for theming in this one as well (since I'd felt a certain lack of it in Three Moments). Eh, make of that what you will, as always! ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Either way: gods it felt good to read this! Like actual, "nom nom nom gimme that güd shid" levels of literary enjoyment, freaking finally. There is yet hope I will turn this reading year around, mark my words!
Stories that stood out:
- Looking for Jake +
- Reports of Certain Events in London +
- Familiar +
- Entry Taken From a Medical Encyclopaedia ++
- Details +++
- Go Between ++
- 'Tis the Season +++
- The Tain ++
Not that it's the best Miéville I've ever read either, mind you, but still.
Like Three Moments of An Explosion, this (older) collection brings together a selection of short stories; unlike the former, however, Looking for Jake felt 'tighter' in... genre scope, is how I'll put it. By that, I mean that almost all of the stories in this collection fall under the 'genre aegis' of weird urban fantasy (or weird urban fiction, period, at the very least). Most of them specifically take place in London as well. One story, for its part, takes place in New Crobuzon, and it was kind of fun to be taken back there for a spell!
I didn't really mind the tighter scope (this collection is shorter than Three Moments after all), but it's also true Looking for Jake had less 'conceptual variety' than its more recently published sibling. Still, overall, I'd say both collections display similar levels of depth with the world-building, and theming in their stories. Although... hmm, I'm not entirely settled when it comes to theming. Maybe I would, in fact, give a point to Looking for Jake over Three Moments for theming, but that could also simply be because the former was shorter and, again, 'tighter' than the latter, and because I was kind of looking a little more actively for theming in this one as well (since I'd felt a certain lack of it in Three Moments). Eh, make of that what you will, as always! ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Either way: gods it felt good to read this! Like actual, "nom nom nom gimme that güd shid" levels of literary enjoyment, freaking finally. There is yet hope I will turn this reading year around, mark my words!
Stories that stood out:
- Looking for Jake +
- Reports of Certain Events in London +
- Familiar +
- Entry Taken From a Medical Encyclopaedia ++
- Details +++
- Go Between ++
- 'Tis the Season +++
- The Tain ++