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A review by vermidian
The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I thought this book was an absolute delight. Equal parts social critique and character study, the writing was just so much fun to experience. While the plot itself is fairly straight-forward, the representation and diversity was fantastic throughout. I have already recommended this book to several people and I loved the urban fantasy concept of a city choosing avatars to represent it. If you're looking for more content in the same vein, I very much recommend the Unsleeping City series by Dimension 20, which is a live play D&D group that I absolutely adored.
I will say that this book may not be for everyone. The plot is an afterthought to the social critiques of our society and the characters that lead us on our journey. As a result, the plot moves at a snail's pace. I didn't mind much - I really enjoyed the deep understanding of the characters that I got - but I can see other people really not enjoying that aspect and wanting more to happen. At three quarters of the way through, I legitimately thought I was going to get cliffhangered. (I didn't. There is a resolution to the plot.) This book is honestly more philosophy than plot, which brings me to my next point.
If you're a white person that hasn't put in the work to examine your relationship with whiteness, racism, and your privilege, there's a very big possibility you're gonna get called out by this book. This book is not subtle about the negative impacts of oodles of aspects of society, including racism, homophobia, privilege, gentrification and capitalism, economic disparity, and so many more things. Sometimes I appreciated that about the book. Some things shouldn't be subtle. Other times, it was just really heavy handed. I think there were some really good subtle things about the book as well, but there's a lot of social justice points that are just handed to you that you don't ever really get a chance to focus on the subtler parts.
I personally kind of wished that the big bad of the book hadn't been related to another author whom I will not name here for fear of spoilers. I get that he's a well known xenophobic piece of historical trash who had a spooky idea, but I wish he could be left in the dusty back corner of time where people no longer seek out his work. I wish that the big bad's origin had been from a fully original world. I did, however, like the concept of what the big bad really is when you finally get that answer. I just wish it hadn't been related to such a terrible author.
The only other critique I have, which is a really big one, is that I didn't always like that the characters were based on stereotypes. I understand that the cities chose those that best represented them, but there were other bits that I worried crossed into territory that spilled over into the less okay. For example, Bronca, who is Lenape, was given a full understanding of the history of how cities are born as a result of her indigenous heritage and became a textbook example of the Magical Native American trope. I get why the author made the choice, but I also think it's very important to be aware of tropes that are harmful to communities and to steer clear of them, even subvert them, whenever possible. You also got the Bollywood Nerd trope with Padmini. Manny is the Ambiguously Brown trope. Some aspects made for cool world building, but it's also important to consider how this affects the community, especially knowing it's been optioned for a television series. That said, I am a white person, and you should DEFINITELY listen to the communities affected by these stereotypes over me. These are just my observations.
All in all, I really enjoyed the book. I don't think it was perfect, but it's definitely worth a read. I think the youngest person I would recommend this to would be a teenager. A little bit of cursing and no sex, this book is pretty tame in regards to the usual parental no nos. Be advised for content warnings of racism, homophobia, and attempted sexual assault.
I will say that this book may not be for everyone. The plot is an afterthought to the social critiques of our society and the characters that lead us on our journey. As a result, the plot moves at a snail's pace. I didn't mind much - I really enjoyed the deep understanding of the characters that I got - but I can see other people really not enjoying that aspect and wanting more to happen. At three quarters of the way through, I legitimately thought I was going to get cliffhangered. (I didn't. There is a resolution to the plot.) This book is honestly more philosophy than plot, which brings me to my next point.
If you're a white person that hasn't put in the work to examine your relationship with whiteness, racism, and your privilege, there's a very big possibility you're gonna get called out by this book. This book is not subtle about the negative impacts of oodles of aspects of society, including racism, homophobia, privilege, gentrification and capitalism, economic disparity, and so many more things. Sometimes I appreciated that about the book. Some things shouldn't be subtle. Other times, it was just really heavy handed. I think there were some really good subtle things about the book as well, but there's a lot of social justice points that are just handed to you that you don't ever really get a chance to focus on the subtler parts.
I personally kind of wished that the big bad of the book hadn't been related to another author whom I will not name here for fear of spoilers. I get that he's a well known xenophobic piece of historical trash who had a spooky idea, but I wish he could be left in the dusty back corner of time where people no longer seek out his work. I wish that the big bad's origin had been from a fully original world. I did, however, like the concept of what the big bad really is when you finally get that answer. I just wish it hadn't been related to such a terrible author.
The only other critique I have, which is a really big one, is that I didn't always like that the characters were based on stereotypes. I understand that the cities chose those that best represented them, but there were other bits that I worried crossed into territory that spilled over into the less okay. For example, Bronca, who is Lenape, was given a full understanding of the history of how cities are born as a result of her indigenous heritage and became a textbook example of the Magical Native American trope. I get why the author made the choice, but I also think it's very important to be aware of tropes that are harmful to communities and to steer clear of them, even subvert them, whenever possible. You also got the Bollywood Nerd trope with Padmini. Manny is the Ambiguously Brown trope. Some aspects made for cool world building, but it's also important to consider how this affects the community, especially knowing it's been optioned for a television series. That said, I am a white person, and you should DEFINITELY listen to the communities affected by these stereotypes over me. These are just my observations.
All in all, I really enjoyed the book. I don't think it was perfect, but it's definitely worth a read. I think the youngest person I would recommend this to would be a teenager. A little bit of cursing and no sex, this book is pretty tame in regards to the usual parental no nos. Be advised for content warnings of racism, homophobia, and attempted sexual assault.