Tue 17 Aug 2010 @ 17:30
bookschina mievillethe city and the cityscience fiction
I’ve just finished reading The City and The City by China Miéville. I have a mixed history with Miéville’s books. I started reading Perdido Street Station a few years back, but I ended up giving up on it. Now, I generally stick with books to the end, even if I’m not enjoying them, so the fact that I couldn’t even finish it is a pretty clear indication that I really hated it. But I was convinced to give Miéville a second chance, and last year I read and enjoyed his YA novel Un Lun Dun. Later I was intrigued by descriptions of this book, and having somewhat revised my opinion of Miéville, I was excited to start reading it. The two cities in the title are Besźel and Ul Qoma, two European city states; the two cities share the same physical space, but are perceived to be two different cities by their respective citizens, who are trained to ‘unsee’ the other city; the whole process is monitored by a force known as Breach, which prevents citizens from ‘breaching’ between the two cities. This is a fascinating setting, which provides the backdrop for a murder mystery. This story is narrated by a police detective from Besźel, investigating the murder of a young student from Ul Qoma, who was obsessed with a conspiracy surrounding the two cities and a potential third city known as Orciny. The police procedural story is gripping enough (nothing spectacular, I suppose, but I do like Miéville’s style and it had a nice noir feel to it) but the main attraction for me was the unique setting and the intriguing idea of the dual city. I love it when I run across a new idea in fiction, and this is one of the most appealing I’ve encountered for ages. It’s incredibly imaginative, and Miéville’s vivid descriptions are marvellous to read. I’d recommend it for that reason alone, but the fact that it does have a strong plot and characters is just an added bonus. I really liked it and I’m certainly now convinced that Miéville is a better writer than I first judged him to be.

I’ve just finished reading The City and The City by China Miéville. I have a mixed history with Miéville’s books. I started reading Perdido Street Station a few years back, but I ended up giving up on it. Now, I generally stick with books to the end, even if I’m not enjoying them, so the fact that I couldn’t even finish it is a pretty clear indication that I really hated it. But I was convinced to give Miéville a second chance, and last year I read and enjoyed his YA novel Un Lun Dun. Later I was intrigued by descriptions of this book, and having somewhat revised my opinion of Miéville, I was excited to start reading it. The two cities in the title are Besźel and Ul Qoma, two European city states; the two cities share the same physical space, but are perceived to be two different cities by their respective citizens, who are trained to ‘unsee’ the other city; the whole process is monitored by a force known as Breach, which prevents citizens from ‘breaching’ between the two cities. This is a fascinating setting, which provides the backdrop for a murder mystery. This story is narrated by a police detective from Besźel, investigating the murder of a young student from Ul Qoma, who was obsessed with a conspiracy surrounding the two cities and a potential third city known as Orciny. The police procedural story is gripping enough (nothing spectacular, I suppose, but I do like Miéville’s style and it had a nice noir feel to it) but the main attraction for me was the unique setting and the intriguing idea of the dual city. I love it when I run across a new idea in fiction, and this is one of the most appealing I’ve encountered for ages. It’s incredibly imaginative, and Miéville’s vivid descriptions are marvellous to read. I’d recommend it for that reason alone, but the fact that it does have a strong plot and characters is just an added bonus. I really liked it and I’m certainly now convinced that Miéville is a better writer than I first judged him to be.