A tale of two cities

Ok, so I'm well overdue a post or three. Partly because I've been exceptionally busy, partly because I've been tired and partly because I've been lazy. Also, and most worryingly, because I've struggled for motivation to read recently, both in terms of wanting to and being able to concentrate on the occasions when I have. But enough of that, it's simply part of the challenge to be overcome.

The City and the City by China Miéville has been something I'd had my eye on for a while so when a good opportunity arose, I grabbed it with two hands (or more likely one, the other of which was on my wallet, which at that stage i still had, though that's another story entirely...) Intrigued by the idea of the book, two cities occupying the same physical space, yet completely divided by the population so that those parts of the city in the other half could not be entered or even acknowledged (the idea of unseeing) by the occupants of one of the two cities. The concept in itself made me think of Berlin during the Cold War or contentious areas of the Middle East, but this was almost like it had gone past that stage. Although not always easy to imagine how it worked, at the same time it was easy to see how everybody does it to a lesser level, this is just turning a blind eye taken to its extreme.

At its heart, the book was a noir crime thriller and the feel of the book, of the place was very nicely realised. The characters did not stamp their personalities all over the novel, yet they were fleshed out enough and believable enough, blank canvasses with some details, allowing the reader to further establish them, but not stereotypes or parodies. I had a very clear picture of the world and it is definitely something that would make a very cool film if done in the right way. I also liked the fact that it was clearly set in our world, but equally outside of it.

It did, however, take a while to get into, with a slow start, not helped by some writing that didn't quite gel. The dialogue, however, was generally very good, further adding to the conception of this as a film, if a little confused in places mostly due to the punctutation. When it got going though, I was definitely drawn into it, wanting to find out more about the cities and the mystery of the third one and Breach. The actual crime left me slightly disappointed, as it was a bit anticlimactic compared to the grand ideas and thoughts being put forward, but the ending was nicely handled, so it didn't feel like a let down in the way that the wrong move at the end soemtimes can. Overall I liked it and wanted to know more about the cities and their history, I did nejoy the story, despite some of its faults, for even if it was simply the vehicle for an idea, the idea itself was good enough to make writing a whole book about it worthwhile.

Book number: 22
Title: The City and the City
Author: China Miéville
Category: Crime