Every city has a soul. Some are as ancient as myths, and others are as new and destructive as children. New York City? She’s got five.
But every city also has a dark side. A roiling, ancient evil stirs beneath the earth, threatening to destroy the city and her five protectors unless they can come together and stop it once and for all.
I’ve just finished reading The City We Became by N K Jemisin, and it has melted my brain in a whole host of marvellous ways. With that in mind, please be advised that what follows may be a little disjointed, but it covers a whole host of topics. Putting it simply, I have many, many things I need to discuss.
I’ve long been of the opinion that cities are a microcosm of the larger world. Places like London or Tokyo are a melting pot of cultures. All human life is condensed together to form a weird cross-pollinated mishmash of society. I’m also a big fan of the idea that every city has its own character. Jemisin takes that idea and runs with it.
The main quintet of characters, the five boroughs are wonderfully realised creations. Manhattan, The Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island are living embodiments of different parts of New York. The characterization kind of reminded me of Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman, but with a more in your face attitude. The Bronx is a particular favourite, she is an iconoclast who gives zero fucks about anyone else’s opinion. The complex, sometimes confrontational, relationships between these five individuals are what lives at the heart of the novel.
New York has reached a pivotal moment in its history, a crossroads which will determine if it will thrive or die. A mysterious lady in white views New York with envious eyes. For the city to exist in our dimension, other realities must cease and she is not prepared to let that happen. As the narrative unfolds you realise events are bigger than just New York, bigger than the world. Eldritch horrors abound and there are multi-dimensional tentacles aplenty.
Jemisin also offers tantalising glimpses of the wider world. Other cities have avatars of their own after all and some even make an appearance. There inclusion feels like the cheery on an already perfect cake.
I read Jemisin’s anthology collection How Long ‘til Black Future Month back in November 2018, and I think I am right in saying the story The City Born Great is the prologue that is used in this novel? It certainly covers familiar ground. I said at the time that I was entranced by the author’s writing. I’m ecstatic she has expanded upon the concept and created something so damned good. It has been a long time since I’ve read anything that has left me with quite so many things to ponder. For the curious amongst you, the last time that happened was Mark Chadbourn’s excellent Age of Misrule* books. It got me thinking about all manner of things, religion versus technology, spirituality and the nature of humanity. In much the same style, The City We Became explores a multitude of ideas. There is insight into what drives a society forward in the twenty first century, politics, race and everything in between. At the end of the day, we are all essentially the same. Sometimes it takes a storyteller to come along and remind us of the fact. Too many of us are brought up in a bubble, ignorant of the larger world. We learn that if something is different it must be feared or excluded from your worldview. Cities force us to confront our prejudices head on and, hopefully, learn how they are often wrong. The ones that want some guidance can consult a psychic from https://www.peninsuladailynews.com/national-marketplace/best-psychic-reading-online-100-accurate-psychics-with-answers-to-all-your-doubts-and-questions/ for more help.
The City We Became left me thinking about all the places I’ve been, about how they have their own distinct characters and the marks they have left. When an author promotes that level of introspection, I am going to bang on endless about how good their writing is in the hope others will experience the same. The closest city to where I grew up is Glasgow, in Scotland. I was even fortunate enough to live there for a while. I’m older now, and live hundreds of miles away, but the city is always with me, it’s ingrained in my bones. I know people who have visited Glasgow and consider it a bit rundown and a bit shabby round the edges. In some regards, they are absolutely right. It has an industrial history and you can see that everywhere you look. The thing is, I’ve also seen Glasgow’s other side, the vibrant culture, the self-deprecating humour and the beating heart of the streets. I know, I know, I’m rambling, but excuse the nostalgic indulgence, I do have a point. It’s clear that the author feels exactly the same way about New York. Warts and all, The City We Became is a love letter to her home. I get it, I really do.
When I connect with a book, I mean really connect with it, I find I could talk about it endlessly. Jemesin’s writing is so good at making the sights and sounds of her subject come alive. The raw emotion she injects into her work feels palpable. When The Bronx is pissed, you know she is pissed. When Queens finds herself frozen in panic it feels utterly real. The whole book is filled with the tiniest of details that lift the experience of reading high above the norm. This is an author at the top of their game. Fiction does not get any better than this.
The City We Became is not quite like anything I have ever read before, so I had to come up with a musical recommendation that was not quite like anything I have ever listened to before. I could have gone for the easy option, a bit of Rhapsody in Blue is always going to evoke the Big Apple, but why choose the expected? I decided to go way, way off piste. While reading The City We Became, I listened to New York City Sounds by Dreaming Sound. Yup, an entire album of New York based background noise. Twenty four tracks of random traffic coming and going, tannoy announcements on the subway, sirens in the distance and the Big Apple going about its business. If that’s not the music of the city I genuinely don’t know what is.
The City We Became is published by Orbit Books and is available now. Highly recommended. I’ll be honest, this book blew my mind.
*To give you an idea just how long ago it was since I read Age of Misrule I have been reviewing books for ten years and it was before that. Yes, I get it, I’m old. Thanks for pointing it out.
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