Review: The City & The City (Spoiler-Free)

06 Aug, 2024

I haven't read a fiction book in a long while. My days have been pretty busy lately, with me sometimes working from 7am to 9pm; I did not have the time to sit down and escape into an imaginary world, even though I badly wanted to. And when I picked up The City & The City, I expected it to hit every detective cliché that this genre had to offer. I would never normally pick up a detective novel, James Patterson's Cross series have put me off detective stories in my teens.

So why did I pick up this novel? What convinced me to break this barrier? This book has been on my radar ever since I finished the video game Disco Elysium¹, I have adored that game. Its world building was fresh, and massive. And I do mean massive. And ever since I finished that game I have been searching for a book that could give me that same sense of awe and immersion as Disco Elysium did. This game has some incredible themes, and there's that feel of being fully immersed in a world, you know that feeling, when the writer/s do such a good job that when you stop engaging you feel like you have entered a different world.

This book is listed as a direct inspiration for the story of Disco Elysium by ZA/UM¹. And the second I realised this I knew that I had to pick up that book, and after some time I did. And I have to say that I am both delighted and disappointed. Delighted because the story is a great spin on traditional detective stories, with none of the cliché's that those stories usually have. But disappointed because the world, while in some aspects similar, is not much like the world of Disco Elysium. It seems that ZA/UM took inspiration more from the detective, rather than the world.

Even though the book didn't reach my expectations, it is still a story I'd recommend you read. Ditch any detective story you are currently reading and read this book.

The Plot

There aren't going to be any spoilers other than describing the main protagonist and the setting, but if you want to read this book blindly by yourself, then stop here.

This book tells the story of Borlu; a star detective living in the fictional city of Besź, with a... I guess I could say neighbouring city of Ul Qoma, But we will get into that later. I would not say Borlu is a badly written character per se. But his writing is quite minimalistic. Not much is known about his story, or how he reached where he is. All you get to know about him is that he is a good detective, and is a good guy. And that is okay, the protagonist doesn't have to be greatly developed for the story to be good. To be honest, quite frankly, all of the characters are not that well developed, since the characters are not the centre of the story. The focus is on the two cities. Think of it like zooming out in a film to portray the wider world². This is the main driver of the story, not the people, but the cities.

And are the two cities any good? They are excellent, the whole idea is that the two cities are intertwined, with streets being in each other, and I do mean in. One moment the street is in Besź, and in a few steps it's Ul Qoma. But the borders between them are still closed. And it is illegal to cross them. When you do break this rule, it is called breaching. It is the worst crime that can be committed, in which case your fate is handled by a mysterious force / power called Breach. It is not really explained what Breach is until much later in the book. Because of all those complications, the cities don't have much tourism going on, and I'm not surprised, I don't think anyone would like to live like this. To unsee the other city's buildings; streets even.

Mieville's writing is minimalistic, the only proper way I think I can describe it is straightforward. It's more expressionist than Hemingway, but not by a lot. And this does add to the story. The lack of expression and description adds to the mystery and unknowingness of what the two cities are. Throughout the book we are driven to keep reading not for the characters or the setting, but by the mystery. Which some would argue is at the core of a good detective story.

Conclusion & Mieville's Other Works

After finishing this book, I do plan to read Mieville's other work. This book was not good enough for me to binge read his whole bibliography, but I will pick up his other works. Please check them out as well if you like what you read here.

I will leave you with a quote from the book that made me laugh:

"Look, I'm okay to go. I've money. Ul Qoman money." I've showed him my wallet. "I've got all my papers. Visitor's badge. I know it makes you uncomfortable having me out and about, but seriously, I'd like to walk; I need to be out for a bit. It's a beautiful Night."
"What the fuck are you talking about? It's raining."

Thank You.

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