The City & the City

As a sci-fi fan who is always looking for new authors to pursue, I’d heard of China Miéville a while back and made a mental note to check him out. I was very pleased, therefore, to find that the latest book nominated for our book group to read was his The City & the City.

I always leave reading our book-group books till the last minute so that I can actually remember enough detail to take an active part in the discussions; so, although it’s now a week since our meeting, a great deal still remains with me. Plus it’s that kind of book.

I loved it. It’s the kind of sci-fi/fantasy that appeals to me, i.e. the story is set in what essentially appears to be our regular modern-day world but with odd things going on under the surface that suggest life isn’t quite what it seems. Miéville introduces his two cities gradually, using jargon that is particular to those worlds without explaining it, letting the meaning and the understanding seep into the reader’s brain of its own accord, as, little by little, you work out what’s going on by sheer exposure to events.

The basic premise is of two cities (Besźel and Ul Qoma) occupying the same geographical space but functioning as two separate cities. Different areas of each city are designated ‘total’ (in your home city entirely), ‘alter’ (in the other city entirely), and ‘crosshatched’ (in both cities). Citizens of each must ‘unsee’ and ‘unhear’ anyone from the other city who appears in their vicinity; to acknowledge them would be to commit ‘breach’, whereupon shadowy authoritarian figures (confusingly also named Breach) appear and carry you off to an uncertain fate.

Shades of Orwell’s ‘doublethink’ from Nineteen Eighty-Four are clearly present, but at our book group there was disagreement over whether the need to keep the two cities separate was physical or political: does breach lay the cities open to some kind of fantastical explosion of antimatter (worlds colliding, literally), or is it merely a way of controlling people, keeping them in subservience to a greater power? I personally inclined to the latter view, as part of the plot revolved around whether there was a third city hiding in the spaces between cities, controlling even Breach. There was no suggestion of impending implosions but there were many shifting allegiances, illicit conspiracies and secretive investigations.

Power play, especially that concerned with national borders, is a huge theme in this book, and Miéville draws parallels with other societies from our own world, such as the former East and West Berlin. The plot is driven by a murder mystery, but it felt to me as though this was a device on which to hang the more curious exploration of identity and personal freedom. It is perhaps not a coincidence that the woman whose murder is at the centre of the story goes by a number of names, pseudonyms and alter-egos; and the main character, the chief detective investigating the case, has himself adopted an alternative identity by the end of the book. It seems that we are being encouraged to consider the question of our own sense of self, both as individuals and in terms of the political culture or belief system we associate ourselves with.

Another key theme in this work is the suggestion (beautifully understated but nonetheless impossible to ignore) that we all regularly indulge in our own version of ‘unseeing’. Whether we are avoiding homeless people in the streets, unpleasant political decisions, or difficult aspects of our own relationships, the book presents an intelligent critique of the benefits and risks of such an approach. It is up to us how much control we choose to retain over our own lives, and Miéville does not preach but offers an insight into the consequences of different decisions. ‘Good’ people are not necessarily rewarded for their actions, ‘bad’ people do not always get their come-uppance. Despite being a fantastical setting, this is real life.

I’ve enjoyed all of the books that have come my way since joining this book group, but Miéville is the first author that I’ll actively be going out to read more of; apparently Perdido Street Station is one to look out for, so that’s next on my list. If you are a fan of intelligent adult fantasy, then please join me in my new-found excitement at having identified more great books to read, and go out and buy The City & the City for yourself.

A life less ordinary

My first book-related post is not, surprisingly, in any way related to sci-fi. Rather, I want to draw your attention to a truly amazing book I’ve just finished reading, which I think everyone needs to know about.

That book is ‘Be a Free Range Human: Escape the 9-5, Create a Life You Love and Still Pay the Bills‘ by Marianne Cantwell.

I’ve been subscribing to Marianne’s weekly emails for a long time now; it started back in the day when I still had an office job but dreamed of freedom. I know – who doesn’t? – but her words about escaping the ‘career cage’ really resonated with me. For years I’d tried to find the ‘right job’ and ‘build my career’ within a variety of organisations, but never quite felt I fitted in. Add to that the frustration at having to toe the line simply because the line was there… Aarghh.

So many people fantasise about what they’d do if they won the lottery and didn’t have to commute every day to a job that is barely keeping their little grey cells ticking over, never mind filling their life with meaning. Well, Marianne’s book gives you the practical knowledge and ‘how to’ tips in order for you to not only dream a dream but live it too.

More importantly, she is relentlessly positive and keeps on reminding you that Yes You Can. If you’re surrounded all day by people who say ‘huh, well, we’d all like to quit, but everyone has to have a job, don’t they?’, then of course you’re going to absorb all that negativity and believe it’s your only option. She calls these people the ‘beige army’; I’ve always thought of them as ‘doing the institutional shuffle’.

Either way, if those are the only voices you’re listening to, you’re in need of something different. And ‘Be a Free Range Human’ is just that. It’s by necessity broad ranging (broad free ranging?), dealing with all sorts of personalities and businesses; but even if you’re an introvert like me, and are a little bit exhausted by all the examples of go-getting extraverts making a mint doing life coaching, fear not. There are also illustrations of quiet, thoughtful initiatives; and it’s a testament to the quality and scope of the book that I was even able to see the lessons in the stories that didn’t seem to relate directly to my situation.

I actually quit my job a year ago, with nothing to go to and only a few month’s finances as a buffer. I’ve been earning quite a nice little living from the freelancing I started doing when my money finally ran out, but I’m not sure it’s the sum of everything I want to achieve in life. So this book has come at exactly the right time for me, and has inspired me to start writing again. (This blog is one way of doing that!)

So there really is no ‘wrong’ time to read it. I’ve bookmarked so many pages to go back to when I’m in need of a Positive Mental Attitude – or just some attitude 🙂 And now I want to share the love!

If you read just one book this year, make it this one. You won’t regret it.