448 pages
English language
Published Aug. 8, 2020 by Little, Brown Book Group Limited.
In Manhattan, a young grad student gets off the train and realizes he doesn't remember who he is, where he's from, or even his own name. But he can sense the beating heart of the city, see its history, and feel its power. In the Bronx, a Lenape gallery director discovers strange graffiti scattered throughout the city, so beautiful and powerful it's as if the paint is literally calling to her. In Brooklyn, a politician and mother finds she can hear the songs of her city, pulsing to the beat of her Louboutin heels. And they're not the only ones.
Unusual story, interesting universe. If I had spent more time in New York at some point in my life, I probably would have gotten more out of it, so I'm hoping that maybe one of the sequels takes place somewhere I've actually lived.
The City We Became is urban fantasy, in that it features a bunch of magical stuff happening in a modern day city. It's also urban fantasy in that it is about cities. People are cities and cities are people, and not in a metaphorical way, but in a more supernatural and literal way.
N. K. Jemisin manages to channel the spirit of New York City (where the novel's action focuses) through the novel's characters, without resorting to tired and popular stereotypes of the city and its people. While in a way the book is an ode to New York, it also doesn't shy away from some of its more dark and shameful aspects. All of this is wrapped up in writing that manages to be evocative and sufficiency casual to flow well. The book paints an engaging picture of both the real New York, and its fictional, supernatural, embodied New …
The City We Became is urban fantasy, in that it features a bunch of magical stuff happening in a modern day city. It's also urban fantasy in that it is about cities. People are cities and cities are people, and not in a metaphorical way, but in a more supernatural and literal way.
N. K. Jemisin manages to channel the spirit of New York City (where the novel's action focuses) through the novel's characters, without resorting to tired and popular stereotypes of the city and its people. While in a way the book is an ode to New York, it also doesn't shy away from some of its more dark and shameful aspects. All of this is wrapped up in writing that manages to be evocative and sufficiency casual to flow well. The book paints an engaging picture of both the real New York, and its fictional, supernatural, embodied New York.
The one complaint to level against the book is against the arc of the plot. The novel feels more like a series of superhero fights, leading up t a bigger superhero fight, with some twists along the way, and a somewhat rushed conclusion. This can, however, probably be chalked up to it being only the first entry in a trilogy, and this being what the genre is.
I think that if I lived in New York, or if I had even been there once, I would have considered it great. As it is, this was as fictional a setting as any other.
The ending might have been the best ending for the story Jemisin was telling, but it felt very sudden and rushed and glossed over to me.
## Why I Picked It Up ##
Read all of the Fifth Season books and Jemisin instantly became one of my favorite authors. I was excited to see what she did with some more realistic, urban fantasy.
## What I Liked ##
I like the premise of sort of modern gods, living embodiments of the Great Cities.
## What I Didn't Like ##
Aislyn was creepy. I never could tell whether she was despicable or sympathetic. Maybe this should go under What I Liked. She was an interesting character. …
I think that if I lived in New York, or if I had even been there once, I would have considered it great. As it is, this was as fictional a setting as any other.
The ending might have been the best ending for the story Jemisin was telling, but it felt very sudden and rushed and glossed over to me.
## Why I Picked It Up ##
Read all of the Fifth Season books and Jemisin instantly became one of my favorite authors. I was excited to see what she did with some more realistic, urban fantasy.
## What I Liked ##
I like the premise of sort of modern gods, living embodiments of the Great Cities.
## What I Didn't Like ##
Aislyn was creepy. I never could tell whether she was despicable or sympathetic. Maybe this should go under What I Liked. She was an interesting character.
Like I said earlier, I didn't care the ending that much. Felt super rushed.
## Who I'd Recommend It To ##
Any big fans of New York City. If you know anything about the boroughs, you'll probably enjoy how they work together and relate to each other.
Urban fantasy fans.
Anybody who wants to see representation in fantasy: BIPOC main characters, LGBTQ and trans characters.
Absolutely delightful. Anyone who lives in a city and has to be in constant battle with gentrification and all the other overwhelming machinations of the white supremacist, capitalist, patriarchy will feel this one to their bones.
Lovecraftian horror isn't usually my thing, but this was awesome
Very good book, enjoyed the plot which did not follow tried and true characters and plots for the story. A little slow to get into it, did not want to put the book down by the end.
I was I was more in the habit of recording my progress, because I think it took me almost all of this month to get through the first 50% of this book, then the next 20% took a couple of days and I read the rest today.
Now pandemic fatigue is probably partially to blame for this, I've been reading slow all year, but I think there's a pattern in my reading of Jemisin's book where it takes me a long time to get into them, and longer and longer with each book. I keep going because I trust the author, not because the book pulls me in.
Because once they pull me in they are magnificent, and this one is no different. It is an amazing, innovative, unusual book that works on many levels and works well. The only level I can't tell if works or not is in …
I was I was more in the habit of recording my progress, because I think it took me almost all of this month to get through the first 50% of this book, then the next 20% took a couple of days and I read the rest today.
Now pandemic fatigue is probably partially to blame for this, I've been reading slow all year, but I think there's a pattern in my reading of Jemisin's book where it takes me a long time to get into them, and longer and longer with each book. I keep going because I trust the author, not because the book pulls me in.
Because once they pull me in they are magnificent, and this one is no different. It is an amazing, innovative, unusual book that works on many levels and works well. The only level I can't tell if works or not is in being a book about New York, and maybe that also deserves some of the blame for my slow progress. This books is super about NY, NY. And although I've been there once I'm not a fan of that city, or any city really. But I'm still picking up the next book in this trilogy whenever it hits the shelves.
This book was unlike anything I've read before (which is totes what I say every time I read one of Jemisin's books, but yanno). I loved how far out this one is, and how vividly I could see all of this coming together in my head even when the prose didn't... super make sense. There was some scifi/fantasy plodding at moments, and some of the characters didn't get as much airtime/development as others, but by and large this was a wild ride, exceedingly creative, and highly recommended. PS: I <3 Bronca and I hope she's in the next one!
I rarely think, "this would be better as a graphic novel", but strong vibes in the first third. It improved, unexpectedly, as it wove in heavy threads of current racial injustice and lovecraft-but-confronting-his-racism-head-on. Ultimately, a love story to NYC and tragic superheroes, which I'm just not enough in love with.
A love letter to NYC, which I don't know so that part fell flat. Also a love letter to Lovecraft, except make the bad guys into white dudes instead of immigrants, foreigners, and PoC. Which, you know, fair enough -- scary. The city idea felt new enough that I don't know why all the Lovecraft love was needed. It could have stood on its own without referencing and borrowing from Lovecraft's lore so much.
I don’t know which I loved more, the concept of this breakneck, visionary tale – which makes massive cities intimately human without sacrificing their scale – or the glorious diversity of its cast. This book made me miss New York City even more than I already do, which is saying something. I’m also a big fan of people taking elements of the Lovecraftian mythos and doing things with it that fly in the face of Lovecraft’s prejudices. I wrestle with the concept of “The Death of the Author” on a case-by-case basis. Sometimes it works for me and other times I cannot get past OR financially support a creator, no matter how fond I am of something they created (I’m looking at you, J. K. Rowling). But I love the idea of taking amazing things created by problematic people and doing something wonderful with then, which is exactly what N.K. …
I don’t know which I loved more, the concept of this breakneck, visionary tale – which makes massive cities intimately human without sacrificing their scale – or the glorious diversity of its cast. This book made me miss New York City even more than I already do, which is saying something. I’m also a big fan of people taking elements of the Lovecraftian mythos and doing things with it that fly in the face of Lovecraft’s prejudices. I wrestle with the concept of “The Death of the Author” on a case-by-case basis. Sometimes it works for me and other times I cannot get past OR financially support a creator, no matter how fond I am of something they created (I’m looking at you, J. K. Rowling). But I love the idea of taking amazing things created by problematic people and doing something wonderful with then, which is exactly what N.K. Jemisin is doing with this new series of books.
3.5 rounded up.
Robin Miles gives an amazing performance, having to cover so many accents, NYC or otherwise. Extra kudos to her.
The tale is a little too heavy on the allegory, and I still cannot get into N.K. Jemisin’s action sequences (same for Broken Earth…) but I really did like the anti-Lovecraft stuff, and she has a lot of excellent lines. I have only visited NY, and don’t know it well, but all the Boroughs were recognizable to me (if only through my own stereotypes due to American media). I couldn’t really come to like many of the characters (even though I thought they were really well fleshed out). They are a product of their city I suppose, and have to play to the stereotypes for the story to work out. Soooo many F-bombs! People revere New York in the same way that other people revere Sparta. Reading various …
3.5 rounded up.
Robin Miles gives an amazing performance, having to cover so many accents, NYC or otherwise. Extra kudos to her.
The tale is a little too heavy on the allegory, and I still cannot get into N.K. Jemisin’s action sequences (same for Broken Earth…) but I really did like the anti-Lovecraft stuff, and she has a lot of excellent lines. I have only visited NY, and don’t know it well, but all the Boroughs were recognizable to me (if only through my own stereotypes due to American media). I couldn’t really come to like many of the characters (even though I thought they were really well fleshed out). They are a product of their city I suppose, and have to play to the stereotypes for the story to work out. Soooo many F-bombs! People revere New York in the same way that other people revere Sparta. Reading various histories and accounts it seems like such a brutal place, where survival is paramount — not particularly civilized. Despite that I enjoyed the tour. Surely I missed some of the fine detail, but NK Jemisin’s love for the city definitely came though. This is a protest novel exactly for our times. I don’t know if it will be a classic, but it will certainly serve as a useful snapshot of These Days.
I expected to like this more. I liked parts of it, from the "love letter to New York" feel that reminded me of [a:Jacob Zimmerman|7120055|Jacob Zimmerman|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1442890564p2/7120055.jpg]'s [b:The New York Magician|18019533|The New York Magician|Jacob Zimmerman|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1370283997l/18019533.SY75.jpg|25290776] to the "people as abstract concepts" theme reminiscent of [b:American Gods|30165203|American Gods (American Gods, #1)|Neil Gaiman|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1462924585l/30165203.SY75.jpg|1970226]. Books I loved!
With that as background, and as someone who lives in New Jersey and occasionally pops into New York for work or fun, I should be a target audience. But the hook never really landed. Ah well.
absolute perfection.
A whisked read, not as polished as The Broken Earth series.
