The City We Became by N. K. Jemisin Published by Orbit on March 24, 2020
Genres: Action & Adventure, Contemporary, Fantasy, Fiction, Magical Realism
Pages: 448
Format: eARC
Goodreads
A young grad student gets off the train, no knowledge of his identity. Questioned, he claims the first identity he sees: Manny (Manhattan). At some level, he can feel that his past had tones of overpowering violence, but as yet is unable to comprehend the full picture. As he enters the city, he can feel the power held within, the very essence flows through him. He is not alone.
Throughout the city, there are others like him. Physical avatars of the other boroughs of the city, the call to join together to help heal the primary avatar and overcome an invading evil weaving its tentacles through the very essence of what makes New York the diverse city it has become.
Words cannot describe the poetic power that resides within the pages of this book. We often refer to the soul of a city, but what if a city had an actual soul? A soul so strong that it takes the form of a human avatar?
This is but just the start of a new series of great cities; I found it quite fitting that New York be the first. The great city of New York, its very existence threatened by a Woman in White who threatens gentrification through force, ignoring the brilliant beauty in the diversity of those who inhabit the city.
Jemisin excels at story-telling, this frighteningly so close to reality world is no different. While I could have rushed through my reading of this book, I found myself intentionally pausing, putting the book down, refusing to allow the conclusion. There isn’t a single aspect of this book that I can critique, so instead I shall sit back and commend its absolute brilliance.
Though labeled as fantasy, readers will pick up on stark and frightening realities that exist in our very real, very terrifying world. As I read this book, we are all watching citizens of New York as they are forced to join together an fight against the enemy that is COVID-19. Jemisin describes a city as a family that must come together to protect one another, for fear of death. Did it not send chills down my spine when I realized that the very moment I closed this book, the 7:00 PM hour, is the very moment New Yorkers come together through cheers and applause, to thank the first responders as they battle this horrific enemy?
This is the first book I’ve given five stars to in some time; likely the last. This is a book that everyone should be reading, fans of fantasy or not. Highly, highly recommended.
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