SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion
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The City We Became
Group Reads Discussions 2020
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"The City We Became" First Impressions *No Spoilers*
I've read it a few months back and will gladly join spoilers discussion. I'm particularly interested if among the fellow readers are New Yorkers to heard what they think about the depictions in the book
I read the novel in the month when it came out. My first impression was rather negative. I had read Jemisin's short story collection beforehand and loved most of them. One of the very few short stories that didn't work for me was The City Born Great.I was hoping that the novel would be only loosely based on it, the way The Broken Earth was quite different from Stone Hunger. And then I open the book and it turns out that the short story became a prologue, completely unchanged :(
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Banshee wrote: "I read the novel in the month when it came out. My first impression was rather negative."I too liked it much less than her Broken Earth trilogy, but I assumed that it maybe just my high expectations. Also note that book references work by (view spoiler), and at least I'm not very familiar with the subject
Banshee wrote: "...One of the very few short stories that didn't work for me was The City Born Great..."Same for me. So I'll skip this book, but will continue to read other things by her.
I actually really enjoyed the prologue but have been feeling less attached to the story since then. Granted, I'm not really a fan of urban fantasy to begin with so that probably has something to do with my disconnect.
I liked the short story a lot, but found that I had to reset my expectations to enjoy the book - it's very different than her other novels.
Heads up! This one is on sale for $4 for kindle today if you were still looking for a copy!
I'm very familiar with NYC so I was looking forward to this one and at the start I was enjoying the references, but then I felt like it was getting too heavy-handed and I wasn't enjoying it enough to warrant continuing after page 70 or so.
If there's one thing I know about New York authors who write about New York, it's that they are firmly entrenched in the "only New Yorkers get it" mindset.So, I'm prepared for it, going in.
I'm ear-reading this one, and enjoying it so far. I am almost done with chapter 2, and looking forward to more so far. The prologue was grabbed me more than the first couple chapters - but that may just be Robin Miles' amazing reading.
I really liked the Broken Earth trilogy (of course) but the Dreamblood duology was unreadable to me and I was more iffy than not with the short story collection.I’m decidedly not a fan of urban fantasy so this is probably a “not gonna read it” from me, even though one of the main characters is a math professor like I am!
Lowell wrote: "If there's one thing I know about New York authors who write about New York, it's that they are firmly entrenched in the "only New Yorkers get it" mindset."If this is a common thing, then I will definitely avoid reading again New Yorkers writing about New York in the future. I've never even been to the US, let alone New York, and there were so many things that just went over my head in this book, already in the first chapters... (view spoiler)
Interesting. I read the book last month, and I had a very different response to it than most people who have commented on it so far. I am neither from the US nor have I been to New York or the US yet.Like most others, I nioticed that there were references I got differently than a New Yorker would, but I didn't mind that. Rather, the book had the reverse effect on me: it made me realise how often urban fantasy, while appearing to be set in our world, is actually a whole lot closer to secondary-world urban fantasy because it primarily talks about a generic urban experience. And that is something Jemisin's text specifically argues against here.
The only thing I worried about when reading it was how well the book will be understandable in the future because it's also set at a very specific socio-cultural moment. Any thoughts on that?
The other things I loved about the book I will have to talk about in the spoiler thread when it opens.
Ultimately I enjoyed the book as much as The Brokem Earth, but they work very differently.
I read it last month, enjoyable ride, looking forward to joining the full discussion!
I didn't like the short story at all, so I already had my reservations about the novel. And reading some of the impressions here I think I'm going to skip it - till it shows up in the award shortlists, when I eventually have to read it :D.
Finished the prologue. Enjoyed it. I like urban fantasy so I'm hoping I will enjoy the rest of the book.
I have to admit the writing style is very hard for me to get into, but at least it's not 2nd body POV?I'm not an American and only spent a total of 2 weeks in NYC in my lifetime (so far, I hope!) , but this is making me miss it :')
Curious to see where this is going.
I read "The City Born Great" last year and enjoyed it and don't really mind that it became the prologue here. After the "Interruption" and (almost all of) the first chapter, I'm definitely very intrigued and looking forward to reading more.
I read the book when it came out and I absolutely loved it. But urban fantasy is one of my favorite genres, I adore Jemisin's writing and I know NYC quite well. I honestly don't know if I could enjoy such a novel about a city I've never been to. I'm curious to see what people unfamiliar with the city think about it.
I went to NYC for the first time last year and while my stay wasn't long enough for me to claim I know the city, it is nice to have mental images for some of the places mentioned and at least a (admittedly very, very limited) glimpse of what the city feels like.(Aside: Beforehand, I was a bit worried that NYC would be too big and overwhelming for me - I grew up in a tiny town and have been living in small-to-mid-sized towns for most of my adult life (except for a semester in Paris) - but I got there and felt like a fish in water.)
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Read this one a few months ago; it felt like I was rolling a boulder uphill and not in a good way either. As for NYC, I went a few years ago and hated it. I cut short my trip and left after 2 days. The people/city as a whole seemed manic and self-destructive.
For those struggling in the beginning, I recommend pushing through - I struggled too, and flirted with quitting in the first few chapters. I'm glad I didn't. When the plot picks up, it really picks up. It's not one of the books I enjoyed the most, but it's one I respect for what it did - this is a book of big, bold ideas. For what it's worth, I didn't much like The Fifth Season; I thought this was much better.I've been to NYC once or twice, but only the big tourist areas, and I knew nothing about the boroughs aside from associating Manhattan with wealth. At first the references bothered me because my lack of familiarity meant I didn't know what was going on, but Jemisin adds information steadily enough that I started to appreciate the distinct flavor of each area.
Allison wrote: "NYC was "the City" when I was growing up. We'd go for Christmas and to see shows and school field trips. I have had great times there, but it's always sensory overload."I totally agree with that sensory overload description. As mentioned, great to visit but not very relaxing place for me.
@bookish I feel like I have to stand up for NYC a bit, I've been here over 15 years and I think one attribute I'd give it is that it is pretty varied with lots of different types of peoples and institutions. There probably are manic/destructive elements, but also lots of other kinds as well. I would agree the most touristy sections like Times Sq aren't a great environment. But Tor's offices are here so much of the science fiction we read gets published in NYC as well.That said I agree about this particular book.
I liked the MWT tweak in the concept, but could have done without all the partisan rhetoric. My family moved west just about every generation (two to three centuries) until it got to me and the Pacific Ocean. I tend to see the Eastern Establishment as irredeemably corrupt, or at least personally irrelevant.
Christopher wrote: "@bookish I feel like I have to stand up for NYC a bit, I've been here over 15 years and I think one attribute I'd give it is that it is pretty varied with lots of different types of peoples and ins..."Go for it :)
I struggled getting in the city vibes as well at the start (view spoiler) I even tried to listen with some NY city sounds from Spotify, just to be more immersive. Could not help comparing it with the Rivers of London series, it was easier to immerse myself within that one. Note that I have yet to visit both London and NYC.
Silvana wrote: "Could not help comparing it with the Rivers of London series, it was easier to immerse myself within that one. Note that I have yet to visit both London and NYC."I haven't thought about such a comparison but, yes, Ben Aaronovitch's series is easier to get into... and his first volume for me was stronger than this book
After three chapters, I’m enjoying myself quite a bit. It’s invigorating to read something that’s written with so much energy as Jemisin is bringing to it. I’m curious to see where it’s going. In some ways, it feels like a more assured, confident, artful version of the sort of urban fantasy that was attempted (but, in my opinion, which failed to coalesce) in Shadowshaper. Anyone else see parallels there?
Yeah, my brain went back to Shadowshapers a few times. I think one of the central differences for me is that Jemisin's characters felt a lot more rounded out than the ones we met in Shadowshapers. And I think something similar could be said for the worldbuilding/fantastic elements and how all these things eventually came together.
Yes, I'm also getting the Shadowshapers vibe - put Jemisin's prose is just masterly. Not sure if I'll like the whole book yet, but so far it's just so beautifully written.
I saw N. K. Jemisin tweet about a Spotify playlist she made to accompany this trilogy and thought I'd share it.Her tweet reads
"Oh, also, I made a playlist for the Great Cities trilogy. Some of it's songs directly referenced in the book, some's just mood music. Heavy on 80s & 90s East Coast hip hop, so cw for n-word, sexism, homophobia, drug & gun references, and the kitchen sink."
Link: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7hi...
Thanks Mareike! I love when authors share their book related playlists! ^_^ Especially if music plays a role in the book.
You're welcome!I'm the same. I wish I had known about this playlist while reading the book.
Wow, thank you so much for the playlist link - awesome! Though I'll probably listen in between reading, not while reading, since it's hard for me to focus against songs with lyrics - my brain wants to focus on both things at once then.
Eva wrote: "- right from the start, we have awesome white girl Madison helping defeat tha anemone thing near the bridge and being eccentric and not racist at all"I usually write 'most' because I recall her. The girl maybe gets a pass because(view spoiler)
Please remember that this thread is for very initial impressions only! The spoiler thread is open for further discussion.
Sorry, I'm still at the start myself which is why I put it here, but I'll move it over to the spoiler thread. Just please nobody spoil any endings for me there!
I know it sucks we have to do it this way! There are probably lots of ending related spoilers in the spoiler thread, so it's on you to not see them.Again, pressure on GR to fix how spoiler tags behave on different mobile devices is the only thing we can do to move towards a more BR style BOTM discussion.
Yes - I think the moment somebody designs a better page with a "import library and reviews from GR" function, everyone will move over there.But it's fine and I can usually skip my eyes over spoilers unless they're right at the start of something without any hint a spoiler is coming.
Anna wrote: "Please remember that this thread is for very initial impressions only! ."I hid the quote, even if it doesn't affect the story. You're correct, I just assumed it was a spoiler thread, because I follow new post notifications
Thanks Oleksandr, that's what I sorta assumed :)
I just finished reading The Broken Earth Trilogy, so I kinda already knew that Jemisin had a distinct writing style, but, oh boy, I was not prepared for the writing style of this book. I've only read the first chapter and I can confidently say that this book will be a hit or miss for me. If I'm able to let the style aside for the narrative or if Jemisin is able to completely sell me that style, I'll be sold. But if none of this happens, I will finish out of sheer willpower of not abandoning any book I started reading.Even with this, there is so much soul in Jemisin's writing that, even if don't like the book as a whole, I know that I'll find great things here and there that'll make me appreciate the work in some level. We'll see how things go, then.
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Starting on chapter one and liking it better than I expected to. Style seems toned down I guess once we get to the book.
I am half expecting to DNF based on the reactions of other group members whose opinions I trust but we’ll see. Maybe it will be a nice surprise.
For the record, I haven’t been to New York since I was a child and even then it was only for a couple of days for a wedding. Saw the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building, but couldn’t go to the top because it was too windy that day IIRC.
I really enjoyed this one. For those who haven't read it yet, it is the Audible book of the day today available for $5.95.
I have been struggling so much with this one, I kept giving up and then later re-starting. However, I am happy to report that if you push through, it gets better. This is my 4th re-start and I'm finally beginning to enjoy it.
This is my 1st time commenting in this discussion group, and well, new to any book discussion group. I read the prologue and kind of struggled to get through it. I have never read anything by the author, and the style was like something out of a weird fever dream. However, I have faith that the book was chosen for a good reason, so I continued through the 1st chapter. Now I am intrigued! Looking forward to reading the rest!
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Content warnings for those who want them: (view spoiler)[ mental health discussions, extreme racism, misogyny, homophobia, anti-Semitism (portrayal of nazis), sexual assault, child abuse. discussion of domestic violence and drug use linked to homelessness (hide spoiler)]