The City We Became: A Novel (The Great Cities Trilogy, 1)
An instant NYT Bestseller! Four-time Hugo Award-winning author N.K. Jemisin crafts her most incredible novel yet, the first book in The Great Cities Duology, a crackling tale of culture, identity, magic, and myths in contemporary New York City. "A glorious fantasy." --Neil Gaiman 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. Every great city has a soul. Some are ancient as myths, and others are as new and destructive as children. New York? She's got six. One of TIME Magazine's 100 Best Fantasy Books of all time
One of TIME Magazine's 100 Must-Read Books of 2020
One of Vanity Fair's 15 Best Books of 2020
One of Amazon's Best Books of 2020
The Great Cities Duology
The City We Became
The World We Make
One of TIME Magazine's 100 Must-Read Books of 2020
One of Vanity Fair's 15 Best Books of 2020
One of Amazon's Best Books of 2020
The Great Cities Duology
The City We Became
The World We Make
BUY THE BOOK
Community Reviews
This is a strange book, but I guess you probably already know that if you've read the description. I really struggled to get into it, and I suspect I would have enjoyed it more if I was from NYC, where the embodiments of the boroughs would strike me as true and identifiable. Instead, the characters felt sort of cardboard, and I struggled to connect with them. How do you empathize with a stereotype? That said, it was a unique way to write about the City and its demons, and for folks who enjoy Lovecraftian horror and B monster movies, this definitely delivers.
I don’t even know where to begin about how well thought out and well written this book was. I didn’t know what to expect. I was so uncertain where the story was headed. As it unfolded I couldn’t stop listening. The characters and messages within the book were so strong it was easy to enjoy the story. I am very excited for the next book.
I read this with a couple friends as a sort of impromptu mini book club. I would recommend it for a book club as there are a lot of interesting concepts in terms of the fantasy and social commentary. As one of my friends put it, this book definitely goes by the idea that "subtlety is for cowards" and most of the social commentary is completely overt. Our group was mixed in how much they liked how heavy handed it was. Some found it refreshing, others found it broke immersion in the story. One of the characters, to me, was especially unbearable and I would groan when I got to her chapters. The fantasy aspect of the human avatars of cities was amazing and I loved the concept of using constructs to channel their power.
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