The cities in the title of China Miéville’s latest novel are Beszel and Ul Qoma. They exist in the same geographic location but in different countries, separated profoundly by differences in government, currency, language, and custom. A building in Beszel may sit next to a building in Ul Qoma, but citizens are taught from childhood to “unsee” the buildings and people of the foreign city. A shadowy, all-powerful group called Breach enforces the division.
While investigating the murder of a visiting archeology student, Inspector Tyador Borlú of Beszel’s Extreme Crime Squad must navigate two worlds, ultimately uncovering the deepest secrets of the two cities. Complex, original, and gripping.
--Katy S.
Request The City & the City at the St. Paul Public Library.
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