It’s been a while since I’ve finished a book, let alone a 450 page one. I’m glad it got to be The City We Became by N. K. Jemisin. This has a sequel out as of last year, so I’ll have to find that one soon too!
Fair warning, this isn’t going to be a book review. If you want to know if you should read it, then I say you should, especially if you’re a fan of bizarre, eldritch themes and urban fantasy. Though I have yet to read them, Jemisin has a famously written fantasy trilogy called the Broken Earth series and has won numerous awards for her writing. Suffice to say she is well known and accomplished.
But as for The City We Became: Wow, did I not expect any of this. I tend to either stumble onto the books I read in a bookstore, while mulling over titles and inspecting the back cover blurbs, or I find out about them through Goodreads and Bookstagram friends. I don’t tend to, even accidentally, discover the details about the book, thankfully, until I start reading it.
Let’s just say I was unprepared.
For those who have read it and want to see me discuss this to heck, please continue reading.
Yes, I was unprepared. And surprised.
The City We Became starts off with our first character, who we later know as The Primary (and isn’t given a name outside of that). After a brief introduction, The Primary begins to change and uncovers that he is the living embodiment of NYC – a city avatar and a god of sorts. Most of the story concerns the five other characters, as they spend a large part of the story trying to find and protect one another. I felt a bit disappointed by this, because he is the first one we are introduced to and he emerges with such energy, only to be abandoned for most of it.
Then we learn of the other burroughs’ avatars and how this manifests for/in them. These end up being, in order of appearance: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx, Staten Island (and, near the very end, Jersey City). As they each awaken to their god-like connection to the city they must find each other and combine their powers together to fight an evil invading spirit world tentacle monster.
So a bit like … Voltron?
I definitely had Voltron, Power Rangers, and Captain Planet vibes upon getting the main premise. It was hard to take seriously at first, because I just kept imagining each of the avatars turning into a machine limb and attaching to the Primary. In essence though, this is kinda what they were doing.
The thing is, it works so well for the city of New York. There’s so much one can say about what a city is and who is a New Yorker (or any other city inhabitant). When you think about it, a place isn’t a living entity outside of the people that live there – everything about it resides within its residents. A New York attitude is mainly a mass cultural decision, in part. It’s also kind of delusional. One accepts what the culture is and then acts in that way in part to feel as if they belong there. Sometimes we’re genuinely influenced by others around us and act accordingly. You can say this about anything cultural, really.
Five Burroughs, an Optional Sixth in a World-class Power City
The City We Became is a contemplation on sociological belonging, on place and person. There are call-outs concerning things that are known within the city, such as Staten Island inhabiting racist Republicans, or Brooklyn getting evicted from her inherited property (probably just because she’s middle-aged and black). There’s the sense of acknowledgment that newcomers from around the U.S. and immigrants alike tend to make their home in NYC. They contribute to its shape and identity just as fast and easily as someone who’s spent their whole lives in the Bronx.
Also, as I was reading The City We Became I started to think of those images of bare NYC streets during Covid. I think at the time so many of us were thinking about cities, about what they mean and are. What is New York without New Yorkers?
We’re still currently undergoing massive changes to our world cities after Covid changed a few things in fundamental ways. It wouldn’t surprise me if Jemisin was thinking the same as she wrote and published this book. Perhaps it was something she was thinking of because of other changes going on prior to Covid, but it does seem extremely fitting to me to read this now in the aftermath of all of those changes.
Writing and Style
This is probably where I saw the least strength. It’s often hard for me to express why it is I like some authors’ writing styles and why others tend to fall a bit flat. It’s something in the cadence, the poetry and art of where the words fall and how. I’ve studied so much poetry, so it’s only natural for me to expect a little bit of it sometimes. Jemesin’s strengths lie elsewhere, even if I wish more were also here.
Spoiler for the Ending
The last thing I want to mention is the ending. Holy crap, I yelled out loud. That was an absolutely remarkable and gutsy decision. She must have been elated when she came up with that! For those who don’t know – Rl’yeh is a city created by H. P. Lovecraft. It imprisons Cthulu, a potentially world-ending god who drives people to madness. It makes sense to feel Lovecraft’s influence in this book, with the ghost tentacles popping up everywhere, but the blatant addition is so much more fun. I amost can’t wait to find out more in the sequel.
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