The City and the City by China Mieville

This is what we know:  Mahalia Geary is dead, murdered.

Her murder has caused an international incident, not only involving the the United States, of which she was a citizen, but the two conjoined but forever separated city-states: Beszel and Ul Qoma; the cities of the title.

Besz detective Tyador Borlu is the man on the case, but he quickly discovers that there is a good chance the murder didn't happen on his turf, but possibly instead in Ul Qoma, and if that has happened it means it is not his problem, but an issue for the border police, the Breach.

Ul Qoma and Beszel exist within the same physical space.  They share streets and parks and monuments but they are two separate political entities, two countries. Beszel is a dying city of aging infrastructure and Ul Qoma is a vibrant metropolis.  The denizens of each city learn to "unsee" those who belong to the other.  It is a legal requirement, with severe punishments for infractions, which are meted out by the Breach.

Mahalia, in her studies as an archeology student, was threatening to tip the balance of the cities in her pursuit of a third city occupying the same space, the mythical Orciny.   She had roused many enemies up to the highest levels of politics.  Even as Borlu launches an international investigation, Mahalia's best friend disappears.  Is she dead?  Is she kidnapped?  Have the Orciny or the Breach captured or killed her? Who really is the Breach?

Mieville's fantasy creates a unique world that sits within our modern one but is utterly fantastic, yet with little hint of supernatural powers.  It is a testament to Mieville's writing, that I found myself immersed and believing that there was some plausibility in the idea. I read the book in two days.  It wasn't so much the mystery of Mahalia's death, it was the fascination with the cities that kept me turning the pages.

As I read it, I found myself puzzling over where my sympathies should land.  Perhaps I should support the "unificationists" who believe there is only one city separated by a very destructive culture and political schism.  Perhaps instead I should root for those, including Borlu, who seem intent on maintaining the status quo.  ... and ultimately I had to ask myself, don't I live every day in a different city than is inhabited by other people who walk the same streets I do?  Don't you?

If you have a card from Mendocino, Lake or Sonoma Counties, you can order this book here.

~mel