The City We Became
N.K. Jemisin, 2020
Orbit Books
448 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780316509848
Summary
N.K. Jemisin crafts her most incredible novel yet, a story of culture, identity, magic, and myths in contemporary New York City.
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. (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
• Birth—September 19, 1972
• Where—Iowa City, Iowa, USA
• Raised—New York City, New York; Mobil, Alabama
• Education—B.S., Tulane University; M.Ed., University of Maryland
• Awards—(below)
• Currently—New York City, New York
Nora K. Jemisin is an American author, whom The New York Times has called "the most celebrated science fiction and fantasy writer of her generation." Her fiction explores a wide variety of themes, including cultural conflict and oppression.
Jemisin has won numerous awards, including Hugo Awards for Best Novel in 2016, 2017, and 2018— for her entire Broken Earth trilogy—making her the only author to have won a Hugo Best Novel for three consecutive years. She was also the first African-American writer to have won in the Hugo best novel category.
Background
Jemisin was born in Iowa City, Iowa, and grew up in New York City and Mobile, Alabama. She attended Tulane University from 1990 to 1994, where she received a B.S. in psychology. She went on to study counseling and earn her M.Ed. from the University of Maryland.
Jemisin worked for years as a psychologal counselor while writing on the side. In 2016, she mounted a fund-raising campaign on Patreon, earning enough to enable her to quit her work as a therapist and devote herself to writing fulltime.
In January of that same year, Bustle called Jemisin "the sci-fi writer every woman needs to be reading." In 2017, Jemisin started writing "Otherworldly," a bimonthly column for The New York Times.
Major Sci-Fi Works
— Inheritance Trilogy
2010 - The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms
2010 - The Broken Kingdoms
2011 - The Kingdom of Gods
2014 - The Awakened Kingdom (sequel to trilogy, novella)
2015 - Shades in Shadow (prequel to trilogy, short stories)
— Dreamblood Duology
2012- The Killing Moon
2012 -The Shadowed Sun
— Broken Earth series
2015 - The Fifth Season
2016 - The Obelisk Gate
2017 - The Stone Sky
Awards
2010 - Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Award, Best Fantasy Novel (The Broken Kingdoms)
2011 - Locus Award, Best First Novel (The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms)
2011 - Sense of Gender Award (The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms)
2012 - Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Award, Best Fantasy Novel 2012 (The Shadowed Sun)
2016 - Hugo Award, Best Novel (The Fifth Season)
2017 - Hugo Award, Best Novel (The Obelisk Gate)
2018 - Nebula Award, Best Novel (The Stone Sky)
2018 - Locus Award, Best Fantasy (The Stone Sky)
2018 - Hugo Award, Best Novel (The Stone Sky)
2019 - American Library Association's Alex Award (How Long 'til Black Future Month?)
(Author Bio adapted from Wikipedia. Retrieved 3/12/2020.)
Book Reviews
The book is rich and generous…. The Enemy is white supremacy, police brutality, gentrification, but the book doesn’t waste time arguing that those things are evil…. Instead, its main project is one of bridge-building, knitting communities togethet…. While the whole project is enjoyably looser, faster, jokier than Jemisin’s other novels, [some] passages… make it feel less disciplined or anchored in its rhetoric than her fantasy worlds…. Mostly, though, my experience of this book was of a white-knuckled grip…. It’s a joyful shout, a reclamation and a call to arms.
Amal El-Mohtar - New York Times Book Review
[S]heer moxie and sly humor…. The City We Became ends on a high note, but it makes no concession that the fight for a more equitable world is over. In both fiction and reality, it’s barely started.
Elizabeth Hand - Washington Post
What is most remarkable, given the pulp energy of this classic struggle against eldritch evils, is that The City We Became is also an astute interrogation of the realities of New York life.… Jemison’s characters are far more than allegories, although each rather cleverly reflects their respective boroughs…. [The novel] is meticulously grounded in the familiar, but is just as wildly imaginative and thought-provoking and a lot of fun along the way.
Gary K. Wollfe - Chicago Tribune
The City We Became… is, in a way, a metaphor for Jemisin's success… at redefining the science fiction and fantasy genre—a genre that has long been defined by the tastes and stories of mostly white men…. My only real issue with the book is that it comes to a relatively abrupt end. I want to binge on the entire series right now, which is the ultimate magic and allure of Jemisin's work. She pulls you into her world and makes you want more; she makes you want to stay there forever.
Steve Mullis - NPR
(Starred review) [S]staggering contemporary fantasy…. Blending the concept of the multiverse with New York City arcana, this novel works as both a wry adventure and an incisive look at a changing city. Readers will be thrilled.
Publishers Weekly
(Starred review) Jemisin writes a harsh love story to one of America's most famous places. As raw and vibrant as the city itself, the prose pushes the boundaries of fantasy and brings home what residents already know—their city is alive. —Kristi Chadwick, Massachusetts Lib. Syst., Northampton
Library Journal
(Starred review) Some of the most exciting and powerful fantasy writing of today... Jemisin's latest will attract ... even those who don't typically read genre fiction.
Booklist
(Starred review) This extremely urban fantasy… The novel is a bold calling out of the racial tensions dividing not only New York City, but the U.S. as a whole…. Although the story is a fantasy, many aspects of the plot draw on contemporary incidents.… Fierce, poetic, uncompromising.
Kirkus Reviews
Discussion Questions
We'll add publisher questions if and when they're available; in the meantime, use our LitLovers talking points to help start a discussion for THE CITY WE BECAME … then take off on your own:
1. Start by considering the unusual form this alien force takes in attacking New York City. What do you make of it: how does it operate? What is its intent?
2. (Follow-up to Question 1) What urban weaknesses does the monster exploit? What is it about city-life that makes it vulnerable, as opposed to, say, small-town or rural life?
3. Jemisin writes that "Great cities are like any other living things": they gestate and then are born and eventually die. In between a city can cohere, coming together like a living organism. What is Jemisin's vision here? What does she mean?
4. The author also writes:
A city is never alone, not really—and this city seems less solitary than most. More like a family: many parts, frequently squabbling … but in the end, against enemies, they come together to protect one another. They must, or die.
Is "coming together" possible? Do divisions in our society and culture allow for mutuality? What does it take? If threats unite us in action, will the union last once the threat has passed?
5. Why are the particular five avatars in The City We Became chosen to square off against the White Woman? What qualities do they bring, or not bring, to the fight? If you're familiar with New York City, how does each of the Avators reflect the borough they come from?
m. Metaphorically, what does the enemy represent?
6. Jemisin states one of the themes of her work: "There ain't no one way to be a part of this city." Consider the meaning of this remark and why it is so central to Jemisin's story.
7. Manhattan avatar's "construct" to fight the woman in the park is "money talks, bullshit walks." What is his meaning?
8. Jemisin weaves into her plot the history and demography of each of the boroughs. Did you find the information interesting, did it enhance the story for you? Or did you find that it slowed the pace and distracted you from the action?
9. Jemisin tackles social issues that plague urban environments: gentrification, rising rents, corporatization of neighborhoods, and racism. How does she demonstrate each of these issues in The City We Became?
10. What was your sense of the book's ending: one of hope and possibility … or one of dismay and fear?
(Questions by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online and off, with attribution. Thanks.)