The city we became characters5/22/2023 So here, Jemisin has written a love letter to New York about how its personality is embedded in its inhabitants, but where she sees it as a celebration my experience (albeit limited) makes me go ‘yeah, so what’. My visit to New York made me think that the whole place is dishing out it’s bad vibes and attitude as though it is part of a game to appear as obnoxious as possible. It is true, that towns and cities do have vibes and personalities but these are often accentuated in culture and the reality when you go and have a look yourself is rather different. The novel appealed to me because New York seems to me the only place in the world I have visited where I felt the whole city was performative, like the populace was taking part in a giant LARP about New York. I suppose I should get something out of the way first. These avatars, representing New York City must save the city from some kind of extra-dimensional Lovecraftian horror. The premise of the novel is quite unique – cities are personified as types of avatars in actual real people, people whose characteristics in some way embody the city. ‘The City We Became’ had a confused start, an intriguing and thought-provoking core, but ultimately drifted into quite a boring and unsatisfying conclusion.
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