I’m a bit startled how long it’s taken me to read a NK Jemisin book. I own multiple volumes of her work, but I was never in the mood, or had little time. Luckily, our sapphic book club gave me the push I needed to pick up The City We Became. 

When travelogues chronicle cities, they often speak of a city’s “pulse,” “soul,” or “lifeblood.” We layer the human body onto the map, and NK Jemisin takes this concept and runs. New York’s boroughs each have a scion, an avatar of their history and their inhabitants, and together they must safely wake a single New York City avatar into this modern age. No sooner have these people learned their destines then something goes horribly wrong. The Woman in White’s tentacles invade, homogenizes, and gentrify. 

Too often in speculative fiction, an author has really cool ideas, but lacks the skills to communicate or execute them in an accessible and entertaining manner. I say “an author,” but I 100% mean myself, haha. Shit’s hard! I’m no NK Jemisin. The City We Became’s Lovecraftian metaphysics and non-Euclidian geometry are delightful. I love how unflinching this book’s ode to New York City is. Jemisin refuses to gloss over the metropolis’ weighty problems while also raising up that’s good about the place. I used to actively hate NYC and wish it would disappear into the ocean. Now I only passively hate it, like a true New Yorker. For all the characters are metaphors for their neighborhoods, they’re distinct, loveable, and memorable individuals too. Even the villain, the Woman in White, is complicated and sympathetic: the “aren’t I what you made me?” speech haunted. As much as I wanted Bronca to crush her to death with her boots, I equally hoped the Woman would find another, less harmful way to be. 

The City We Became is a gritty, uplifting story about the strength found in diversity and community. White supremacy, colonialism, homophobia, and the other evils of the world may seem insurmountable, but they break first. Definitely hunting down the sequel!