Book Review: The City & The City by China Miéville
In a concise, spoken YouTube review, the reviewer rates China Miéville’s novel The City & The City as a “half brilliant” on their personal “Brilliant to Bollocks” scale. They describe the book as a dystopian, noir work reminiscent of 1984, praising its writing style and the author’s exploration of a “seeing and unseeing” premise that reflects contemporary political nuances. The reviewer, identifying as neurodiverse, found parts of the narrative confusing and relied on the TV adaptation to fully grasp the plot, noting that some descriptive passages seemed deliberately opaque for later reveals, which hindered their understanding. Overall, they appreciate the noir elements but feel the hidden exposition detracted from their experience, leading to the moderate rating.
