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Loading... The City in the Middle of the Night (edition 2019)by Charlie Jane Anders (Author)
Work InformationThe City in the Middle of the Night by Charlie Jane Anders
  
Books Read in 2019 (17) » 15 more Top Five Books of 2020 (815) Top Five Books of 2019 (145) Female Author (1,036) hypatian_kat to-read (59) No current Talk conversations about this book.  raschneid | Dec 19, 2023 |    ) lschiff | Sep 24, 2023 | In the end, I would recommend this book to science fiction fans – just don't read it expecting a light, fluffy, quick read. clacksee | Dec 12, 2022 |  ) awesomejen2 | Jun 21, 2022 | ) wideblacksky | Mar 19, 2022 |
This is a long novel, and it’s not in a hurry to get where it’s going. Anders’s plotting isn’t thin, exactly; it’s just that storyline isn’t what she finds most interesting. Instead she draws the reader into the socio-political detail of her imagined world ... This is a millennial’s novel, featuring young people trying to make their way through an uncaring, corrupt and intermittently violent world. If this middle-aged reviewer found it sometimes hard to like the dramatis personae, that doubtless says more about the gap between real-world generations than about the novel. Though sometimes judgmental and self-righteous, Anders’s characters are also emotionally sophisticated and passionate, and this is heartfelt and absorbing fiction. Anders... has given us an original protagonist in the awkward and open Sophie, who feels an otherness to her core. Her love for Bianca is as pure as it is misplaced. Readers will recognize their own Biancas in this story, as well as their own personal tragedies. The City in the Middle of the Night may be set light-years away, but it’s likely to hit too close to home. I never thought I would describe a book as painting a story entirely in different shades of anxiety, but Anders nails the feelings of claustrophobia, fear of acceptance, inferiority and loss of identity all in the span of 360 pages ... The City in the Middle of the Night does not end cleanly, and perhaps it’s fitting that a story so well grounded in realistic and relatable protagonists ends with such an unsatisfying tilt. In this novel, Anders has lovingly crafted a unique world, and finishes with a wild twist that left me endlessly interested in the next book of the series. Anders weaves an intricate tale of colonialism and evolution on both physical and social levels. The harsh world and well-developed characters combine with stunning storytelling that will capture readers' minds and hearts. Watching Sophie come into her own and gradually (and almost too late) realize that the Bianca she loves doesn’t exist is inevitable, sad, and, eventually, empowering ... Anders contains multitudes; it’s always a fascinating and worthwhile surprise to see what she comes up with next. AwardsDistinctions
""If you control our sleep, then you can own our dreams . . . And from there, it's easy to control our entire lives." The bestselling author of All the Birds in the Sky returns with a strange, haunting, and deeply human tale. Sophie serves coffee at an underground cafe. She stays in the shadows and listens to the troubles of the parlor guests, but does not draw attention to herself for one simple reason: Sophie is supposed to be dead. When a nationalistic revolution forces Sophie from her safe haven, she must make a dangerous journey to a new city, one that revels in hedonism and chaos. After joining up with a band of smugglers, she finds herself on a long and treacherous path that will lead her far closer to the truth of her entire world---and to the dangers that lurk even in the light of day" -- No library descriptions found. |
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 Google Books — Loading...GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813.6Literature English (North America) American fiction 21st CenturyLC ClassificationRatingAverage: (3.65)
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Wikipedia in English
8
This novel flows in an organic way that I found very pleasing, although it may not be to all tastes. I loved the worldbuilding, particularly Xiosphant, a byzantine city-state that reads like a mid-century dystopian novel come to three-dimensional life (and in the process, losing some of its horror).
I loved, loved, loved Mouth, a nomad with a tragic past and a chip on her shoulder who, in the theater of my mind, is played by Frances McDormand with a mohawk. She is a beautiful, utterly unique character and the emotional heart of this novel. (Also, someone please write crossover fic where she hangs out with Jaeger to bitch about the evils of sedentary living.)
I loved the Gelet and getting to spend time in a society organized around such a radically different experience of empathy. Sophie's connection with the Gelet was more compelling to me than her hopeless love for Bianca. Bianca's an elusive character without (seemingly) much there there, which is probably the point, but their relationship didn't resonate as much with me as, say, Mouth's and Alyssa's.
Finally, I want to give Charlie Jane Anders props for giving her colony world a history rooted in real Earth cultures, which is a necessary antidote to how white American science fiction writers have historically written about space civilizations. She talks about her writing process on her podcast with Annalee Newitz, Our Opinions Are Correct - it's worth a listen. (