“Living For The City”
“I hope you hear inside my voice of sorrow
And that it motivates you to make a better tomorrow
This place is cruel no where could be much colder
If we don't change the world will soon be over
Living just enough, stop giving just enough for the city”
-Living for the City x Stevie Wonder
The City We Became x N.K. Jemisin is a love letter to one of the greatest cities in the world (ask a New Yorker, they’ll tell you) and to the people and classes of people that make cities worth living in: creators, strivers, dreamers, doers, longterm residents, and those willing to fight for what they love. When I first heard about The City We Became, I was in no questions asked. I ordered the book a few weeks, months, years ago when shelter-in-place started for me and waited.
I’ve found that so much of my experience in reading a book depends on when in my life I’m encountering it. By the time it arrived on my doorstep I had had several weeks of wondering what would become of my city and cities across the United States and around the world in the aftermath of quarantining and sheltering-in-place in the age of COVID-19. so this book hit different, as the kids say.
The premise is that cities are living, dynamic entities-anyone who lives in or has visited one probably knows and feels this to be true, but Jemisin works magic by looping us into a secret about how easy it is for the essence of cities to die. Our story starts with a Prologue by an unnamed character that was so potent I couldn’t help but be drawn in, rooting for this kid who is young and gifted and also poor and Black. He makes the acquaintance of an older guy who hips him to the fact that something strange is happening in New York and then we’re off to the races to save New York. We then meet people who are also living for the city. Our team of characters/boroughs are introduced in such an elegant way-beyond stereotypes or caricatures of the boroughs, Jemisin provides historical context and substance to explain how we’ve come to know Manny, Bronca, Brooklyn, Padmini, and Aislyn.
The novel is a defiant allegory and for some it might feel too on the nose, but I think Jemisin’s prose keeps the story from being simplistic and the reader on their toes.
I don’t want to say much more because there’s so much delight and affirmation to be found in its pages. You have to experience it for yourself.
Who’s this story for? Me and you, your mama, and your cousin too. Seriously, if you’ve
Ever visited the city that never sleeps or wanted to
Known a New Yorker
Thought about community building
Protested against gentrification
Feared that your city is losing its unique qualities
Been craving a literary escape
If you haven’t read this book, stop, drop, turn around and patronize your favorite independent bookshop and buy the book. Consider buying from Harriett’s Bookshop or The Booksmith. Once you receive your copy, do yourself a favor and listen to Stevie Wonder’s iconic song “Living for the City” before diving in. I think it’s a perfect complement to The City We Became.
Happy Reading!