A review by lukecalderauthor
Zoo City by Lauren Beukes
5.0
I was excited to read a fantasy book based in Johannesburg, the city that I live in. Beukes' accurate descriptions of the city and its people made the story feel real, as though it could happen right outside my door.
The worldbuilding was phenomenal, I loved the ideas of the 'animaled' and how it was explained through different viewpoints without too many exposition dumps.
However the writing style made the story feel quite ambiguous, I had to re-read a few chapters in the beginning to understand what was going on. There are still some plot points that I wish were resolved, (like what actually happened to Zinzi's brother?). The plot also felt incidental, Zinzi doesn't really have any effect on the story's outcome (maybe this was intentional?).
So in the end it was a difficult read but I learned a great deal from Beukes' writing. She really nailed writing people of different cultures in a realistic and inoffensive way and for that I give 5 stars.
The worldbuilding was phenomenal, I loved the ideas of the 'animaled' and how it was explained through different viewpoints without too many exposition dumps.
However the writing style made the story feel quite ambiguous, I had to re-read a few chapters in the beginning to understand what was going on. There are still some plot points that I wish were resolved, (like what actually happened to Zinzi's brother?). The plot also felt incidental, Zinzi doesn't really have any effect on the story's outcome (maybe this was intentional?).
So in the end it was a difficult read but I learned a great deal from Beukes' writing. She really nailed writing people of different cultures in a realistic and inoffensive way and for that I give 5 stars.