Scan barcode
A review by thepurplebookwyrm
King Rat by China Miéville
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
I'm actually really impressed to learn this was China Miéville's debut novel! Like damn... it was above and beyond many other debuts I've read, that's for sure. And so yes, I really enjoyed this one; Miéville's literature just keeps doing it for me (to put it mildly)! 😊
Specific positives:
• King Rat isn't the 'deepest' Miéville I've read, but even the 'sketch'-level of theming I got from it was surprisingly clever, and certainly engaging. I found commentary on 'urban ecosystems' here; on the ambiguous relations between humans and their non-human brethren, especially as it relates to the concept of 'vermin'. Through this also came theming on marginalisation, marginal and liminal beings, spaces, etc... then identity, in concert with familial heritage.
• I was impressed with what Miéville managed to accomplish with mere 'sketches' of characters, and world-building. No wonder some of his later, more fleshed-out works rank among some of my all-time favourites!
• I also really enjoyed the fact this story included a kind of retelling, or should I say re-molding, of the tale of the "Pied Piper" from European folklore – not something I've ever really seen or even heard of before! Some of the story's characters also felt like a different take on... faeries, or changeling lore – kind of – and I really liked that!
• I never shed any actual tears, but I was, yes, somewhat moved by the story's more emotional threads. And whilst the book's ending bordered on feeling a little 'on the nose' (especially if one is familiar with the very often noticeable political tenor of Miéville's literature, as a whole), I also thought it fit rather perfectly.
More neutral or negative elements:
• King Rat still had very good prose – and the kind of prose that just really works for my brain, apparently – but it didn't reach the heights of thoughtful, or playful beauty some of his later works do.
• Miéville struck an overall satisfying balance between presenting non-human animals as they are, and indulging in a smidge of narratively useful anthropomorphising, but I wasn't a fan of the fact the story also posited a couple of things that fed into 'human exceptionalism' at times (especially since these weren't really based on actual truths about the animal world).
Specific positives:
• King Rat isn't the 'deepest' Miéville I've read, but even the 'sketch'-level of theming I got from it was surprisingly clever, and certainly engaging. I found commentary on 'urban ecosystems' here; on the ambiguous relations between humans and their non-human brethren, especially as it relates to the concept of 'vermin'. Through this also came theming on marginalisation, marginal and liminal beings, spaces, etc... then identity, in concert with familial heritage.
• I was impressed with what Miéville managed to accomplish with mere 'sketches' of characters, and world-building. No wonder some of his later, more fleshed-out works rank among some of my all-time favourites!
• I also really enjoyed the fact this story included a kind of retelling, or should I say re-molding, of the tale of the "Pied Piper" from European folklore – not something I've ever really seen or even heard of before! Some of the story's characters also felt like a different take on... faeries, or changeling lore – kind of – and I really liked that!
• I never shed any actual tears, but I was, yes, somewhat moved by the story's more emotional threads. And whilst the book's ending bordered on feeling a little 'on the nose' (especially if one is familiar with the very often noticeable political tenor of Miéville's literature, as a whole), I also thought it fit rather perfectly.
More neutral or negative elements:
• King Rat still had very good prose – and the kind of prose that just really works for my brain, apparently – but it didn't reach the heights of thoughtful, or playful beauty some of his later works do.
• Miéville struck an overall satisfying balance between presenting non-human animals as they are, and indulging in a smidge of narratively useful anthropomorphising, but I wasn't a fan of the fact the story also posited a couple of things that fed into 'human exceptionalism' at times (especially since these weren't really based on actual truths about the animal world).