The mysterious origins of this book ultimately seem appropriate, as the book is a mystery as well. More specifically, it is a fantasy murder mystery set in a world where two cities--in two different countries--exist on the exact same geographic location. This is not a split city/country like East and West Berlin or North and South Korea, however. In this modern, vaguely Eastern European landscape, residents of Ul Qoma and Beszel have been trained since birth to "unsee" and "unhear" the people, buildings, vehicles, and events in the overlapping foreign city through which they walk every day--seeing and participating only in activities within their own city. The causes of this division are lost in the cities' centuries-long histories, which have also served to create a complex system for preserving the separate entities: architecture, clothing, language, technology, food, and even colors are specific to each city. Those who venture across borders--which may exist right next door and which can be crossed by something as simple as an open stare--are subject to retribution from a completely autonomous force known as Breach.
Like most good murder mysteries, the book begins with a detective and a body: Inspector Tyador Borlu and a young woman living in Ul Qoma but found dead in Beszel. While originally hoping to turn the case over to the mysterious Breach forces, Borlu instead finds himself enmeshed in a case that straddles two countries, uncovers possible conspiracies, and raises the question of whether a third entity--a city between the cities--exists which controls it all.
While the book's premise offered me challenges in the first few chapters, my confusion slowly resolved itself as the means by which the cities were separated became clear--end even logical. Miéville makes the implausible wholly believable and he tells a darn good yarn along the way. I've added his other books to my book shopping list and will likely report on a few in the coming year.
