Zoo City by Lauren Beukes

Zoo City by Lauren Beukes

EBook Edition

Published 2010 by Angry Robot

Review by N. E. White.

Award-winning Zoo City is Lauren Beukes second novel, and though I’m getting to it fairly late, it was published back in 2010, it’s got a lot to offer to today’s reader. A fast-paced urban fantasy with snappy dialogue, you won’t be disappointed in the novel’s main character Zinzi December and the crowd she hangs out with (though you may not want to actually hang out with them).

Zoo City is set in the near future, in a run-down neighborhood of Johannesburg where all the local Zoos live. Zoos are the guilty-laden populace, people who have committed a crime or otherwise lost a hold of their lives. Like magic, they are burdened with an animal, sort of like a familiar because it comes with a talent, measured and catalogued by local government. This is a worldwide phenomena, and in South Africa the animalled are treated like second- (or third) rate citizens, subject to suspicion, scorn, and morbid curiosity.

Our main character, Zinzi December, is a former journalist turned email-scammer. Her drug habit has given her a sloth along with a serious debt with some serious people. She works at pilfering money from kind-hearted folks to pay her drug-debt, and it seems she is just about to put her life together. She’s got a boyfriend she’s in love with, her talent for finding lost things may become a possible income source, and she seems to have kicked the habit long enough to realize what got her to the place she finds herself at.

But Zinzi is not about looking at the past, nor is this book. It’s action packed from the first page till the last. When Zinzi finds one of her legitimate lost-object clients murdered, she’s put on a collision course with some shady, musical characters that offer her a job she feels she can’t refuse. Zinzi takes on a missing-person’s case only to find that murder and mayhem follow her everywhere. As she struggles to find the truth, she comes to terms with her own demons (and sloth), and her doomed relationship with her lover comes to a head.

What I liked the most about Zoo City was the sense of place. Ms. Beukes has a talent for immersing the reading in a scene while delivering a character-rich story. Her metaphors are the best. I found myself highlighting sentence after sentence, and laughing at the ingenious way she had of describing people, things, and situations. Ms. Beurkes is a talented writer, and one I wish to emulate.

I also really enjoyed the notion of the animalled. Familiars have long been a staple troupe in the fantasy genre, but if you thought you’ve seen it all, this book may prove you wrong. Ms. Beurkes companions are not sage advisors to their human compatriots nor subservient. They are animals with their own needs and opinions. Yes, their personality may seem to more or less match their human partners, but that in no way means they are that person. Zinzi’s sloth is endearing because, like the human who is burdened with it, it seems to be saddled with a human.

However, I did find the plot a bit scattered. That may have been the author’s intention, but I found the wandering plot, not hard to follow, but hard to believe. Or, rather, just a bit perplexing given the characters’ background. At first, I thought this was going to be a murder mystery, then I realized, no it’s a missing-person’s case. Then I thought it was going to be a psychological thriller, but then, no, there’s murdered Zoos that come into play, but I’m not exactly sure why or how, and then there’s the underground magical cult scene…yeah, it got a bit crazy.

Regardless, the story does wrap up nicely at the end. As long as you don’t think about it too much, Zoo City’s whirlwind ride can be a lot of fun. I recommend this book to someone who enjoys their urban fantasy painted with gritty noir and set in a tangible, hard world.

N.E. White, July 2014.