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The Etched City

K.J. Bishop

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Jan 25, 2018 Alissa rated it liked it · review of another edition

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This novel is rightfully weird and I was expecting no less since I tried it because it’s one of the flagships of the “New Weird” wave of fiction. It’s also a terrific blend of learned language, horror, sumptuous descriptions and magical realism, without many of the classic staples of conventional fantasy.

Personally, when I read a story that deliberately defies labels it’s not just the boundaries it pushes around, it pushes me as a reader too, and the experience is often charted at opposite sides This novel is rightfully weird and I was expecting no less since I tried it because it’s one of the flagships of the “New Weird” wave of fiction. It’s also a terrific blend of learned language, horror, sumptuous descriptions and magical realism, without many of the classic staples of conventional fantasy.

Personally, when I read a story that deliberately defies labels it’s not just the boundaries it pushes around, it pushes me as a reader too, and the experience is often charted at opposite sides of the spectrum.

This time the result isn't so clear-cut. I picked this book for a reading challenge and being out of my comfort zone (I’m all for visceral and inference but I also want purpose) it was an uphill race from the onset. I didn't dislike it, but the dreamlike quality of the narrative simply painted a disconnected picture, full or bizarre visuals. It may have worked, because I appreciate both poetic eloquence and intricate tales at large, but with "plot" being the operative word pure aesthetics and abstract adventures are not the thrill I seek or understand.

Cohesion aside, this novel is mainly a bravura piece built around nested stories, a wondrous city and a tight cast of characters.

Occasionally I was engaged, the worldbuilding is impeccable for instance, and the metaphors, the philosophy and the reasoning around art, life and "the unspoken and nameless longing in the human heart" are very interesting. The writing is gorgeous, direct and embroidered at the same time, with several classical references. I valued the stylistic beauty of this work and the thought-provoking themes, but the lack of a basic direction, or of at least some story outline, tipped the scales.
Anyhow I'm happy I've read it.

“For a long time, I have believed that it is human nature to invent the strangest explanations for the things that mystify us, and to believe in something beyond all we yet know of, because we cannot abide limits and endings; we are insatiable, and we desire the impossible. I prided myself on having no illusions—but, like any man, I must have desired them.” ...more

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