May-09-2011, 05:21 PM (UTC)
(May-09-2011, 02:52 PM (UTC))Albertosaurus Rex Wrote: On the whole, do you feel it's worth reading?
I do think Zoo City is worth reading, especially if you have an interest in world-building. She's quite a good writer, and has some interesting means of revealing the details of this alternate universe (like His Dark Materials, people have "animal familiars" [or whatever you would call it], but only if they commit a terrible crime). I don't know much about South African ancient/mystical culture, but I surmise that much of her ideas come from there. You can't help but note the parallels to apartheid and there are many details about what it's like to live in S. Africa in particular and sub-Saharan Africa in general that often don't see the light of day in Western literature.