The City & The City - China Miéville (2010)

Poorly-written winner of the Arthur C. Clarke Award. A lovely premise which is undermined both by the disappointing details and the poor, sometimes ludicrously opaque and clunky writing.

As a metaphor for the psychological and physical conditions of living in any modern city, the conceit of having two cities exist side-by-side but in parallel universes seems particularly potent. While being a little obvious, it's the kind of metaphor that science fiction is built on - a device that allows contemporary conditions, concerns and sensibilities to be examined or appreciated in a new light, or at least at some distance. Still, Miéville manages to combine his clunky prose with an overwhelming interest in plot mechanics in a way that diminishes the resonance of the metaphor until it becomes virtually unimportant. We may as well be reading about a detective on another planet, or in another dimension for all squandered potential of the novel's setting. The incredibly smudged and pale characterization (or lack thereof) doesn't help matters. While the plot is skillfully constructed and even manages to be gripping at times, I felt disappointed.

And here's the synopsis for future reference, courtesy of the Wikipedia entry:
Inspector Tyador Borlú, of the Extreme Crime Squad in the European city-state of Besźel, investigates a brutal murder. He soon learns that the victim had been involved in the political and cultural turmoil involving Besźel and its twin city of Ul Qoma. These two cities actually occupy much of the same geographical space, but via the volition of their citizens (and the threat of the secret power known as Breach), they are perceived as two different cities. A denizen of one city must dutifully 'unsee' (that is, ignore, or fade into the background) the denizens, buildings, and events taking place in the other city — even if they are an inch away. This separation is emphasized by the style of clothing, architecture, gait, and in the manners denizens of the cities generally carry themselves. Residents of these cities are taught from childhood to recognize things belonging to the other city without actually seeing them. Ignoring the separation, even by accident, is viewed as a horrible crime by the citizens of the two cities — one which might be worse than murder - incurring swift and fatal punishment by Breach.

Sigh.