Q 01/05

In The City & the City, what must citizens of Besźel do to anything belonging to Ul Qoma?

A) Unsee it

B) Report it

C) Boycott it

D) Photograph it

Answer · why

A) Unsee it

Unsee it: residents notice the other city's people, cars and buildings just enough to dodge them, then let them fade from mind. Failing to do so is br...

Q 02/05

Which actor co-wrote the novel The Book of Elsewhere with The City & the City author China Miéville?

A) Hugh Laurie

B) Ethan Hawke

C) Keanu Reeves

D) Viggo Mortensen

Answer · why

C) Keanu Reeves

Keanu Reeves named Miéville as his dream collaborator for a novel spun off from his BRZRKR comics. He doubted the prize-winning author would say yes.

Q 03/05

For which terminally ill relative did China Miéville write The City & the City as a gift?

A) His father

B) His sister

C) His grandfather

D) His mother

Answer · why

D) His mother

His mother liked his books but preferred detective stories, so Miéville wrote one that was exactly her sort of thing and exactly his. He read mysterie...

Q 04/05

In The City & the City, what does Borlú finally learn about Orciny, the rumoured third city?

A) It is an elaborate hoax

B) It lies beneath Besźel

C) It secretly runs Breach

D) It was destroyed long ago

Answer · why

A) It is an elaborate hoax

It is an elaborate hoax: the secret city is bait, a story used to trick a student into smuggling ancient relics out of Ul Qoma for a foreign corporati...

Q 05/05

Which kind of crime novel does The City & the City blend with its strange, fantastical setting?

A) Courtroom drama

B) Police procedural

C) Heist caper

D) Cosy village mystery

Answer · why

B) Police procedural

Police procedural is the form Miéville borrowed, and Publishers Weekly called the book an outstanding take on it. Interviews, paperwork and rows over ...