Book Club Guide

The City We Became

by N.K. Jemisin · 2020 · Science Fiction

Key themes

New York as a living being — and the boroughs as its avatars
Cosmic horror as a metaphor for the forces that resist cities' becoming
The Woman in White and what she represents — gentrification, exclusion, a very specific kind of enemy

About this book

New York City is about to be born as a living entity — and each of its boroughs manifests as a human avatar who must fight an ancient enemy trying to prevent the city's birth. Jemisin's Locus Award-winning novel is urban fantasy as both celebration of New York's diversity and confrontation with the forces — including a very particular kind of cosmic racism — that resist cities becoming what they could be.

Published in 2020, The City We Became won the Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel. Jemisin grew up partly in New York and has described the novel as a love letter to the city's diversity, written partly in response to the political climate of the late 2010s.

Discussion questions

Each borough of New York manifests as a human avatar with powers reflecting that borough's character. How does Jemisin develop these avatars — and what does the casting say about each borough's identity?
The antagonist — the Woman in White and the entity she represents — has been read as a metaphor for specific forces: gentrification, white supremacy, exclusionary urban planning. How does Jemisin develop this antagonist — and does the metaphor feel precise or does it work best as atmosphere?
The premise — cities as living entities that must be 'born' — is shared with other cities globally (the novel references other 'great old cities'). What does this broader mythology add?
Staten Island's avatar resists joining the others, drawn instead toward the antagonist. How does Jemisin develop this — and what is she saying about the politics of who feels excluded from a city's identity?
The City We Became won the Locus Award. How does it relate to Jemisin's Broken Earth trilogy — and what does urban fantasy allow her to do differently?