The City in Glass
By Nghi Vo
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TW: Grief, violence, pandemic, animal death, war
The City in Glass follows a Demon, Vitrine, and an unnamed Angel in a fallen city, Azril. Vitrine hopes to bring that city, the one she nurtured for ages, back to its height.
This was a highly emotional book. It begins with the end of Azril, the demon’s city, and from there, it's a slow burn of growth. Dreamlike in its storytelling, the prose is beautiful and tells us of the people and places where rubble now rests. Nghi Vo is a master at drawing you in with her craft. It feels at once like a fable and tale of warning.
The plot and character development were a bit weak here. Plotwise, if you’re into more of a jumping, non-linear narrative that leaves some to the imagination, this is your book. Otherwise, you might be confused. In terms of character development, I was left with questions and overall wanted more acknowledgment of changes in the characters that led to the final pages.
While only 200 pages, this book spans centuries. It’s a beautiful journey and one that, if you let yourself lean into it, you can enjoy. Nghi Vo creates such beautiful, atmospheric worlds, and The City in Glass is no exception.
Further reading:
This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone would be a great pick in terms of the romance present and the abstract writing.
Another book to read for a hankering of cities is Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino. I haven’t read a book like this since!
This may be because of recency bias but I think In the Watchful City by S. Qiouyi Lu would be great.
Quotes:
"I love you so, I love you best," she whispered, nipping firmly at his ear. "I will walk in you, and I will care for you, and I will bring the whole world to rejoice in you."
"They need a home, and every city needs people," he said at last.
“Anger could start a thing, but it took endurance and forbearance and patience to finish it.”
“No one loves a city like one born to it, and no one loves a city like an immigrant. No one loves a city like they do when they are young, and no one loves a city like they do when they are old. The people loved the city of Azril in more ways than could be counted. Vitrine loved her city like demons and cats may love things, with an eye towards ownership and the threat of small mayhem.”
Thank you Tor Publishing and Net Galley for the opportunity to read this arc! It’s out now but I’m catching up.