Un Lun Dun [Paperback]

 

 

Create your own review

While the story at first seems to be shaping up to be a standard "chosen one" prophecy surrounding Zanna, not too far along it's revealed that Zanna's not going to actually be of much help in saving the abcity of UnLondon, and her best friend Deeba steps up to the plate instead, relying not on the vague power of prophecy but instead on her own brains and brawn to get the task done. I loved seeing this, since while it can be fun to read about a very typical destiny plot, stories in which destiny is bunk and the people who do everything are not the people who are supposed to do everything are not as common as they could be, so it was a nice change of pace.

Mieville demonstrates a remarkable talent for wordplay and creativity, turning the French choisir into Shwazzy for a somewhat silly term for the chosen one (this is, after all, a book intended for a young adult audience, so a little silliness is perfectly fine), making a group of garbage can martial artists (the binja), or the Black Windows inhabiting Webminster Abbey. There were times where the quick wit and fantastical elements made me think of a ramped-up JK Rowling.

One thing that stuck with me throughough the entirety of the novel is the way I pictured the whole thing done in Studio Ghibli style animation. Honestly, I think Un Lun Dun as a movie done by that studio would be amazing to see, and would do the feel of the novel, as well as the plot, the justice it deserves.

I can't say for sure whether this was a good first taste of what Mieville can do. I can, however, say that I enjoyed it enough to know that I'll be making a point of giving one of his more adult novels a try in the future. I'd definitely reccommend this one to people who are looking for a good story that doesn't take itself too seriously.

"In an unremarkable room, in a nondescript building, a man sat working on very nondescript theories..."

It's a determinedly unremarkable beginning for a very unique, very bizarre fantasy book, but I guess you can expect no less from fantasy's current prince of the bizarre, China Mieville. His oddly-named children's book "Un Lun Dun" immediately immerses the reader in a vaguely Gaimanesque glimpse into another world, with vaguely sinister, colourful prose and a likable cast of very odd characters.

Twelve-year-old Zanna is being followed by weird things -- odd graffiti, moving umbrellas, fearless foxes, and malevolent smoke. But their search for answers leads them to a strange otherworld with a holey sun and bizarre inhuman inhabitants, known as Un Lun Dun (Un-London, get it?) -- where discarded or lost things are sent. Like any such heroine, Zanna and her friend Deeba are mainly interested in getting home... but of course, it's not that simple.

Turns out that Zanna is the Shwazzy (the required chosen one) and there's a prophecy about her (natch), and how she has to destroy the Smog -- the coagulated remains of all that was bad, which can only be destroyed by the magical Klinneract. The girls set out to stop the Smog, and suffer some fairly nasty setbacks in their battle against it. They'll try their best -- but Zanna may not be quite up to fulfilling the prophecy.

Pincushion-headed tailors, fly-riding pirates, flesh-eating giraffes, ninja dustbins, pet milk cartons, walking lobsters and attacks from trashbags -- China Mieville has a knack for taking the ordinary, and twisting it just enough that it becomes wonderfully grotesque. In this case, he spins up a story that seems like the movie "Recycle" combined with some of Neil Gaiman's lighter fare -- a nowhere land full of the discarded, who turn out to be quite odd.

And his writing lives up to the story beautifully, able to fill Un Lun Dun with a sort of decrepit whacked-out charm. Not to mention a lot of vivid dialogue ("Its thoughts are clotted with poisons, and things we've burnt to get rid of"), word jokes (guess what the Klinneract is), and wild descriptions ("a shimmering wall of colored cloth and thin metal fingers").

While some moments are a bit too arch, Mieville injects the story with a wicked sense of humor (other cities are called Parisn't, No York, Lost Angeles, Hong Gone...) and eccentric details (clothes are made out of printed books). And he takes a few clever jabs at your average quest fantasy, such as the required sidekick ("It's alright. She's in here. Page seventy-seven 'Shwazzy's First Appearance. Look her up in the index:'Shwazzy, Companions of the.'").

The down-to-earth Deeba succeeds in being far more interesting than the Shwazzy Zanna, but both girls are quite likable and clever despite their relative ordinariness. And the supporting cast is a pretty colourful bunch, ranging from the Unbrellissimo (boss of broken umbrellas) to the Propheseers, from the adorable Curdle to the lifelong sky-travelers.

"Un Lun Dun" is a lump of weird, wild and sometimes wonderful, through and though. China Mieville certainly knows how to turn London on its ear, Gaiman-style.

"So thick a haze o'erspreads the sky,
They cannot see the sun on high"
(from The Inchcape Rock - Robert Southey)

This is a brilliant fantasy novel which will appeal to fans of Piers Anthony, Neil Gaiman and Lewis Carroll. It is set in a parallel world of London (Un-London - get it?) where discarded items take on new life, garbage binjas carry nun-chucks, and unbrellas (broken brollies) still serve their purpose.

Short Attention Span Summary (SASS):

1. It is written in Un Lun Dun that there will be a terrible smog upon the land, and that the Shwazzy (from the French "Choisi" or Chosen) will come from London to save the day.
2. Unfortunately, the written word seems a bit "off", except for the smog, which was created in London by weatherwitches and brought to its foggy knees by a weapon called the Klinneract.
3. Smog, by its very nature, is a bad thing and when it develops a mind of its own and threatens to take over Un Lun Dun, it's time for desperate measures.
4. The Shwazzy turns out to be a bit of a fizz
5. The failure of the Shwazzy brings about the activation of the UnChosen, who with her new found allies sets about to put a stopper on the smog.
6. Colorful, fantastical characters abound, and the lines between friend and foe get very blurry
7. The only hope for the good guys lies in the completion of a set of tasks leading to the location of the mighty UnGun - but time is running out.

Imaginative, funny and extremely entertaining, this one is recommended for anyone from about the age of nine and up. In my opinion it would make one heck of a good (but extremely high-budget) movie

Just can't resist an awful pun?
Try China Miéville's "Un Lun Dun"

Amanda Richards

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review

› See all 3 customer reviews on Amazon.ca

 

Search Customer Reviews
Only search this product's reviews

Search Listmania!