Sacred Chickens
  • Sacred Chickens Blog
  • Books, Podcasts, and Other Fun Stuff
  • Contact
  • Sacred Chickens Blog
  • Books, Podcasts, and Other Fun Stuff
  • Contact

Jarad's Choice Book Club: Zoo City

11/1/2017

4 Comments

 
Picture

Zoo City 

Lauren Beukes 

Review By Jarad Johnson 

“Monkey on my back,” is a common term for heroin addiction, but in this riveting magical-realism novel, Beukes takes it quite literally. Here, set in an alternate of the South African city of Johannesburg, people who have committed a crime, and those who bear a significant amount of guilt are, “animalled,” or magically attached to an animal familiar. While the animal brings with it some magic in the form of psychic powers and perhaps marginal comfort, the animal is their version of the scarlet, “A.” In short, the animal is a sort of marker for their wrong-doing. The protagonist of the novel is Zinzi December, an animalled girl with a sloth who lives in a slum nicknamed, “Zoo City,” for its large population of animalled people. When she is first introduced, Zinzi is attempting to pay back her drug dealer by charging people for her ability to locate lost objects. However, she quickly gets caught up in harrowing missing persons case that leads her to reevaluate everyone and everything she trusts.
One of the most interesting thing about Zoo City is the way in which it’s written. Beukes does not reveal anything to the reader; you discover the information as you go along. I found this to be refreshing, as most authors reveal all of the, “necessary,” plot points at the beginning of the novel, so it was interesting to be sort of confused for most of the book.

I find the, “Animalled Epidemic,” from the book to be particularly memorable. Of course, it’s not uncommon to see similar familiar-like relationships pop up in folklore, but this is different. The author writes that this phenomenon started in the 1980s, which is when the AIDS epidemic struck the U.S. And today, of course, many parts of Africa are plagued by an AIDS epidemic, so I find many similarities there. Like many people from the 80s, the animalled are quarantined and feared by most of society. Also, many people are afraid of these people because they do not understand them, like people who thoughts AIDS was a viral disease for many years.

More broadly, I think that this novel is in some ways a commentary on African Culture. During Apartheid, which literally means separateness, there were entire communities that had walls around them to keep others out, and we see some of that imagery in the novel. But, in some ways, I think Beukes is saying that there are still some walls around Africa, and still lots of walls to tear down. Even in the U.S, there is a stereotype of Africa as a sort of primitive country, when in fact it’s the opposite. Africa has a thriving culture like any other country, and many people don’t realize that.  

The actual plot of the novel itself is engrossing. The air of mystery permeates throughout, and the reader is kept on the edge of their seat. The author writes in an interesting style, never revealing too much information, leaving the reader guessing for much of the novel. One of the more interesting aspects of the book is the character development of Zinzi. At first, she is only looking out for herself, and she doesn’t care who gets hurt in her quest for money. But we gradually see her develop empathy, and by the end of the novel she is a completely different person.

Overall, the novel Zoo City is fantastic. I loved the character arc of Zinzi, getting to see her progress so much, and the overall story. While I wish that the author would have given a little more detail regarding the core mystery of the novel, I still enjoyed it. The animal and human relationships were also quite fascinating, and getting to see how those evolved was one of the best parts of the book. I’m definitely hoping for a sequel.

                
Picture

​
​Jarad attends Middle Tennessee State University, loves tea, and tries to spend every spare second reading.  Jarad is majoring in English.  Bless his heart!  Let's all light a candle for him and send him happy thoughts!

4 Comments
best essays link
11/26/2017 06:36:23 pm

I've seen a similar review about Zoo city before. I haven't given it a read though, because I lack the free time. I'm a fan of the magical - realism type of books. They present a very unique way in telling the story. Lauren Beukes is a talented author and I trust her line of writing. I've actually read some of her works before and I loved them. I know that the quality of her books won't degrade, so I'll be expecting a lot from her.

Reply
Julie Carpenter link
1/17/2019 06:53:57 am

I find Jarad's reviews really helpful in choosing reading material. Thanks for adding your recommendation of Lauren Beukes.

Julie

Reply
download instagram stories link
1/16/2019 10:06:32 pm

I'm getting excited about this kind of beneficial information of your stuff in the future

Reply
Julie Carpenter link
1/17/2019 06:56:08 am

Thanks!

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Picture

    ​BUY NOW!

    Click Photo above to buy ebook or paperback from Amazon.

    ​Here's the link to
    Barnes and Noble

    Or order through your favorite independent bookstore!​
    email Julie

    Categories

    All
    Author Spotlight
    Blog Post
    Digging In
    Essay
    Film/Tv Review
    Gardening
    Music Review
    Original Poem
    Original Story
    Poetry
    Politics
    Random Thoughts
    Recommendations
    Review
    Uncle Morty
    Uncle Morty On Writing
    Weekend Reading
    Writing Contest

    Archives

    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    March 2024
    January 2024
    October 2023
    June 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013

    RSS Feed