Zoo City

Cyberpunk South African style! There is more information in one paragraph than most books have in several chapters, more than some have in their entirety! I am seriously curious about how much of what's portrayed as modern SA culture is based on reality and how much is pure fiction. Like when reading Bruce Sterling, the imagery and scenes set are so vivid and seem so real that it's very difficult to separate the real from the surreal, let alone the reality from the fantasy. Everything seems so possible to the senses that it's like vivid dreaming. I found myself thinking about animals in a whole new way since reading this book - it's hard to stop seeing them as extentions of our subconscious minds and/or physical manifestations of our senses of guilt or sadness now. I am not the kind of person who believes in good and evil or spiritual burdens so that side of it I just ignored like I do so much of realtime religious dogma and belief. But, in spite of that, I thoroughly enjoyed this book because it's so sharp and visceral, really well-written. If I could ask Beukes one thing it would be if any of the African musical groups mentioned are actually real. Guess I'll try and find out using the net! ;)