The City & the City - wikipedia The City & the City For the television adaptation, see The City and the City ( TV series ). The City & the City UK first edition cover Author China Miéville Country United Kingdom Language English Genre Crime, Weird fiction Publisher Macmillan Publication date 15 May 2009 Media type Print ( hardcover ) Pages 312 Award Hugo Award for Best Novel BSFA Award for Best Novel Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel Arthur C. Clarke Award World Fantasy Award for Best Novel Kitschies Red Tentacle Kurd - Laßwitz - Preis for Best Foreign Work ISBN 1 - 4050 - 0017 - 1 OCLC 316836327 Preceded by Un Lun Dun Followed by Kraken The City & the City is a novel by British author China Miéville, combining weird fiction with the police procedural. It was written as a gift for Miéville 's terminally ill mother, who was a fan of the latter genre. The novel was published by Macmillan on 15 May 2009. In the US it was published by Del Rey Books on 26 May 2009. The novel won the Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel, Arthur C. Clarke Award, World Fantasy Award, BSFA Award and the Kitschies Red Tentacle ; tied for the 2010 Hugo Award for Best Novel, and was nominated for a Nebula Award and John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel. A four - part television adaptation by the BBC was broadcast in 2018. Contents 1 Synopsis 2 Setting 3 Reception 4 Stage and television 5 References 6 External links Synopsis Inspector Tyador Borlú, of the Extreme Crime Squad in the fictional European city - state of Besźel, investigates the murder of Mahalia Geary, a foreign student found dead with her face disfigured, in a Besźel street. He soon learns that Geary had been involved in the political and cultural turmoil involving Besźel and its `` twin city '' of Ul Qoma. His investigations start in his home city of Besźel, lead him to Ul Qoma to assist the Ul Qoman police in their work, and eventually result in an examination of the legend of Orciny, a rumoured third city existing in the spaces between Besźel and Ul Qoma. Setting The City & the City takes place in the fictional European cities of Besźel and Ul Qoma. The precise location of these cities is not described. These two cities actually occupy much of the same geographical space, but via the volition of their citizens ( and the threat of the secret power known as Breach ), they are perceived as two different cities. A denizen of one city must dutifully `` unsee '' ( that is, consciously erase from their mind or fade into the background ) the denizens, buildings, and events taking place in the other city -- even if they are an inch away. This separation is emphasised by the style of clothing, architecture, gait, and the way denizens of each city generally carry themselves. Residents of the cities are taught from childhood to recognise things belonging to the other city without actually seeing them. Ignoring the separation, even by accident, is called `` breaching '' -- a terrible crime for the citizens of the two cities, even worse than murder. The origin of this odd situation is unclear, as it started at an uncertain time in the past, perhaps before recorded European history. Residents of the cities speak different languages that use distinct alphabets, but that nonetheless have a common root and share a degree of mutual intelligibility. The twin cities are composed of crosshatched, alter, and total areas. Total areas are entirely in one city, the city in which the observer currently resides. Alter areas are completely in the other city, and so must be completely avoided and ignored. Between these are areas of crosshatch. These might be streets, parks or squares where denizens of both cities walk alongside one another, albeit `` unseen ''. Areas that exist in both cities usually go under different names in each one. There is also Copula Hall, `` one of the very few '' buildings which exists in both cities under the same name. Rather than being cross-hatched, it essentially functions as a border. It is the only way in which one can legally and officially pass from one city to another. Passing through the border passage takes travellers, geographically ( or `` grosstopically '' ), to the exact place they started from -- only in a different city. From a physical standpoint, little differentiates the two cities, other than slight differences of architecture, vehicles and styles of dress which citizens and visitors are trained to recognise. Those who do not know about the separation might naturally view the two cities as one. Because of this, an extra power is needed to keep the separation in place : this organisation is known as Breach. When a ' breach ' takes place ( used here in the sense of ' breaching ' the barrier between the two cities ), Breach comes to take care of it. Members of the Breach organisation use their powers to take the breacher captive, and bring them to an unknown punishment. `` Breachers '', as they are called, disappear and are never seen again. Children and tourists, however, are treated more leniently : children may be forgiven for a small breach ; if tourists breach, they are bundled out and banned from both cities forever. Most breaches are taken care of by Breach immediately, but its surveillance capabilities are not absolute. Sometimes Breach must be specifically invoked to investigate a crime that seems to be a clear - cut case of breach, such as a smuggling operation that involves breaching to transport the smuggled goods from one city to the other. To invoke Breach, the police must present their evidence to an Oversight Committee composed of 42 members, 21 from each city. If the evidence presented is convincing enough, the Committee performs whatever other investigation into the matter it deems appropriate to resolve any remaining doubts its members have. If its investigation concludes to its satisfaction that a breach has taken place, then and only then will it invoke Breach. Invoking Breach is a last resort because it is an alien power to which some consider that Besźel and Ul Qoma surrender their sovereignty at their peril. Reception Reviewing the book for The Guardian, Michael Moorcock concludes : `` As in no previous novel, the author celebrates and enhances the genre he loves and has never rejected. On many levels this novel is a testament to his admirable integrity. Keeping his grip firmly on an idea which would quickly slip from the hands of a less skilled writer, Miéville again proves himself as intelligent as he is original. '' Andrew McKie reviewed the book for The Spectator and suggested : `` the hallucinatory aspects of the book owe more to Borges, or perhaps Les Gommes, Alain Robbe - Grillet 's subversion of the policier. Most impressively, Miéville 's underlying point, that all city - dwellers collude in ignoring real aspects of the cities in which they live -- the homeless, political structures, the commercial world or the stuff that 's ' for the tourists ' -- is never laboured. This is Miéville 's most accomplished novel since Perdido Street Station. It deserves an audience among those who would run a mile from his other books : it is fantastic in the careless, colloquial sense, too. '' In September 2010, the novel won the 2010 Hugo Award for Best Novel, tied with Paolo Bacigalupi 's The Windup Girl. In April 2010, it won the BSFA Award for Best Novel of 2009, as well as the 2010 Arthur C. Clarke Award. In June 2010, it won the Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel. In October 2010 the novel won the World Fantasy Award for Best Novel, and in January 2010 it obtained the 2009 Kitschies Red Tentacle. In 2011, the German translation Die Stadt und die Stadt won the Kurd - Laßwitz - Preis. Stage and television The City & the City was adapted into a play by Christopher M. Walsh. The show premièred at Lifeline Theatre of Chicago in February 2013. It was Jeff recommended. In April 2018, BBC Two broadcast an adaptation by Tony Grisoni, with David Morrissey as Inspector Tyador Borlú. Mammoth Screen is the production company. The series is of four 60 - minute episodes. References Jump up ^ Monster - free China : Mieville 's The City & The City, at Suvudu, by Chris Schluep ; published 4 May 2009 ; retrieved 5 December 2012 Jump up ^ `` The City & the City ''. Worlds Without End. Retrieved 16 January 2011. Jump up ^ Moorcock, Michael ( 30 May 2009 ). `` Review : The City and the City by China Miéville ''. The Guardian. Retrieved 30 May 2009. Jump up ^ McKie, Andrew ( 20 June 2009 ). `` Unseeing is believing ''. The Spectator. Retrieved 13 August 2017. Jump up ^ Flood, Alison ( 6 September 2010 ). `` China Miéville and Paolo Bacigalupi tie for Hugo award ''. The Guardian. Retrieved 9 September 2010. Jump up ^ `` Miéville Wins Clarke Award ''. Science Fiction Awards Watch. 28 April 2010. Retrieved 28 April 2010. Jump up ^ `` 2010 Locus Awards Winners ''. Locus Magazine. 26 June 2010. Retrieved 18 August 2017. Jump up ^ SF Signal -- Winners : 2010 World Fantasy Awards Jump up ^ `` The Kitschies : 2009 Red Tentacle Winner ''. Pornokitsch. 4 January 2010. Retrieved 13 January 2012. Jump up ^ The City & The City, Lifeline Theatre February 15 - April 7, 2013 Jump up ^ The City and The City - Lifeline Theatre - Chicago Jump up ^ `` BBC Two announces The City And The City, an 4x60 adaptation of China Miéville 's novel ''. Media Centre ( Press release ). BBC. 28 August 2015. Retrieved 2018 - 03 - 26. Jump up ^ Mammoth Screen - Company Info Jump up ^ `` David Morrissey to lead BBC Two 's adaptation of China Miéville 's The City And The City ''. Media Centre ( Press release ). BBC. 13 April 2017. Retrieved 2018 - 03 - 26. Jump up ^ `` The City And The City ''. Media Centre ( Press release ). BBC. Retrieved 2018 - 03 - 26. External links The City & the City title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database Works by China Miéville Fiction Novels King Rat ( 1998 ) Un Lun Dun ( 2007 ) The City & the City ( 2009 ) Kraken ( 2010 ) Embassytown ( 2011 ) Railsea ( 2012 ) Bas - Lag Perdido Street Station ( 2000 ) The Scar ( 2002 ) Iron Council ( 2004 ) Novellas The Tain ( 2002 ) This Census - Taker ( 2016 ) The Last Days of New Paris ( 2016 ) Short story collections Looking for Jake ( 2005 ) Three Moments of an Explosion : Stories ( 2015 ) Adaptations The City and the City ( TV series ) Related articles Armada New Crobuzon Remade World Fantasy Award -- Novel 1975 -- 2000 The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia A. McKillip ( 1975 ) Bid Time Return by Richard Matheson ( 1976 ) Doctor Rat by William Kotzwinkle ( 1977 ) Our Lady of Darkness by Fritz Leiber ( 1978 ) Gloriana by Michael Moorcock ( 1979 ) Watchtower by Elizabeth A. Lynn ( 1980 ) The Shadow of the Torturer by Gene Wolfe ( 1981 ) Little, Big by John Crowley ( 1982 ) Nifft the Lean by Michael Shea ( 1983 ) The Dragon Waiting by John M. Ford ( 1984 ) Mythago Wood by Robert Holdstock ( 1985, tie ) Bridge of Birds by Barry Hughart ( 1985, tie ) Song of Kali by Dan Simmons ( 1986 ) Perfume by Patrick Suskind ( 1987 ) Replay by Ken Grimwood ( 1988 ) Koko by Peter Straub ( 1989 ) Lyonesse : Madouc by Jack Vance ( 1990 ) Only Begotten Daughter by James K. Morrow ( 1991, tie ) Thomas the Rhymer by Ellen Kushner ( 1991, tie ) Boy 's Life by Robert R. McCammon ( 1992, tie ) Last Call by Tim Powers ( 1993 ) Glimpses by Lewis Shiner ( 1994 ) Towing Jehovah by James K. Morrow ( 1995 ) The Prestige by Christopher Priest ( 1996 ) Godmother Night by Rachel Pollack ( 1997 ) The Physiognomy by Jeffrey Ford ( 1998 ) The Antelope Wife by Louise Erdrich ( 1999 ) Thraxas by Martin Scott ( 2000 ) 2001 -- present Declare by Tim Powers ( 2001, tie ) Galveston by Sean Stewart ( 2001, tie ) The Other Wind by Ursula K. Le Guin ( 2002 ) The Facts of Life by Graham Joyce ( 2003, tie ) Ombria in Shadow by Patricia A. McKillip ( 2003, tie ) Tooth and Claw by Jo Walton ( 2004 ) Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke ( 2005 ) Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami ( 2006 ) Soldier of Sidon by Gene Wolfe ( 2007 ) Ysabel by Guy Gavriel Kay ( 2008 ) The Shadow Year by Jeffrey Ford ( 2009, tie ) Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan ( 2009, tie ) The City & the City by China Miéville ( 2010 ) Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor ( 2011 ) Osama by Lavie Tidhar ( 2012 ) Alif the Unseen by G. Willow Wilson ( 2013 ) A Stranger in Olondria by Sofia Samatar ( 2014 ) The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell ( 2015 ) Hugo Award for Best Novel Retro The Sword in the Stone by T.H. White ( 1939 ) Slan by A.E. van Vogt ( 1941 ) The Mule by Isaac Asimov ( 1946 ) Farmer in the Sky by Robert A. Heinlein ( 1951 ) Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury ( 1954 ) 1953 -- 1975 The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester ( 1953 ) They 'd Rather Be Right ( aka : The Forever Machine ) by Mark Clifton and Frank Riley ( 1955 ) Double Star by Robert A. Heinlein ( 1956 ) The Big Time by Fritz Leiber ( 1958 ) A Case of Conscience by James Blish ( 1959 ) Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein ( 1960 ) A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller, Jr. ( 1961 ) Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein ( 1962 ) The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick ( 1963 ) Here Gather the Stars ( aka : Way Station ) by Clifford D. Simak ( 1964 ) The Wanderer by Fritz Leiber ( 1965 ) Dune by Frank Herbert ( 1966, tie )... And Call Me Conrad ( aka : This Immortal ) by Roger Zelazny ( 1966, tie ) The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein ( 1967 ) Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny ( 1968 ) Stand on Zanzibar by John Brunner ( 1969 ) The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin ( 1970 ) Ringworld by Larry Niven ( 1971 ) To Your Scattered Bodies Go by Philip José Farmer ( 1972 ) The Gods Themselves by Isaac Asimov ( 1973 ) Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke ( 1974 ) The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin ( 1975 ) 1976 -- 2000 The Forever War by Joe Haldeman ( 1976 ) Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang by Kate Wilhelm ( 1977 ) Gateway by Frederik Pohl ( 1978 ) Dreamsnake by Vonda N. McIntyre ( 1979 ) The Fountains of Paradise by Arthur C. Clarke ( 1980 ) The Snow Queen by Joan D. Vinge ( 1981 ) Downbelow Station by C.J. Cherryh ( 1982 ) Foundation 's Edge by Isaac Asimov ( 1983 ) Startide Rising by David Brin ( 1984 ) Neuromancer by William Gibson ( 1985 ) Ender 's Game by Orson Scott Card ( 1986 ) Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card ( 1987 ) The Uplift War by David Brin ( 1988 ) Cyteen by C.J. Cherryh ( 1989 ) Hyperion by Dan Simmons ( 1990 ) The Vor Game by Lois McMaster Bujold ( 1991 ) Barrayar by Lois McMaster Bujold ( 1992 ) A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge / Doomsday Book by Connie Willis ( 1993 ) Green Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson ( 1994 ) Mirror Dance by Lois McMaster Bujold ( 1995 ) The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson ( 1996 ) Blue Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson ( 1997 ) Forever Peace by Joe Haldeman ( 1998 ) To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis ( 1999 ) A Deepness in the Sky by Vernor Vinge ( 2000 ) 2001 -- present Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling ( 2001 ) American Gods by Neil Gaiman ( 2002 ) Hominids by Robert J. Sawyer ( 2003 ) Paladin of Souls by Lois McMaster Bujold ( 2004 ) Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke ( 2005 ) Spin by Robert Charles Wilson ( 2006 ) Rainbows End by Vernor Vinge ( 2007 ) The Yiddish Policemen 's Union by Michael Chabon ( 2008 ) The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman ( 2009 ) The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi / The City & the City by China Miéville ( 2010 ) Blackout / All Clear by Connie Willis ( 2011 ) Among Others by Jo Walton ( 2012 ) Redshirts by John Scalzi ( 2013 ) Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie ( 2014 ) The Three - Body Problem by Cixin Liu ( 2015 ) The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin ( 2016 ) The Obelisk Gate by N.K. Jemisin ( 2017 ) BSFA Award for Best Novel 1969 -- 1979 Stand on Zanzibar by John Brunner ( 1969 ) The Jagged Orbit by John Brunner ( 1970 ) Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke ( 1973 ) Inverted World by Christopher Priest ( 1974 ) Orbitsville by Bob Shaw ( 1975 ) Brontomek ! by Michael G. Coney ( 1976 ) The Jonah Kit by Ian Watson ( 1977 ) A Scanner Darkly by Philip K. Dick ( 1978 ) The Unlimited Dream Company by J.G. Ballard ( 1979 ) 1980 -- 1989 Timescape by Gregory Benford ( 1980 ) The Shadow of the Torturer by Gene Wolfe ( 1981 ) Helliconia Spring by Brian W. Aldiss ( 1982 ) Tik - Tok by John Sladek ( 1983 ) Mythago Wood by Robert Holdstock ( 1984 ) Helliconia Winter by Brian W. Aldiss ( 1985 ) The Ragged Astronauts by Bob Shaw ( 1986 ) Gráinne by Keith Roberts ( 1987 ) Lavondyss by Robert Holdstock ( 1988 ) Pyramids by Terry Pratchett ( 1989 ) 1990 -- 1999 Take Back Plenty by Colin Greenland ( 1990 ) The Fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons ( 1991 ) Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson ( 1992 ) Aztec Century by Christopher Evans ( 1993 ) Feersum Endjinn by Iain M. Banks ( 1994 ) The Time Ships by Stephen Baxter ( 1995 ) Excession by Iain M. Banks ( 1996 ) The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell ( 1997 ) The Extremes by Christopher Priest ( 1998 ) The Sky Road by Ken MacLeod ( 1999 ) 2000 -- 2009 Ash : A Secret History by Mary Gentle ( 2000 ) Chasm City by Alastair Reynolds ( 2001 ) The Separation by Christopher Priest ( 2002 ) Felaheen by Jon Courtenay Grimwood ( 2003 ) River of Gods by Ian McDonald ( 2004 ) Air by Geoff Ryman ( 2005 ) End of the World Blues by Jon Courtenay Grimwood ( 2006 ) Brasyl by Ian McDonald ( 2007 ) The Night Sessions by Ken MacLeod ( 2008 ) The City & the City by China Miéville ( 2009 ) 2010 -- 2019 The Dervish House by Ian McDonald ( 2010 ) The Islanders by Christopher Priest ( 2011 ) Jack Glass by Adam Roberts ( 2012 ) Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie and Ack - Ack Macaque by Gareth L. Powell ( tie ) ( 2013 ) Ancillary Sword by Ann Leckie ( 2014 ) The House of Shattered Wings by Aliette de Bodard ( 2015 ) Europe in Winter by Dave Hutchinson ( 2016 ) The Rift by Nina Allan ( 2017 ) Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_City_%26_the_City&oldid=840611846 '' Categories : 2009 British novels Urban fantasy novels Hugo Award for Best Novel - winning works Novels by China Miéville 2009 fantasy novels Crime novels Kitschies Red Tentacle - winning works Macmillan Publishers books Weird fiction novels World Fantasy Award for Best Novel - winning works Hidden categories : EngvarB from September 2013 Use dmy dates from September 2013 Articles containing German - language text Pages to import images to Wikidata Talk Contents About Wikipedia Deutsch Español Français 한국어 Bahasa Indonesia Italiano Polski Suomi Edit links This page was last edited on 10 May 2018, at 23 : 58. 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Question: the city and the city bbc number of episodes
Answer: four