Zinzi December, has a sloth on her back, and a habit of pulling 419 scams over the Internet. She has a knack for finding missing things. This time, she is asked to look for a missing person, and ends up in alot deeper than she wanted to be. Mixing up with all the wrong people, sometimes people just don't want to be found. Why read - It looked interesting (later found it has been nominated for a host of awards)
A book that stands out from the crowd. Zoo city is set in a run down South African town, where criminals and poverty meet. Its an urban tale of destruction, criminality, and urban decay. When I started this book it vaguely reminded me of a cross between the old black and white film Noir, detective films with hints of Blade Runner.
The story is very unique and refreshing. Although seemingly sticking to stereotypes and codes of the old detective story Lauren seems to bring it into her own. The whole story leaves you gripped and its totally unexpected all the way through. She also has a fantastic sense of humour, with fantastic similes and turn of phrases.
Another aspect I loved to this novel was the easy cross between modern life and fantasy, she eases between both worlds so easily you hardly notice its their at all. She dips into a world of magic so seamlessly you could imagine that this is how life always is. She also does this, with slipping in words in Afrikaans (which i admit i occasionally looked up on the Internet out of curiosity) but Lauren did this in such a way that it was natural to the story.
The style of writing, again was fantastic, hard to explain but it was almost like you were walking through the jungle, pulling aside the weeds to find the deep story within. But again done in such a way it was an exploration of the story rather than a hindrance.
I would highly recommend a read of this book, its such a beautifully unique story with twists and references to previous books and styles of writing. Yet Lauren does it in such a way that its refreshing, new and exciting.
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