[ The Last Days of New Paris] is a brief vacation in alien latitudes, a midnight layover in an imaginary place.” —NPR “A thoughtful, highbrow novella... Miéville’s self-assured style offers up a strong sense of humanity, while the strange Surrealist monsters give Last Days a fun and complementary mad-science component.” —USA Today These items are shipped from and sold by different sellers. THE LAST DAYS OF NEW PARIS. China Mieville's "The Last Days of New Paris" is an alternate history set during the Nazi occupation and beyond, plus two more new science fiction books reviewed. PICADOR, $29.99. The final 20% of the book was a perfect ode to everything Lovecraftian. Then you can start reading Kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required. There is a plot, after a fashion, though as usual with this author, it's the journey not the destination. Perhaps if you are heavily into the Surrealist Art movement you will love it as a knowledge of Surrealist Art will help. A thriller of war that never was—of survival in an impossible city, in which the Nazis and the Surrealist movement face off against one another in Paris. Unfortunately. Please try your request again later. The Last Days of New Paris by China Miéville review – a dazzling scholarly fantasy The Nazis control Paris in 1950 and the art world’s surrealist visions have come to … . China Mieville is a brilliant and prolific cult writer and thinker who has said that he wants to write a book in every genre. The City and the City by the same author is much better and I'd recommend that if you are interested in China Meiville as it is clever, interesting and a great story. It also manages to hang events around a plot, even if it's a far-fetched one. In The Last Days of New Paris, China Miéville entwines true historical events and people with his daring, uniquely imaginative brand of fiction, reconfiguring history and art into something new. .” This is what China does best, a writerly chimera of styles and neologisms sprinkled with mind warping visualizations that will most likely give you nightmares. For The Last Days of New Paris the main topic was surrealist art. It's for a good reason; the man's a wordsmith. The Last Days of New Paris. It should get points for creativity and originality which it has in spades. It is 1950 in Nazi-occupied Paris. I guess it was supposed to be a surrealist novella, but I don’t feel it that way. He’s come up with many highly original premises for books. We’d love your help. This isn't his best work, and not for everyone, Reviewed in the United States on August 28, 2016. . The Last Days of New Paris is a 2016 New Weird novella written by China Miéville. The Last Days of New Paris is a novella from China Miéville, a man who has both a wonderful name and my interest. The Fall Rot scene was read at 3:30 a.m. in a dark room and gave me all the right heebie jeebies. You know when you go to a movie and feel like it would have made a better trilogy? . Thibault then finds himself on a quest, accompanied by a journalist aiming to document 'the last days of New Paris' for posterity, to uncover and stop a Nazi plot to unleash a new terror. Can someone explain what the book is about without major spoilers? The role of surrealism in history is explored. The Last Days of New Paris A Novella (Book) : Miéville, China : "1941. “Beauty will be convulsive. Miéville’s self-assured style offers up a strong sense of humanity, while the strange Surrealist monsters give Last Days … The Last Days of New Paris (ISBN 978-0-345-54399-8) is a 2016 fantasy novella by China Miéville. I didn't quite get the book blurb. It also analyzes reviews to verify trustworthiness. (I'd been really, really hoping that this would be set in the same world as 'This Census-Taker,' but alas, it is unrelated.). Miéville likes to play with ideas/affectations, and this one is more contrived than most; remove the big ideas and it lose literary coherence (unlike The City and The City, for example, which deconstructs into classic noir thriller). Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 14, 2017. Buy Now. Date. Brief content visible, double tap to read full content. I just picked up a hard cover copy from my neighborhood branch of the St. Louis Public Library yesterday (January 14, 2017), so it's definitely out and available. In The Last Days of New Paris, China Miéville entwines true historical events and people with his daring, uniquely imaginative brand of fiction. It's Mieville -- And If You Know Paris and Surrealist Art You'll Love It. CHINA MIEVILLE. I just picked up a hard cover copy from my neighborhood branch of the St. Louis Public Library yesterday (January 14, 2017), so it's definitely out an. Thibault then finds himself on a quest, accompanied by a journalist aiming to document 'the last days of New Paris' for posterity, to uncover and stop a Nazi plot to unleash a new terror. Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read. Fiction Historical Speculative. "1941. -- NPR Mieville takes one of the most exhausted tropes of alternate history - a counterfactual Second World War - and breathes joyously vivid life into it. I'm partial to weird, dense fiction and am a huge China Miéville fan. It should get points for creativity and originality which it has in spades. If you are truly looking for something different, this may be the book for you. As with many Miéville novels, this one is focused on a unique city; unlike the others, its uniqueness does not make for a compelling visit. Where he tends to fall down is crafting characters that feel real and that the reader can invest in. And new secrets will emerge that will test all their loyalties—to each other, to Paris old and new, and to reality itself. I've read a few of Meiville's books, Perdido Street Station, The Scar, and The Iron Council and they were amazing! Nazis, Resistance fighters, and monsters created by the bomb (called manifs) all walk the warped streets. . The author belongs to a loose group of writers sometimes called New Weird. About The Last Days of New Paris. I'm giving China four stars for trying, but the result in this case is less than a full success. The City & The City: A Novel (Random House Reader's Circle), October: The Story of the Russian Revolution. I've read one of books before, and it seems everyone on earth is recommending others of his to me near constantly. Any book that has sentient piece of surreal art fighting nazi made demon can't be bad. News, author interviews, critics' picks and more. Factions and battles and betrayals. With his second novella of 2016, The Last Days of New Paris, Miéville tackles an alternate history where a surrealist bomb explodes in the Nazi-occupied Paris of … Like the blurb says, it follows a man trying to survive in Paris, 9 years after the detonation of a S(urrealist)-bomb in the center of the city. by China Miéville. The Windsors also purchased the cosier Mill at Gif-sur-Yvette outside Paris, while in New York, they rented a spacious apartment on the 37th floor of the Waldorf Towers. Sadly this is one of those times where I just didn't connect with the story. Full content visible, double tap to read brief content. In her quest to photograph all of the manifs Sam … Welcome back. A fascinating conglomeration that hit many sweet spots for me. The Last Days of New Paris is China Miéville’s novella about a surrealist Paris magically overlapping with our realist Paris. I have only a basic passing familiarity with the surrealistic movement but do remember enjoying a cla. (FAAAAARRRRTTT)”, Read for book club (although, again, I didn't make the meeting), and also because I'm a fan. Imagine Paris in 1950 in an alternate history where Germany has not lost the war. These bizarre creatures roam the city terrorising Nazis and locals alike. The genre-bending author, known for his peculiar worlds and haunting imagery, chats about his disturbing new book, This Census-Taker, and the value... To see what your friends thought of this book. [ The Last Days of New Paris] is a brief vacation in alien latitudes, a midnight layover in an imaginary place.” —NPR “A thoughtful, highbrow novella... Miéville’s self-assured style offers up a strong sense of humanity, while the strange Surrealist monsters give Last Days a fun and complementary mad-science component.” —USA Today Enter your mobile number or email address below and we'll send you a link to download the free Kindle App. August 9th 2016 Paris during World War II, Nazi interest in the occult, a mysterious S-blast which brings to life surrealistic paintings, drawings, sculptures,ideas as well as demons from Hell, a small resistance band of surrealistic ideologues battling the manifestations......just when you thought Miéville couldn't get any stranger. Buy From a Local Bookstore. Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free. A fascinating conglomeration that hit many sweet spots for me. I have only a basic passing familiarity with the surrealistic movement but do remember enjoying a class from my college days so I really had fun looking up the references in the story. The whole book is fairly confusing; honestly the blurb is the most straightforward and understandable part. Amazon is telling me availability is next year? In The Last Days of New Paris, China Miéville entwines true historical events and people with his daring, uniquely imaginative brand of fiction, reconfiguring history and art into something new. In the bizarre Paris of 1950, 9 years after the S-blast was detonated there, a lone resistance fighter uses his surrealist talents to navigate the deeply weird world of never-ending conflict between surrealist manifestations and the forces of Nazis and Hell itself. The finale of The Last Days of New Paris is both moving and disturbingly timely: imagination has often been used to puncture fascism; now … Clearly, we are in a reality alternate to our own. Start by marking “The Last Days of New Paris” as Want to Read: Error rating book. If you ever wanted to read a book about a guy smelling his own farts for 160 pages, this one’s for you! Additionally, the epilogue/afterword was 1/4 of the total length of the book, which seemed like a bit much (though it was interesting). Sold by Bookworm_CT and ships from Amazon Fulfillment. He has stood for the House of Commons for the Socialist Alliance, and published a book on Marxism and international law. . This isn't his best work, and not for everyone. "Beauty will be convulsive. To get the free app, enter your mobile phone number. I have not read anything like this before, it was weird but very good. I'm not sure wtf I just read and on what shelf I should put this but I liked it a lot. He is also active in left-wing politics as a member of the Socialist Workers Party. THE LAST DAYS OF NEW PARIS, by China Miéville. Art attacks and some artists are more deadly than others, Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 18, 2017. The whole book is fairly confusing; honestly the blurb is the most straightforward and understandable part. Paris during World War II, Nazi interest in the occult, a mysterious S-blast which brings to life surrealistic paintings, drawings, sculptures,ideas as well as demons from Hell, a small resistance band of surrealistic ideologues battling the manifestations......just when you thought Miéville couldn't get any stranger. Like Miéville’s other books, “The Last Days of New Paris” draws on the world of role-playing games. “Beauty will be convulsive....” 1941. In the chaos of wartime Marseille, American engineer--and occult disciple--Jack Parsons stumbles onto a clandestine anti-Nazi group, including Surrealist theorist Andre Breton. It also manages to hang events around a plot, even if it's a far-fetched one. The concept of this book is fantastic, but the people are barely there, the language feels overwrought and ineffective and the plot, if there is one, is so slow that I still don't know what it is and I'm halfway through the book. It’s a shame, because it would make an excellent film, a good graphic novel, and a challenging project for humanities undergrads to untangle. Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video! That's what I was left with. If you are into science fiction, and you have you a got a favourite surrealist image, then you are in luck as your favourite image probably appears as a plot device somewhere in this this novella. Very clever and interesting idea. ." I'm 2/3 of the way through and will finish it as I sort of like it but it's been a bit of a slog at times. A thriller of war that never was - of survival in an impossible city - of surreal cataclysm. A thriller of war that never was—of survival in an impossible city—of surreal cataclysm. I think the big appeal of Miéville is his boundless imagination. What a concept. As the epigraph at the start of the book states: A British "fantastic fiction" writer. More By and About This Author. "Beauty will be convulsive. Publisher. There was so much tale left untold, so many characters who could have had truly interesting tales of their own. Fairly well written, but the book never grabbed me, never pulled me in - often to the point where I'd realized I'd read several pages and hadn't really absorbed any of it as I just wasn't into it. Find books like The Last Days of New Paris from the world’s largest community of readers. The story is informed and inspired by Surrealist art and artists of the mid-twentieth century. The book takes place in an alternate history in which surrealist artists join partisans in Paris to fight Nazi groups. This could have easily been a series, so I was left disappointed. This is the situation of politics which Fascism is rendering aesthetic. I read half of this and got fed up with what seemed to be a series of abstract observations, described as it=f the reader knows the background story, when actually it was just too bizarre to puzzle out what that may be. Refresh and try again. It is set in a bizarre alternate-reality Paris, which has been split off by a mysterious magical event called the "S-Blast" during the German occupation of World War II. I think it's time for China Miéville to consider writing a memoir. Nuff said! . 1941. The idea of using surrealistic art as weapon was mind boggling. That's pretty much the premise, it's hard to go much further into the plot without spoiling things? The Last Days of New Paris China Miéville. The use of an S-Bomb in Paris has caused figures from surrealist art to come alive. After viewing product detail pages, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in. Communism responds by politicizing art.”. by Del Rey. Please try again. I'm still more a fan of his longer form, but to make this story work it had to be the length it was. We soon learn of two timelines in the alternate reality wherein resides 'New Paris'. China Mieville seems, to me, like an author who has great ideas and turns them into mediocre books. Your selected delivery location is beyond seller's shipping coverage for this item. Perdido Street Station is a new-weird masterpiece, while The City & the City and Embassytown proved he could ably stretch into mystery and science fiction. Del Rey. This is a surrealist retelling set in 1941 and featuring a new version of what Paris could have been. He is also active in left-wing politics as a member of the Socialist W. A British "fantastic fiction" writer. Del Rey, 205 pp., $25. . China Miéville is one of the great fantasists of the English language. It is set in Paris in the 1950s, in an alternate universe where an 'S bomb' unreleased creatures dreamed up by the Surrealist imagination into reality. Your recently viewed items and featured recommendations, Select the department you want to search in. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 24, 2017. . In the strange games of the dissident diplomats, exiled revolutionaries, and avant-garde artists, Parsons finds and channels hope. Unfortunately, this summoned up less enthusiasm in me than anything I've read from Miéville recently. Click to read more about Editions: The Last Days of New Paris by China Miéville. All in one tiny little tome. . The exact goal of the movement is never entirely clear. Political, grotesque, bizarre, monsters, cities, well, basically, What a concept. The photo on the cover shows a view of the Eiffel Tower with the lower part obscured by mist. Something went wrong. Top subscription boxes – right to your door, © 1996-2021, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates, Visit Amazon's China Miéville Page. So in The Last Days of New Paris, a slim novella with a tastefully and deceptively mainstream cover, it stands to reason that Miéville had different … This is a very unique and interesting story. I’m pretty sure that when André Breton and his Surrealist colleagues collaborated on The Exquisite Corpse in 1938 — that bizarre photo-collage of a giant with a larva on his head, a train spewing smoke in his beard, and a vise for a torso — they never would have predicted their creature would star in a boss battle in a 21st century work of weird fiction by the genre’s most prominent Marxist. Meh- disjointed narrative made it hard to follow and the short length made it hard to connect with the characters. [The Last Days of New Paris] is a brief vacation in alien latitudes, a midnight layover in an imaginary place. BUY NOW FROM ... or “manifs,” on war-torn Paris—and the ongoing battle for the soul of the city, now under lockdown by the Nazis. Please choose a different delivery location or purchase from another seller. Thibault, the main character, is a young man who forms part of the resistance, who fight the assorted demons, living sculptures and German soldiers. “In the right context you can make words do all kinds of things.”, “With the city like this, don’t we have greater needs than poetry?”, Dragon Award Nominee for Best Novel (2017). “Ohh (fart), I’m (fart) China (fart) Mieville and, oooh (fart) I know sooooo (fart) much (fart) about (fart) Surrealism! A thriller of war that never was—of survival in an impossible city—of surreal cataclysm. It's just that the story is a bit lacking.