Review: The Last Days of New Paris

Pin It The Last Days of New Paris by China Miéville
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The premise of this book was so ridiculous that I couldn't help but dive at the opportunity to read it, especially since I was given a free galley copy by the publisher. From my previous experience, China Mieville tends to live in a space that is far outside the reaches of most people's creative capabilities. It's a fascinating world, but quite possibly one that can only exist in the mind of a mad-man. And I love it!

"In the chaos of wartime Marseille, American engineer - and occult disciple - Jack Parsons stumbles onto a clandestine anti-Nazi group, including surrealist theorist André Breton. In the strange games of the dissident diplomats, exiled revolutionaries, and avant-garde artists, Parsons finds and channels hope. But what he unwittingly unleashes is the power of dreams and nightmares, changing the war and the world forever.

It's 1950. A lone surrealist fighter, Thibaut, walks a new, hallucinogenic Paris, where Nazis and the Resistance are trapped in unending conflict, and the streets are stalked by living images and texts - and by the forces of hell."

Delicious, right!? I'm not going to lie, I was occasionally confused and disoriented by the craziness in these pages but I was never ever bored. Anyone who has ever looked at a surrealist painting knows that confusion is quite possibly the source of the thrill you experience.

This was a book that I couldn't possibly describe to another reader in a way that would effectively portray how fantastic it was. It was a joy to read and unlike any other book I've ever read!

View all my reviews