If you liked 'District 9,' you'll like 'Zoo City'
South African sci-fi gets high marks again with a new book about people who are bonded with animals.
Story from Studio 360. Listen to audio for full report.
Until the movie "District 9" came out two years ago, "South African science fiction" didn't ring any bells for Americans. But that may change. The winner of this year's Arthur C. Clarke Award, more or less the Pulitzer of sci-fi, is a journalist and novelist from Cape Town.
Lauren Beukes' novel is called "Zoo City," and like "District 9," it's set in the present, in a world much like ours except for one (enormous) detail. The plot revolves around Zinzi December, who is a "zoo" -- a person who, because of a misdeed in the past, becomes mysteriously and inseparably bonded with a particular animal. (The politically correct term for them, in this book, is "animalled persons.") Zoos have magical powers but are marginalized, and live in Johannesburg's decrepit slums.
Zinzi makes her living finding lost things -- she and her sloth can feel the "threads" that attach them to their owners -- and she gets roped into the search for a pop star who's gone missing. "And it all goes very, very wrong from there," says Beukes.
Zoo City is a sci-fi noir crime novel that doubles (or triples) as an allegory of the legacy of apartheid.
South Africa is "an incredibly rich place, and incredibly inspiring ..." Beukes told Studio 360's Kurt Andersen. "It's also a country I believe in -- I believe we can pull through all our problems and get through the legacy of apartheid. What always surprises me is South Africa's ability to reconcile, and that was also something I was trying to explore with "Zoo City."
Listen to audio of Beukes reading from "Zoo City," on the Studio 360 website.
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PRI's Peabody Award-winning "Studio 360 with Kurt Andersen" from WNYC is public radio's smart and surprising guide to what's happening in pop culture and the arts. Each week, Kurt Andersen introduces you to the people who are creating and shaping our culture. Life is busy -- so let "Studio 360" steer you to the must-see movie this weekend, the next book for your nightstand, or the song that will change your life.
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