I have been putting off writing about this book for several weeks, because I’m not sure I can do it justice. To be specific, I think I understand what the book is about, but I don’t know how to explain it.The closest I have been able to come is: this is a book about being alive.
There are certain writers who astound me with their imagination. Their books are simply so far out of my universe — even my imaginary universe — that my jaw metaphorically drops as I read them. China Mieville is such an author.
What if you lost the ability to know what color is?
Not just to see in color, but to conceive in color. All your memories suddenly monochromatic. The names and associations still intact — yellow bananas, red apples — but suddenly abstract.
The fact that this is possible at all tells us something about the human mind. [...]
