In a recent blog Steve McAlpine refers to the murder mystery The City and The City which is set in two cities, Beszel and Ul Quoma. He writes ‘Yet here’s the thing. Beszel and Ul Quoma are two cities, but they occupy the same geographical location. Each city’s streets and buildings wind and intertwine with the other… Citizens from each city are not permitted to “see” the other city. They have been trained from birth to blur it from their minds; to “unsee” it, ignore it and refuse to countenance it, upon pain of committing what is called “breach” – a crime punishable by imprisonment. Any passerby could be a breach officer, so everyone is alert to ensure they are seen to “unsee”’. He asks: ‘What might it mean to live a citizens of one city intertwined with citizens of another city, each occupying the same geographical space?’ Which ‘city’ do we really live in? David Robertson takes us on a journey to see ‘The World Turned Upside Down’.
