Unknotting the mysteries of Un Lun Dun

I started reading at a very young age. When I was a child, I used to read several books each week, so much so, my parents had trouble keeping up with me. There was one particular book, however, which I read over and over again – The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster.

I always thought The Phantom Tollbooth was unique, and there would never be another book like it. I was VERY wrong. Un Lun Dun is a magnified version of The Phantom Tollbooth, a fantasy novel so detailed and vivid you would believe such an abcity actually exists beneath the grey roads of London.

I bumped into Un Lun Dun quite accidentally. I was, in fact, looking for a Paulo Coelho novel to read and was quite disheartened when I couldn’t find it.  The cover of China Mieville’s novel with a binja (ninja rubbish bin = binja) caught my eye when I was looking around. The review on the cover called it a “firecracker of a book.” Could it possibly be that good? I was curious so I bought it.

This book took me to a place so fantastical, nonsensical and relatable all at once. Un Lun Dun (more commonly referred to as UnLondon) is a mirror image of London, but is filled with things that are moil (mildly obsolete in London) like broken umbrellas, old trash, half-ghosts and talking books.

The lead characters, Zanna and Deeba, stumble upon UnLondon after a series of planned coincidences and they learn that Zanna is The Chosen One or Shwazzy (derived from the French Choisi, meaning Chosen) UnLondon is depending on to save everyone from the Smog, an evil sentient cloud of toxic fumes.

This is, of course, UnLondon and the supposed hero takes a back seat (not intentionally, though) as Deeba becomes the UnChosen One and leads UnLondon towards destroying the Smog and saves them and Londoners from the wrath of the man-consuming cloud.

There are so many details missing here, like the Propheseers, the Slate Runners who are a tribe of people who only live on roofs, the Book, which talks and is full of misinformed prophecies, my favourite binjas and the other characters like Hemi, Obaday Fing, Skool, Brokkenbroll and many more. But to name all of them here would be to take away half the excitement of reading the book. Mieville’s work is a page-turner precisely because we don’t know who and what to expect.

Although this book was written for young adults, I believe anyone from any walk of life would enjoy the escapism it offers in the form of misfits and mishaps. For me, it was like a blast from the past –my inner child could only jump with joy after discovering The Phantom Tollbooth’s edgier counterpart. A Must Read!

Un Lun Dun won the 2008 Locus Award for Young Adult Book.