Zoo City, my “phantasmagorical noir” set in a strange alternate reality Johannesburg, made Book Riot’s killer list of fantasy novels by African writers.
It’s in superb company, together with books like The Famished Road by legend Ben Okri, The Icarus Girl by Helen Oyeyemi, Akata Witch by my brilliant friend Nnedi Okorafor, and Cat Hellison’s Beauty and the Beast retelling, Beastkeeper.
Book Riot’s Margaret Kingsbury writes:
Set in present-day Johannesburg, Zoo City is a South African urban fantasy written by popular South African author Lauren Beukes. You gotta love this premise: those with criminal backgrounds are suddenly, magically “gifted” with animal familiars that they immediately love and are completely bound to. If their animal dies, so do they. The main character, Zinzi, is paired with a sloth! All the sloth heart eyes over here.
Thanks @pennamiteplr for the photo of the US edition of Zoo City (paired with noodles!).