I change shapes just to hide in this place

I don't really like Sci-Fi/Fantasy books. My library had no neatly stacked copies of the Discworld series or Philip K Dick novels. Neither did I finish 1984, or start with The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Yesterday I said I was reading Lauren Beukes' Zoo City, and it was so engrossing that I had to know, I had to finish it. I know I've missed the bandwagon somewhat, but this is a really cool book. It's set in the Joburg you know, with Hillbrow being rebranded in name only to Zoo City. It is still equally dodgy, with prozzies, drug dealers and gang wars whilst people live in derelict buildings and the police rarely shows up.

However, people who feel guilty about something are 'animalled', meaning that after the guilt sets in, an animal shows up which gives them a magical power and which they cannot stand to be separated from. The main character, Zinzi December, carries around a sloth. A sloth. How cool is that. Like a giant furry backpack. She also has the power to find lost things. If you have seen that Eskom 49 Million ad, where everyone is connected by pieces of string, you can imagine how she sees lost things connected to the person who lost it.

I don't want to write a review, because enough others have done so. Also because I am lazy and just really liked the book. A sloth. Magic. Mystery. Non/Real Jozi. The cover. It is just all very cool.