【明報專訊】The City & the City is a curious crime novel by China Miéville, set in two imaginary antagonizing cities Bes?el and Ul Qoma, whose citizens carry themselves in distinctly different manners. For unknown reasons, the two cities have put in place rules to prohibit any exchange between their citizens, obliging them to "unsee" (pretend not to see) their counterparts in the other city when an encounter occurs. A citizen who fails to do so commit a "breach", an ultimate crime handled by a mysterious organisation called Breach, and are immediately removed from sight and subjected to unknown punishments. The story revolves around the death of Mahalia, a PhD student who has been outspoken about Orciny, a rumoured third city in between the aforementioned two.