I'm rereading Matthew Swift, and getting close to the end of The Midnight Mayor. And the further into it I get the more I realize that this book is not only my favorite, but the book that defined the series for me.
A Madness of Angels is a great introduction. We meet Matthew, we meet the angels, we meet London, we're immersed in Kate Griffin's glorious prose and the magic of the city. We get the answers to Matthew's questions--"Who killed me, and who brought us back?" We get the climax, the confrontation of the past. Madness of Angels is the origin story.
Midnight Mayor, though, is the thesis statement. Rereading it, knowing what's coming, I am reveling in how the entirety of this book is setting up its perfect final declaration. Every little thing it chooses to dwell on, for what seems like no particular reason. Strangers. The stones of the city. Give me back my hat. The work of all the millions of invisible people who make the city run, bring in the food to feed it, take the trash away. The Aldermen, their philosophy, that speech Mr. Earle gives about a city of ants, all of them following blindly, nothing binding them together but the structure of the city, and of course the Aldermen are the only ones who see it--how very Plato of him! The only one who can see the real world casting its shadows on the wall (ha) of the cave, how enlightened, of course he should be in charge, at least according to him.
(Can you see me slipping into Kate Griffin's writing style? I love the rhythm of it. It's rubbing off on me.)
Every part of this story is slowly building up evidence, refuting counterarguments, preparing us for the thesis at the end of the book. Matthew tells us life is magic, sorcery is a point of view, and in Midnight Mayor we get to see what that point of view is. And more than that--we're invited to join in it ourselves.
When I say that the Matthew Swift books are bursting with love for humanity, what I'm talking about is how one act of kindness, from a stranger, saves the city of London from mythical destruction. How the Aldermen look at the city and see ants, interchangeable and insignificant, and Matthew looks at the city and says no, every single one of those is a human with thoughts and dreams and buses to catch, and every single one of them matters. No such thing as strangers. No one is alone.
Every time I read this book, I think, this is how I want to look at the world.
#I often say a madness of angels is my favorite book period but midnight mayor is the strongest book in the series #it follows through on the themes and arcs of the first book and sets the tone stakes and philosophy BEAUTIFULLY for the rest of the world (via wsoupofpain)
