Hieroglyphics were perhaps closer to the things they represent, because the hieroglyphic symbol for “a man” looked a bit like a man. The connection between the word (the “signifier” in Semiotics) and what it represents (“the signified”) is abstract – words are not literal, they are figurative. The word “camel” is letters written down in a certain combination – and does not look like, nor is, the thing that is a camel. The basic premise of the novel is this: language – the words we have – are concepts, not meant to literally be the things they represent. It will stay with you and puzzle and please you long after you have put it down. Some novels are easily read and quickly forgotten. You have to really pay attention while you read it, and learn – as the characters in the book do – the new language presented to you. I have never read anything like it, and neither have I ever encountered the premise, setting, plot or the words Miéville invented for this novel. It is set in a comprehensive, holistic, entirely new created world. This is a New Weird novel/thriller/sociological discourse (?) about Linguistics in society, or to be more precise – Semiotics – and even though I have a MA degree in the subject, it really intrigued and challenged me. Embassytown, by China Miéville (US publication: Random House Inc., 2011 Del Rey Books Trade Paperback Edition 2012)

Embassytown by china miéville