Named a CBC Books Writer to Watch
Exit West meets Normal People in this moving dystopian love story eerily in tune with our times.
At once evocative and propulsive, City in Flames is a love story about two isolated people with a deep yet fragile bond trying to find their way to each other while political disorder engulfs the world around them.
Sara is a graduate student living away from home and struggling to finish her degree. When she kindles a long-distance relationship with Kevin, a disillusioned and apathetic IT worker, the two watch as the city that Kevin lives in, and Sara grew up in, slowly rises up against P., a recently elected populist leader. As protests escalate to a night of devastating fires, the impending political breakdown pushes Sara and Kevin’s relationship to the brink and leaves them torn between the turmoil of the present and a hope for the future, between their longing for connection and their terror of commitment.
City in Flames offers a timely, intimate examination of our political moment, mixing the edge of Exit West and the modern romance of Normal People. It is a story that illuminates how people can grow separated from each other, the ways that these bonds can be healed and re-established, and how humans define themselves through their relationships with others.
Not a happy tale, but a hopeful one.
"A poetic reflection of today's society told through a long distance love story made more challenging through a country experiencing political unrest. It's written beautifully, albeit at times the plot felt a little bit lacking, I still enjoyed the whole experience, especially the duality of the two leads."
