The City & the City: Chapter 15 Summary & Analysis

Borlú suggests that he and Dhatt take the recently revamped, state-of-the-art metro to Bowden’s apartment. Each stop has been designed by a different artist or designer who had been told to let their imaginations roam freely, with no concern for financial restraint. Greeting them, Bowden explains that one of his neighbors was a former Black Panther; Ul Qoma was a popular destination for Panthers fleeing persecution in the US. Borlú asks why Bowden came to live in Ul Qoma rather than Besźel, and Bowden replies it is because he is an archaeologist. Most of the significant artefacts are in Ul Qoma, a fact that has been made worse by Besźel’s eagerness to “sell what little heritage it could dig up to whoever wanted it.” 

Borlú points to a pile of papers written in an ancient script and asks what it is. Bowden replies that he is still sent things like this by people claiming that the script is the language of Orciny. He asks about Yolanda, saying she was a sweet person against whom no one could possibly have held a grudge. He notes that the same could not be said of Mahalia, although he didn’t know her well. He is Yolanda’s supervisor, and he says that although Yolanda is “perfectly intelligent enough,” she is not on Mahalia’s level—few people are. However, he did not want to supervise Mahalia due to her “bullshit.” Yolanda is his only student. An adjunct, his official title at Prince of Wales is “Corresponding Lecturer.”

Bowden dismisses his younger self as “a stoned young man.” However, although he says that Orciny isn’t real, he also emphasizes that 85% of the research in Between the City and the City “still holds up and is still used.” When he first met Mahalia at the conference in Besźel, she said she wanted to work with him. He balked, threatening to turn her into the police. Mahalia said he was a coward, and that was the end of their relationship. Bowden says he was glad to hear that Mahalia had let go of her interest in Orciny.

Yolanda never originally showed any interest in Orciny, but has recently been bringing up “dissensi.” Borlú asks if Bowden feels threatened, as it seems that there may be someone targeting those who study Orciny. However, Bowden replies that he doesn’t study Orciny and hasn’t for a long time. Dhatt points out that Bowden was recently burgled, yet Bowden remains adamant that no one is after him. He reiterates that Orciny doesn’t exist, and Dhatt replies that, while this is true, there are still “nutters” out there who might be provoked by the thought of Orciny.