A Literary Shape Shifter
A Literary Shape Shifter Wall Street Journal - Life and Culture: A Literary Shape-Shifter By ALEXANDRA ALTER Like his genre-bending novels, China Mi�ville defies easy categorization. With his shaved head, row of earrings and sculpted arms, the 38-year-old British novelist more closely resembles a bodyguard or mixed martial artist than an author who studies linguistic philosophy and holds a Ph.D. in international relations from the London School of Economics. He leapfrogs between literary categories, playing with the narrative conventions of police procedurals, Westerns, sea adventures, urban fantasy and even romance. His 2000 novel, "Perdido Street Station," won British literary prizes in two separate categories, science fiction and fantasy. "City & the City," his take on classic noir, reads like a mash-up of George Orwell and Raymond Chandler�a murder investigation leads a detective to a secret mirror city that is hidden from ordinary view. Getty Images China...