Metropolis is everything I wanted from Anxious People without the achingly, unrealistic, clever, annoying characters. Metropolis brings together a cast of random characters who all cross paths at the Metropolis storage unit. Zach owns the place and we start as he is selling off the contents of the units for an unknown reason. As each unit is revealed we learn about its owner: Serge – a photographer using it as a dark room; Jason – a lawyer using it as his office; Liddy – a socialite in an abusive marriage using the unit to preserve her children’s rooms; Marta – a Venezulean immigrant hiding because her visa has expired. They are all using these units in unorthodox ways due to Rose, the office manager who looks the other way for a payment.
It takes a while before we see how all of the characters intersect and at first you wonder how they will come together but when they do, it’s so compelling. This was a book I did not want to put down. When you have a multiple POV with six characters, I often find myself frustrated because I am more invested in one story than another. That was not the case here. Each one of these characters has such an interesting backstory and is a compelling character in their own right. The actual incident that brings them together takes a while to get to but I was so entertained along the way and on the edge of my seat to see where each road took me. When the event does happen it’s pretty shocking and the repercussions for the characters gave me such anxiety. I was so invested in their lives and I have to say the end was quite satisfying. There is a great twist that I did start to suspect but was still incredulous when it did. Great writing and complex compelling characters you don’t want to miss in this one! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐
Thanks to Algonquin books for the gifted copy. All opinions above are my own.
This was a book that came out of nowhere for me but will probably be one of my favorites of the year… what’s the last book that totally blew your expectations out of the water?
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