Zoo City

Zinzi’s shavi is finding lost things. When she looks at someone, she can literally see what they have lost—sometimes clearly, and sometimes only vaguely, depending on how attached they are to what is no longer with them. This ability gives her a sense of who they are; when someone has no lost objects, she fears they also have no attachments. Some people who have no attachments are extraordinarily well adjusted. Others are suicidal.

When people cannot accept loss, they often struggle to move on; or, by detaching themselves from the things they hold precious, they inoculate themselves against future attachment. Benôit has lived a life of loss: first, the loss of his childhood when he was forced to become a child soldier; second, the loss of his family when they were kidnapped on the way to his father-in-law’s funeral. Zinzi also lost many things when she became animalled, including her family and her career.

For this reason, Zinzi prefers to find lost objects, and she avoids taking missing persons cases so she doesn’t have to search for lost people. Because of the extraordinary amount of money she stands to earn, she makes an exception in the case of Song. She allowed herself to find Benôit, but when his family returns, she discovers that she’s about to lose him, too. Zinzi’s shavi reinforces a lesson that she has already learned: People define themselves not only by what they have, but by what they’ve lost.

Although mashavi face extreme prejudice, they have a prominent place in pop culture. Dehqan Baiyat ushered in an era of fear, but he was well regarded: He had gone to film school in the United States, and his criminality had an air of artistry. Two decades later, the rapper Slinger pretends to have a Hyena and builds a false personal mythology around his supposed murders and the acquisition of his familiar. He culturally appropriates Aposymbiotism and profits from it until he is caught.

Because people consider mashavi different and dangerous, mashavi invoke both excitement and fear. Goth kids approach Zinzi in the mall, admiring her and wanting to imitate her because they admire Slinger. People’s prurient interest in Aposymbiots drives Gio to a specific kind of revenge when he becomes angry with Zinzi. He writes a salacious blog post claiming they’re having sex, alluding to bestiality and engaging in revenge porn.

In many ways, mashavi don’t belong to themselves in the novel’s society; they’re someone else’s to idolize, ridicule, or abuse. Pop culture often cannibalizes minority identities, finding a way to market them for profit.