Reviews with content warning for Racism - Babel: An Arcane History

Easiest 5 stars I've given in years. An exceptional read. Detailed, epic, tackling ambitious themes of empire, colonialism, and the costs of freedom from them. I couldn't put it down.

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mmmaitai's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

"Babel" isn't just a stellar sci-fi historical fiction book; it's a heart-wrenching, raw, gripping experience. Kuang's writing grabbed hold of my heart and didn't let go until the very last page. "Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence" captivates with its profound exploration of the power of language, identity dissonance of people of color in white spaces, and the complex/harmful humanity of colonialists. If you're looking for a story that will challenge you, make you think, and stay with you long after you've finished reading, "Babel" is it.

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theia_jensen's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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jen_k's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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butlerebecca's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Wish this was 100 pages shorter but feels ridiculous to give this less than 5 stars

Truly baffled by how one person can make a book that’s both academically specific and written with such beautiful prose

It took adjusting to adapt to the magical realism/fantasy elements but I really like how it simplified and represented the complicated facts of colonial empire

Learned a lot too - felt like what people do with hiding medication in peanut butter for dogs - like oh here’s a novel whoops bonus you also just read a textbook!

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interrobang_1's review against another edition

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adventurous informative mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Definitely still digesting this book, and I expect I will be for a while. There's a lot to love about it - it discusses colonialism, racism, xenophobia, ethics and the intersectionality of different identities with depth and nuance. I also really enjoyed the discussions around language and etymology, the history, cultures and ideas around different languages, and thoughts around the concept of translation.

That said, there were aspects I felt could have been stronger too -

class becomes a key motivating factor, but is not really mentioned until late in the book (maybe partly because the main characters don't understand it until then, but it felt a little hurried), and the sexism that Victoire and Letty face isn't explored in depth (although again, maybe that's down to a flaw in Robin's character in not recognising, or even actively participating in, that part of their experience)

. I feel like the main characters could possibly have been developed further - some of their personalities feel a little inconsistent or unclear throughout the book. Letty however, is written so well -

obviously she's a villain of the story, and to an extent that's clear from the start - but the story still manages to build an element of sympathy for her and then challenge that sympathy again and again,

providing a strong critique on white privilege and white fragility.

The pacing of the book is great, and I was pretty hooked throughout. It has (for me) the ideal amount of world building. The story is engaging, but it's the way it deals with major issues facing the world today that really makes this book stand out for me.

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aturb92's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

This book is only getting three stars because I enjoyed the first couple hundred pages so much, and genuinely wanted to love it. For how much struggle the four main characters go through I feel there was no depth to them. Other than being minorities at Oxford, which isn’t a personality type but a fact of each of their lives. For how talented I have heard Kuang is, I feel she could have made them more relatable and alive.
We wont’ talk about the ending, but it is what it is.

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jiwiz's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative reflective tense medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes

4.0

I'll start off with a disclaimer; This was my first time listening to an audiobook, and I've often had trouble paying attention to audio so there may be some portions that I missed. For example, I didn't realise Robin was wasian until much later than when it was revealed. Even so, I was captivated by the story.

I'd describe this book in one sentence as a loud 'Fuck you' to western colonialism. I've seen people criticise how on-the-nose it is. It drives its point home in such a glaringly obvious way that it's impossible to misinterpret it. I'm not sure exactly how I feel about that quality. There are definitely moments where I think it could've been communicated more subtly. The magic system was also a little difficult for me to understand, but maybe that's the audiobook effect, or it was meant to be a little abstract. I did enjoy the characters. I saw myself a lot in Robin.

Overall, I enjoyed it. Solid read for someone like me with a very casual interest in language and etymology!

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