Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

Babel: An Arcane History by R.F. Kuang

600 reviews

lailaps's review against another edition

challenging informative inspiring medium-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Suicide

johannaplatt's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective 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? It's complicated

4.5

Low fantasy tale set in the 1830s. This book ended up taking a path I did not expect, but massively enjoyed. The narratives about rampant colonialism and the impact of the British Empire were insightful and interesting. Obviously the silver bars are fictional, but stealing resources from colonized countries happened, with the expectation that native people should be thankful for being shown how to be "civilised". I felt really connected to the core four and their friendship - I think we have all had a friend where we connect deeply very quickly. Weaving in worker strikes was clever and showed another aspect of how colonialism also hurts those at the bottom of society in the home land. I was gripped by this book from start to finish.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Murder, Colonisation, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, Suicide, Racism, Death, Death of parent, Xenophobia, Racial slurs, and Classism

Moderate: Sexism, Torture, Violence, and Panic attacks/disorders

marygeer's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious 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? It's complicated

5.0

Wow. RF Kuang is truly a genius! I felt like this book was written specifically for me. I spend a lot of time romanticizing my PhD program, knowing full and well the ivory tower that it is. Because what’s the alternative? To face the racism, sexism, and elitism it was built upon? The author made me revisit what it was like to enter the academic culture for the first time and have this veil lifted. I find it terrifying the amount of  “Lovells” and “Playfairs” that still exist today. 

What really worked for me was the cohort of Robin, Ramy, Victoire, and Letty. Each a different race and from a different background. I obviously identified most with Letty, the white woman. She fought tooth and nail for her position, with no one helping her- why would women get an education if they would be married off? Letty as a character  really made me reflect on how my whiteness and my sex influence my beliefs and morals. 

I also loved the etymology and fantasy elements. The idea that some sort of “meaning” is lost in every translation, and that meaning manifests as magic through alchemy. It’s such a neat and thoughtful concept. 

Finally I have to talk about the necessity of violence. This is an idea that- like Letty- I struggle with. The book makes it clear that violence is the only way to demand the respect of an empire. Not because of the cause, but because of the system it wants to rebel. But where do we draw the line? I will be thinking about this for days to come. I have so many other thoughts on survival, death, and friendship as well…

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide

kaamezcua2's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring sad tense slow-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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Toxic friendship, Suicide, Misogyny, Racism, and War

mereas's review against another edition

dark emotional slow-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? It's complicated

5.0

A contemporary classic in literature. By the end, I felt simultaneously ruined and astonished by Rebecca F. Kuang's work. She covers the most existential questions in the frame of language and translation. The foundation of etymology and epistemology in the scene of colonialism and systematic oppression are narrated under one boy, Robin Swift, who is half-Chinese and half-English. I found the saddest aspect to this novel being that we never truly know his native name, of which was chosen by his late (Chinese) mother, and I cannot fathom the weight immigrants hold when they are told their names are too hard, complicated, or otherwise foreign for the English man. This also includes the erasure that colonial structures translate upon the foreign body, for they are left with no name nor grave. Rebecca F. Kuang leaves us to question whether protest and resistance should be violent or nonviolent to produce systematic change, in similar vein to the Civil Rights Movement.

Besides the foundation to this historical fantasy, the found-family trope touched my soul. I am a sucker for the most of unlikely friends to become a group of four. Between the lines, there are undertones of queer sentiments that also resonated with me, though they do not go further than just that. This, I did not mind because the characters are constantly in survival mode whether physically or emotionally. The reality underneath Rebecca F. Kuang's words is like a goldfish peaking above the water's surface--the social arguments always felt natural and fluid, which hurt the most.

Language holds so much power, yet it can just as easily be lost.
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On a side note, I love to find authors' favorite diction. Rebecca F. Kuang is biased to: teeter, tranquility, translation.
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"'What you don't understand,' said Ramy, 'is how much people like you will excuse if it just means they can get tea and coffee on their breakfast tables. They don't care, Letty. They just don't care'" (356).

"'Because you're a good translator.' Ramy leaned back on his elbows. 'That's just what translation is, I think. That's all speaking is. Listening to the other and trying to see past your own biases to glimpse what they're trying to say. Showing yourself to the world, and hoping someone else understands'" (535).

"Oxford relied on silver, how without the constant labour of its translation corps, of the talent it attracted from abroad, it immediately fell apart. It revealed more than the power of translation. It revealed the sheer dependence of the British, who, astonishingly, could not manage to do basic things like bake bread or get safely from one place to another without words stolen from other countries" (471). This, made me question what else can stand in for silver. Oil. Petroleum. Fast fashion. And, at what cost?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Death, Sexism, Xenophobia, Suicide, and Racism

Moderate: Child abuse, Classism, Death of parent, Pandemic/Epidemic, Blood, Body horror, Grief, Drug abuse, Colonisation, Physical abuse, Murder, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Addiction, and Panic attacks/disorders

navayiota's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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

A love letter to all who suffered and continue to suffer. A modern classic, heartbreaking and perfect. I cried in the night, staying up late to finish this behemoth of a book. My new favourite of all time.. Bless Kuang and her brilliant mind. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Slavery, Murder, War, Abandonment, Alcohol, Classism, Colonisation, Suicidal thoughts, Police brutality, Xenophobia, Suicide, Blood, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Torture, Toxic friendship, Confinement, Death of parent, Misogyny, Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide attempt, Violence, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Islamophobia, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Car accident, Addiction, and Deportation

sleepylizard's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.75

One of the best books I've ever read

I wish I could collate all my favourite quotes together but there'd be too many! What a fantastic book - I especially loved the chapters where Kuang goes deep into the etymology side of things. It's definitely a read for anyone who's a bit nerdy about languages and etymology but it's fun amentally a powerful political book. 

The only criticism is that it takes so long for the characters of Letty, Victoire and Ramy to be built up, we only really get that satisfaction towards the second half of the book. But I'm sure that's done intentionally.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Death, Suicide, Sexism, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Violence, War, Torture, Misogyny, Classism, Colonisation, Murder, Drug use, Police brutality, and Gun violence

Minor: Alcoholism

fronk10's review against another edition

adventurous challenging informative mysterious sad fast-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

4.0

An excellent and thought provoking read. I loved the characters, and Robin’s journey was so interesting to watch. It also has such a unique magic system that I adored, I just feel it got a little bogged down in semantics sometimes - but they are language scholars after all! A hard read at times, but a necessary one.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Gun violence, Forced institutionalization, War, Racism, Suicide, Emotional abuse, Drug abuse, Death, Xenophobia, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Slavery, Death of parent, and Child abuse

penofpossibilities's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

the first half was incredibly slow paced and at times a drag to get through. If it wasn't for some long train rides with nothing better to do, I would've taken much longer to finish. The last quarter or so was really exciting though! I even got emotional and started crying near the end. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Toxic friendship, Suicide, Racial slurs, Racism, Panic attacks/disorders, Gaslighting, Child abuse, Blood, Sexism, Murder, Death of parent, Death, Cultural appropriation, Ableism, Xenophobia, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual harassment, Gun violence, Colonisation, Classism, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Grief, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Confinement, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, and Hate crime

Moderate: Addiction, Vomit, Islamophobia, Genocide, Gore, Infidelity, and Alcohol

Minor: Drug abuse, Slavery, Pandemic/Epidemic, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Child death, and War

lucakocsis's review against another edition

dark informative inspiring mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

4.5

I loved reading this book from the first page. The setting and the theme is amazing and the characters are real and lovable. The magic system is interesting, at some points the logic is a bit clunky but overall it's a refreshing take on it. 

I only wish that the second half of the book had dealt with the deaths of some characters a bit better. It felt rushed at times and even though they were the driving force behind Robin's actions after, they somehow still felt a bit inconsequential. I also feel the character change in Robin was too drastic after their deaths but grief can take many forms so I'm not too hung up on it .

Overall I would highly recommend this book but only to those who are really interested in linguistics.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Colonisation, Misogyny, Classism, Racism, Racial slurs, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Suicide and Toxic friendship

Minor: Blood, Body horror, and Gun violence