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victoriav22's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.25
Minor: Xenophobia, Racial slurs, and Mental illness
jaywb's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Death, Grief, Murder, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, and Mental illness
Minor: Sexual harassment
not_asha01's review against another edition
- 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
Moderate: Grief, Racism, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, War, Mental illness, Toxic friendship, Trafficking, Blood, Emotional abuse, Slavery, Medical content, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Abandonment, Vomit, Alcohol, Drug use, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Bullying, Child abuse, Classism, Death, Domestic abuse, Islamophobia, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, and Xenophobia
Minor: Addiction
beccaaa's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Grief, Classism, Suicide attempt, Slavery, Death, Racial slurs, Colonisation, War, Suicide, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Mental illness, Xenophobia, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Racism, Toxic friendship, Torture, Physical abuse, Murder, Genocide, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Child abuse, Drug abuse, and Cultural appropriation
deedubb's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Death of parent, Racial slurs, Police brutality, Suicide, War, Xenophobia, Hate crime, Violence, Slavery, Mental illness, Racism, Murder, Colonisation, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Grief, Emotional abuse, Death, Cultural appropriation, Confinement, Abandonment, Blood, and Alcohol
griffin_7's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Racial slurs, Sexual harassment, Violence, Xenophobia, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cultural appropriation, Death, Misogyny, Murder, Toxic friendship, War, Abandonment, Classism, Confinement, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Vomit, Hate crime, Racism, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Colonisation, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Deportation, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Genocide, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Suicide attempt, and Forced institutionalization
lil_bokchoy's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Abandonment, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, Violence, Xenophobia, Emotional abuse, Slavery, Racism, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Homophobia, Child abuse, and Colonisation
giulianalb99's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
El mensaje que quiere transmitir la autora con este libro sí que me ha parecido súper bueno, además que en el libro ves cómo los personajes son tratados y estereotipados por sus razas/colores de piel, así como una misoginia tremenda hacia las mujeres que, por desgracia, aún sigue pasando. Los personajes me han encantado, sobretodo Victoire y Ramy, y me encanta cómo la autora ha plasmado a Letty para representar lo que una persona blanca nunca podría llegar a entender (la razón por la cual llevaron a cabo el desmantelamiento de los planes que tenían entre manos los profesores de Babel con respecto a China) básicamente porque nunca ha tenido que pasar por racismo.
Aunque yo tenía otras expectativas, no es un libro para nada malo, pero ha habido veces que se me ha hecho insufrible, y no es hasta más de la mitad del libro que empiezan a pasar cosas interesantes. Lo del tema de la traducción me ha parecido bastante interesante, eso sí. A eso me refiero a lo de mi relación toxica, porque me parece un libro súper pesado pero que está increíblemente escrito.
Por supuesto, leeré más libros de R. F. Kuang. La verdad sea dicha: ella es increíble.
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The toxic relationship I have with this book is inexplicable. I bought it because of all the hype it had and from the synopsis it seemed like a pretty interesting book. It took me a while to get to it because I had other books on my tbr, but after a few months, I was finally able to read it. The truth is that the author writes incredibly well, her pen is amazing. I know perfectly well that it is a historical fiction book but I had been told that it was a a dark academia with a lot of magic (Harry Potter-ish vibes) but it wasn’t like that at all. On some occasions it even seemed like I was reading my high school history book and the truth is that that disappointed me a bit, since magic appears much less than I thought and honestly, there’s information that could have been omitted from the book (because, in my opinion, it had more pages than needed) and it could’ve been much shorter.
The message that the author wants to transmit with this book is incredible, in addition to the fact that in the book you see how the characters are treated and stereotyped because of their race/skin color, as well as a tremendous misogyny towards women which unfortunately it's still happening. I loved almost all the characters, especially Victoire and Ramy, and I love how the author wrote Letty to represent what a white person could never understand (the reason why they carried out the dismantling of the plans of the Babel professors regarding China) basically because they’ve never had to go through racism.
Although I had other expectations, it's not a bad book at all, but there were times when I found it insufferable, and it's not until more than halfway through the book that interesting things start to happen. However, all the translation stuff was quite interesting to me. That's what I mean about my toxic relationship with it, because it’s such a dense book but it's incredibly written.
Of course, I will read more books by R. F. Kuang. Truth be told: she is amazing.
Graphic: Grief, Hate crime, Misogyny, Murder, Racism, Blood, Classism, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Slavery, Torture, War, Xenophobia, Gun violence, Cultural appropriation, Death, Forced institutionalization, Racial slurs, Suicide, Violence, Colonisation, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Sexism, Toxic friendship, Physical abuse, and Islamophobia
Moderate: Alcohol and Suicide attempt
Minor: Drug use
kayfab's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Classism, Death, Gaslighting, Islamophobia, Misogyny, Mental illness, Bullying, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual harassment, Toxic friendship, Violence, and Xenophobia
evanmcomer's review against another edition
- 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
To be sure, this is not a happy story. Babel is not Hogwarts. And while the book is beautifully written, it is tragic, historically accurate, and unfair to the characters that I grew to love while reading it. But that’s precisely what makes Kuang’s work so compelling. It interrogates and problematizes the tropes, settings, and characters that we take for granted as readers of fantasy.
Graphic: Suicide, Racism, and Mental illness