Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

Babel by R.F. Kuang

461 reviews

chasinggrace's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious sad 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? No

5.0

There’s no other rating to give a Kuang book than five stars. 

The magic system and environment that Kuang creates is unmatched - completely transformative, no stone left unturned, no detail spared. 

The way Kuang breaches racism, colonialism, sexism, and exploitation is horrifyingly accurate. And this book is devastating. 

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kalagrace's review

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adventurous dark emotional inspiring 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? No

4.25

Fascinating double edged sword on the foibles of colonialism and empire set against the warmth and heartbreak of university friendships. 

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jdromsky's review

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adventurous challenging emotional informative inspiring 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

This should be required reading for everyone! It is fantastic! 

And R.F. Kuang’s thoughts on and approaches to the power of language and translation, the difficulties and responsibilities of revolutions, and the contradictions and similarities between life and death feel brand new!

There were moments where it got a smidge slow but it never felt like a struggle to get through. It was always super engaging and thought provoking, whether that was because of a new plot obstacles or because she presented a brand new way of thinking about something. 

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lefthandlou's review

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challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad 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? It's complicated

5.0


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polaris1117's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad 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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jahnadv's review against another edition

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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

5.0


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wheatlyre's review against another edition

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I didn't have enough time to read it, and need to return it soon. It also has been taking me a long while to read, and whether or not it's just my mood the past 5 weeks, but it takes me a while to feel motivated to actually read it. Once I read a paragraph or two I get sucked in for a couple 10-17 pages, but I've been busy and just haven't been able to really get into it in the right way. (Again, just my experience with it so far, and it might not necessarily have anything to do with Babel in particular.) The writing is more advanced than the typical YA novel, but not as period-accurate as a classic Literature novel, still leaning more to the YA style.
I have enjoyed it so far, with a couple parts in particular sticking out to me, especially [spoiler cw:
child abuse, physical abuse, and emotional abuse
]
when Robin is beat by the Professor for the first time. The way he describes his surprise and the numbness he felt during it was heart wrenching, and the way the professor was described as both detached, reserved, and aloof, yet swift and graceful, was incredible. I'm unable to describe with words how affected I was by it. I'm also in awe with how amazingly the author characterizes Robin through the way he reacts to the abuse, brushing past it and refusing to think about it for anything more than, 'I don't want that to happen again'. The rest of Robin's teenage years were brushed past, which, while I feel it to be a loss for me to see more of his adaption to life in London, I understand from a storytelling point as a reflection of the monotony of his years there, and could possibly be echoing off how the single beating affected him.
The writing in that part is just so beautiful, and I've frequently found myself coming back to that moment. I just wish we got a bit more of his musings.
I really enjoyed his reflections on the professor and cook's disagreement about scones.
Once again, I have not gotten too far in the book, but I have liked it quite a bit so far.

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trapdorr's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark reflective 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? No

4.75

Powerful and immersive. Reads like a historical narrative at times. Light magic system. Dense story. 

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alfieartheart's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad 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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snarkycrafter's review against another edition

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

2.5

While I really wanted to like this book, the story fell flat for me. Quite flat. When I was about 70% through I still felt like not much had happened and was considering a DNF. 

The magic in the book felt like an afterthought. 

It was an interesting commentary on colonialism and whiteness. But beyond that I found little in this book to be gripping or interesting. I had to push myself to finish it. 

I really wanted to like this book, but it just didn’t land for me.

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