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It also saw something in me that needed to be seen. It was simply so incredible, in the way it handled the personal and structural ways colonialism, racism, and misogyny affected those in the 1800s. Beautiful and terrible, I think everyone needs to read this book. Every sentence felt like it was meant to be there, and these difficult topics were spoken into existence with such nuance I was left awe-struck. Required reading.
P.S. I’ve noticed many readers felt they didn’t connect with the characters, and with that I can honestly understand, but still respectfully disagree. I understand where someone might be coming from by saying we didn’t get enough personal interactions between the characters, but I personally felt that these “montage” scenes were meant to convey how easily one could become part of the system, enjoy its benefits while forgetting where all their riches and pleasures came from…all while under the illusion that their academic pursuits were the backbone of their infrastructure.
SPOILERS BELOW:
Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Xenophobia, Grief, Colonisation, Classism
Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Classism
Minor: Gore, Torture, Toxic friendship
Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Islamophobia, Grief, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Classism
Moderate: Slavery, War, Pandemic/Epidemic
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Moderate: Ableism, Child death, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Slavery, Terminal illness, Vomit, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Abandonment, Deportation
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Infidelity, Excrement, Car accident
Moderate: Misogyny, Racial slurs, Slavery, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Cultural appropriation, Colonisation
📙 This review is going to be a doozy. I have a lot of thoughts after this one. As literary fiction exploring the ugly sides of British colonialism and academia, this work is a masterpiece; it's a well-done character study of the pressures and pain of marginalized populations trying to fit into a world that doesn't feel like it wants them. As a work of speculative fantasy (or as a fantasy novel in general), from a storytelling perspective, I have some complaints. But, the method isn't the point and never was, so I've decided that a 5-star review is probably most accurate when I consider this work for what it was meant to be, rather than what I wanted it to be.
📗 I feel like I should start by saying: This is not the story to read if you are trying to escape from the harsh realities of our world. It throws them at you repeatedly, in both subtle and undeniable ways. As a white woman in academia, I'm going to be honest and say this was at times profoundly uncomfortable to read...which is exactly what it was meant to be. To again go with honesty, there were times that the thought crossed my mind that I didn't need to finish this, that I didn't have to spend my weekend feeling angry on behalf of fictional people living these real life injustices. And that's a privilege that needs acknowledged, for there are so many people who can't just "turn off the audiobook" so to speak, not when these stories so closely mirror their daily experience.
📕 R.F. Kuang does an excellent job of keeping the reader engaged despite this discomfort, which is a feat of its own, but is also a terrible contradiction when considering that the overarching moral of this story is to encourage listening to understand, not to respond. Much the same as even writing a review to try to convey my experience also feels antithetical, as this is not a book designed to entertain, but a book to convey emotion and an experience. Yet I still found myself oscillating between being disappointed in the story structure while being blown away by the rhetoric throughout most of the book. So take where's hereafter for what you will; it's far less important than the rest that I've already said.
📘 Do I think this book was unnecessarily long and at times heavy handed? Yes. Do I wish it had a more satisfying conclusion that actually answered the titles promise to explore the necessity of violence? Also yes. But I also feel like it delivers incredibly well in the way that it conveys its broader themes and morals. Let me explain.
For a book about the power of words, this delivers in it's precise use of them to convey it's point and I think, for the most part, does so most successfully at the micro level. I understood fully why the characters did or did not find necessity in violence themselves, how their tragedies unfolded, and why hope may have still remained despite it all. But I think where we're left to struggle is to see if violence was actually something that made a difference on the macro level. For writing that hammered points over the reader's head at times, there is no actual discussion of whether the broad end justifies the means, because we don't actually see a macro level end in the books, just a micro level end for the characters. Maybe that's the point; maybe the purpose is just that we're if we truly listen to characters who never felt heard and that the story HAS to end with them. The existentialist part of me loves the idea that individual meaning trumps the universal experience. The collectivist part kind of hates the idea that only we alone matter in the end. Regardless, especially as a fantasy reader, the loose ends are tough for me.
Now, I don't mind ambiguity in a book in general. In fact, I think particularly in books that dive into social issues, nuance is crucial for understanding. This book approaches that nuance incredibly holistically in that it is very precisely, clearly delivered. I think this in part comes from the author's academic career and in part to convey the underlying need to be precise and clear in an attempt to be understood. I just wish the author would have either backed off this directness throughout OR carried it through all the way to the end. Make the point, however unpalatable, or leave it up to the reader to infer entirely. (But I again feel like I should acknowledge that may be easier said than done.)
📚 In the end, I can only truly speak to my experience of this work, as it exists through my own biases and experiences. I hope that honors Kuang's intentions with this story, and I hope that others take the time to read her words. There are so many layers here that I'm sure I'll be unfurling for a while to come.
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Hate crime, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol
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: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Islamophobia, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, War, Classism
Moderate: Suicide attempt, Alcohol
Minor: Drug use
It ultimately ended up a bit stale to me, like the author had a really good grasp of the translation and language stuff, and yet wasn't all that great at actually writing historical fantasy. The characters at Oxford really didn't resonate with me as much as I'd like. The constant modern phrasing in the dialogue just felt off. Don't get me wrong, I love a "fuck the British Empire" and "fuck capitalism" book, but this just ... I dunno. It feels overrated.
Graphic: Death, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Xenophobia, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Colonisation
Moderate: Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, War, Classism
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Car accident
Graphic: Death, Gore, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Gun violence, Misogyny, Racism, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Abandonment, Colonisation
Minor: Body horror, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Xenophobia, War