Reviews tagging 'Fire/Fire injury'

Babel by R.F. Kuang

115 reviews

meowral's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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This book was so good, I hated it in the best way (aka: I learned more about the cruelty in the world and it left me feeling devastated at the end)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Colonisation, War, Classism

meredithnudo's review against another edition

4.25

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Panic attacks/disorders, Slavery, Vomit, Car accident, Sexual harassment, Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Infidelity, Deportation

None of the warnings are portrayed in a sympathetic or apologetic light. They are shown to be the blights they are.

sashajwolf's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring 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

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This is a jewel of a book, so well crafted that you don't even realise it until it sneaks up on you and floors you with a single well timed and perfectly executed blow. 

Highly recommended to anyone with an interest in the history of empire and decolonisation, philosophy, linguistics and/or translation. It's also extremely evocative of Oxbridge academia, but if you aren't prepared to see that atmosphere problematised... well, it's all the more important that you read this, but approach with the caution you'd show an unexploded bomb.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Xenophobia, Cultural appropriation, Colonisation

Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Sexual harassment, War, Classism

Minor: Confinement, Gun violence, Infidelity, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, War, Injury/Injury detail, Deportation

moonbasket's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous dark emotional hopeful informative reflective 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

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This book was extremely good. I found the overall exploration of language and the exploitation of British colonialism extremely well done within the context of the novel. It was also extremely well researched and the footnotes made it feel like a non-fiction book in a way that really fit the theme.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Racism, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, Colonisation, Classism

Moderate: Child abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Trafficking, Cultural appropriation, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Infidelity, Slavery, Vomit, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, Pandemic/Epidemic

Child abuse is in chapter 2 and not telegraphed. The blood and violence is pretty well telegraphed by the narrative. The racism is part and parcel for the time period, but still upsetting.

misszierose's review against another edition

5.0

challenging dark emotional inspiring tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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This is a dense, erudite, and dark book.  I truly believe everyone who loves language and books and believes in basic human rights even if people different from you should at least attempt this book.  It is so important especially in the social and political and cultural time we are currently living through.  Our choices matter.  People deserve respect.  Knowledge is power.  Who holds that power is something that can alter the whole world’s future.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Colonisation, War, Classism

Moderate: Slavery, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, Pandemic/Epidemic

lotoblanco's review against another edition

5.0

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

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Pandemic/Epidemic

sirpandacat's review against another edition

4.5

challenging emotional tense

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Murder, Classism

Moderate: Drug abuse, Terminal illness, Trafficking, Death of parent, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War

Minor: Addiction, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol

slimejules's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

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read it read it read it read it read it read it read it read it read it read it read it read it read it read it read it read it read it read it read it read it read it read it read it read it read it read it read it read it read it read it read it read it read it read it read it read it

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Child death, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury

angorarabbit's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Is it wrong to move a book up the TBR due to it being listed on a GoodReads challenge? I am glad I read this book but I feel like the challenges are manipulating the readers. Is a book popular on GoodReads because it is good or because I am reading it to tick off one more challenge? 

 

That aside, this is a very good book. The main four characters feel very real and I can empathise with the viewpoints of all of them. It is also an important book. While languages have not been used in the method the book describes with the silver working they have been stolen in a manner not unlike the onebbnn nn nn  h described in the book. The Opium Wars were very real wars that were fought to keep the opium legal in China for the benefit of European trading companies. 

 

We can learn from history and do better, but we have to actually do better. 

 

Stolen labour, stolen land, stolen language, stolen lives. 

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Police brutality, Gaslighting, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Classism

Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Slavery, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, War, Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Animal death, Sexual assault, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol

rizky's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Abandonment, Colonisation

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail