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4.34 AVERAGE
4.34 AVERAGE
adventurous
reflective
tense
medium-paced
dark
emotional
tense
medium-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:
No
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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:
Complicated
My favorite book I’ve read this year. I loved it. After this and yellowface, I have a new favorite author.
This was a transformative book. I don't think I've ever read anything that paints colonialism and empire so starkly. Of course it's nothing I didn't know but it's different when it hits you emotionally. And this book does that all the way through. You simply cannot forget or ignore it, and that makes it really hurt to read.
I did have issues with this book that compete against the weight of its themes. My immediate gut reaction after reading was 5 stars but after thinking about it more, it really can’t be more than 4 stars.
At it's core, Babel is a love letter to language and the beauty in its intricacy that manifests as a trial in translation. And it excels at that. This book made me think a lot about how important language is to me and how I need to do more to preserve and celebrate my own. It’s profoundly unfair how English has become the default language of the world, but there's no turning back time on that. What we can do is prevent other languages and their literature from vanishing in its shadow.
The magic system based on this study of language is deliciously unique and it was really cool to see every instance of it's use! But it brings me to one of my problems, which is that this world is in no way, shape, or form a Britain that has had silverworking since the Roman Empire. That’s hundreds of years of divergence, but this world has basically our history but with the progress of the Industrial Revolution coming not from technological improvements in isolation but from silver. Which is a highly illogical choice. So the purpose of magic in this novel is solely to facilitate the plot, with the world staying the exact same as our own. And I know that the intention is for the impact of colonialism to be felt more strongly, but it simply doesn't make sense. There’s also the problem of rampant insertion of modern ideas and conceptions into this world - take for example the talk about diversity in the Babel classes. It simply doesn’t ring true for the time and is clearly a reflection of modern day debate about affirmative action, etc.
The characters of Robin and Ramy are wonderfully done. I felt their emotions palpably and was rooting for them all the way through. I loved that neither of them are perfect - they have prominent flaws, but they are still trying their best and I adored seeing their bond. Robin in particular has amazing character development that's also very believable. The girls, however, are complete opposites to this. Neither of them has a full character honestly. Letty's singular personality trait seems to be being an asshole. Victoire on the other hand doesn't really have any development. This is something I didn't fully realize until close to the end . This is especially disappointing because Victoire has a backstory and could have had her character traits expanded upon, but the only time we really get it is in the last chapter, and that was just too little, too late.
The first ~half of this book was not very intriguing. Following Robin through his life was a bit boring and I think a bunch of this could actually have been cut out without sacrificing any emotional impact. Anyway, once and I became super invested. But from that point on it became a highly nerve-wracking read, and I feel like it was for all the wrong reasons. It is one thing for a book to be intense because I don't know what's coming next. It's something else entirely when Like I don't get why there was no nuance to this at all. After , however, the story peaked And then that stunning ending!
I'm not going to forget this book for a while. This was history with the veneer of respectability stripped away, and what's left behind is nauseating.
I did have issues with this book that compete against the weight of its themes. My immediate gut reaction after reading was 5 stars but after thinking about it more, it really can’t be more than 4 stars.
At it's core, Babel is a love letter to language and the beauty in its intricacy that manifests as a trial in translation. And it excels at that. This book made me think a lot about how important language is to me and how I need to do more to preserve and celebrate my own. It’s profoundly unfair how English has become the default language of the world, but there's no turning back time on that. What we can do is prevent other languages and their literature from vanishing in its shadow.
The magic system based on this study of language is deliciously unique and it was really cool to see every instance of it's use! But it brings me to one of my problems, which is that this world is in no way, shape, or form a Britain that has had silverworking since the Roman Empire. That’s hundreds of years of divergence, but this world has basically our history but with the progress of the Industrial Revolution coming not from technological improvements in isolation but from silver. Which is a highly illogical choice. So the purpose of magic in this novel is solely to facilitate the plot, with the world staying the exact same as our own. And I know that the intention is for the impact of colonialism to be felt more strongly, but it simply doesn't make sense. There’s also the problem of rampant insertion of modern ideas and conceptions into this world - take for example the talk about diversity in the Babel classes. It simply doesn’t ring true for the time and is clearly a reflection of modern day debate about affirmative action, etc.
The characters of Robin and Ramy are wonderfully done. I felt their emotions palpably and was rooting for them all the way through. I loved that neither of them are perfect - they have prominent flaws, but they are still trying their best and I adored seeing their bond. Robin in particular has amazing character development that's also very believable. The girls, however, are complete opposites to this. Neither of them has a full character honestly. Letty's singular personality trait seems to be being an asshole
Spoiler
(which was exactly why I was not at all surprised at her later betrayal and in fact had been dreading it the whole time, which was just not fun to read)Spoiler
when it's just Robin and Victoire, and I realized that I had no idea what she would do or say, because we had gotten nothing about herThe first ~half of this book was not very intriguing. Following Robin through his life was a bit boring and I think a bunch of this could actually have been cut out without sacrificing any emotional impact. Anyway, once
Spoiler
Robin killed Dr. Lovell, so much shit happenedSpoiler
a character has been described from day 1 as someone who espouses colonialist views, has shown zero willingness to change, and now knows everything about the rebellion. It was immensely obvious Letty was going to betray them and it was just awful to read the whole chunk of the book where she hasn't yet, knowing she will.Spoiler
the betrayalSpoiler
(though I did fall apart for a bit because I was so awfully sad about Ramy and infuriated at Letty). I loved the entire siege sequence! It was awesome to see a fully realized Robin, and I was so curious to see what would happen. It was well written that Robin and Victoire didn’t get the immediate results they wanted and had to deal with the stark reality of what empire is willing to sacrifice.“Power did not lie in the tip of a pen. Power did not work against its own interests. Power could only be brought to heel by acts of defiance it could not ignore. With brute, unflinching force. With violence.”
I'm not going to forget this book for a while. This was history with the veneer of respectability stripped away, and what's left behind is nauseating.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Racism, Xenophobia, Murder
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Child death, Suicide
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
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:
Complicated