Reviews with content warning for War - Babel: An Arcane History

Wish this was 100 pages shorter but feels ridiculous to give this less than 5 stars

Truly baffled by how one person can make a book that’s both academically specific and written with such beautiful prose

It took adjusting to adapt to the magical realism/fantasy elements but I really like how it simplified and represented the complicated facts of colonial empire

Learned a lot too - felt like what people do with hiding medication in peanut butter for dogs - like oh here’s a novel whoops bonus you also just read a textbook!

Content Warnings

interrobang_1's review against another edition

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adventurous informative mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Definitely still digesting this book, and I expect I will be for a while. There's a lot to love about it - it discusses colonialism, racism, xenophobia, ethics and the intersectionality of different identities with depth and nuance. I also really enjoyed the discussions around language and etymology, the history, cultures and ideas around different languages, and thoughts around the concept of translation.

That said, there were aspects I felt could have been stronger too -

class becomes a key motivating factor, but is not really mentioned until late in the book (maybe partly because the main characters don't understand it until then, but it felt a little hurried), and the sexism that Victoire and Letty face isn't explored in depth (although again, maybe that's down to a flaw in Robin's character in not recognising, or even actively participating in, that part of their experience)

. I feel like the main characters could possibly have been developed further - some of their personalities feel a little inconsistent or unclear throughout the book. Letty however, is written so well -

obviously she's a villain of the story, and to an extent that's clear from the start - but the story still manages to build an element of sympathy for her and then challenge that sympathy again and again,

providing a strong critique on white privilege and white fragility.

The pacing of the book is great, and I was pretty hooked throughout. It has (for me) the ideal amount of world building. The story is engaging, but it's the way it deals with major issues facing the world today that really makes this book stand out for me.

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psitstorrie's review against another edition

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dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book is extremely well written. The characters are so complex and flawed from the start, the prose is gorgeous, and overall it is incredibly thought provoking. The magic system is simple, but effective. History, language, revolution, academia, and comradely are the main focuses, and seeing how the characters and situations evolve is fascinating. I cannot recommend this book enough

Content Warnings

neonskylite's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective 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

5.0

Hard to quantify the scale of this book. Such a deep and deconstructive approach to language and how we express ourselves. A stark reminder for academics and translators and linguists, anyone, what we are upholding and how to fight it.

Content Warnings

liafiles's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative 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? No

5.0

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