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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
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:
Yes
It's RF Kuang - prepare for TRAUMA (but like in a good - though violent and messy and terrifying - healing way)! This book was in no way what I expected, and it was better for it.
Katabasis follows Kuang's prior writing in that it utterly lambasts the world of academia, but through the eyes of an unreliable narrator who has yet to accept how much they've been hurt. Alice is a delightfully analytic and single-minded narrator, and her sojourn into hell so beautifully mirrors her own journey in understanding the human condition and what it means to really live. Peter is the ultimate absent-minded cinnamon roll, and I adored the Crohn's rep later on in his story. Also, there's a cat named Archimedes who may have stolen the entire show.
Though I am not overly familiar with some of the source content (ie Dante & Virgil), it's clear how much research went into crafting this tale of the circles of hell, how many versions and cultures were referenced with utmost respect. Cambridge, too, was rendered in such a way as to be specific, while also able to represent a slew of similar environments. Each character has a back story that is not only thoroughly plotted, but also incredibly relevant to Alice's self-discovery in a way that never feels like pandering.
Though I got a bit bogged down by the constant back and forth between flashback and present moment (without much forward plot movement) in the center of the book, the propulsive ending more than made up for the slippery pacing.
I will note that this tome grapples HEAVILY with suicide and emotional abuse as the characters come to grips with what has been done to them by their professor. There are whole chapters in which the narrator simply contemplates her own ending and the way others have approached theirs.
Ultimately though, Katabasis transforms into a story of human kindness and deftly balances the dark and light of what life has to offer.
Katabasis follows Kuang's prior writing in that it utterly lambasts the world of academia, but through the eyes of an unreliable narrator who has yet to accept how much they've been hurt. Alice is a delightfully analytic and single-minded narrator, and her sojourn into hell so beautifully mirrors her own journey in understanding the human condition and what it means to really live. Peter is the ultimate absent-minded cinnamon roll, and I adored the Crohn's rep later on in his story. Also, there's a cat named Archimedes who may have stolen the entire show.
Though I am not overly familiar with some of the source content (ie Dante & Virgil), it's clear how much research went into crafting this tale of the circles of hell, how many versions and cultures were referenced with utmost respect. Cambridge, too, was rendered in such a way as to be specific, while also able to represent a slew of similar environments. Each character has a back story that is not only thoroughly plotted, but also incredibly relevant to Alice's self-discovery in a way that never feels like pandering.
Though I got a bit bogged down by the constant back and forth between flashback and present moment (without much forward plot movement) in the center of the book, the propulsive ending more than made up for the slippery pacing.
I will note that this tome grapples HEAVILY with suicide and emotional abuse as the characters come to grips with what has been done to them by their professor. There are whole chapters in which the narrator simply contemplates her own ending and the way others have approached theirs.
Ultimately though, Katabasis transforms into a story of human kindness and deftly balances the dark and light of what life has to offer.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical trauma, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I absolutely loved the characters and the setting, I really enjoyed reading about Alice and Peter's journey! I did feel like the love story element was pretty weak for a book that is described as one, I would've really liked to see a bit more of them together.
Another thing that I didn't like was that all the infodumping quickly went from being interesting to being very overwhelming to read through, but maybe I'm just not smart enough for this book.
Another thing that I didn't like was that all the infodumping quickly went from being interesting to being very overwhelming to read through, but maybe I'm just not smart enough for this book.
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Gore, Blood, Murder
Moderate: Child death, Death, Misogyny, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment
adventurous
challenging
medium-paced
4.5 ⭐️
I'm definitely going to read this a second time when it's published as I think this is a book that's meant to be analyzed.
I highly recommend reading Piranesi by Susanna Clarke before Katabasis, as they have a very similar tone, and it helps to understand the vibe of this book!
The first 160-200 pages are very good but pretty tedious to get through. However, I PROMISE! if you push through those, your life will be changed. I was really nervous that this would fall a little flat at first, but I'm so so happy that I kept on reading!
It has a super captivating story, with super weird and interesting characters along with a thought-provoking theme and a really great approach to misogyny and chronic illness.
I love these characters with my whole heart, and if I could, I would write a 10-page review about this book!
I'm definitely going to read this a second time when it's published as I think this is a book that's meant to be analyzed.
I highly recommend reading Piranesi by Susanna Clarke before Katabasis, as they have a very similar tone, and it helps to understand the vibe of this book!
The first 160-200 pages are very good but pretty tedious to get through. However, I PROMISE! if you push through those, your life will be changed. I was really nervous that this would fall a little flat at first, but I'm so so happy that I kept on reading!
It has a super captivating story, with super weird and interesting characters along with a thought-provoking theme and a really great approach to misogyny and chronic illness.
I love these characters with my whole heart, and if I could, I would write a 10-page review about this book!
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexual harassment
Moderate: Chronic illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
I need a lifetime to process this. I obviously love Rebecca's writing style, even though I don’t understand most of it!
adventurous
slow-paced
Strong character development:
No
First off, I wouldn't call this a romance book, although the romantic relationship is fronted a lot more than anything else Kuang has written, and it's integral to the ending.
I wanted more of the flashbacks. I wanted more growing hatred and spite prior to Grimes’ death. The entire journey through hell felt very linear — one thing happened, and then the next, and oh no they're trapped, and then another thing happened. I wanted twisting and gorey and surreal rather than a modernization of the inferno. I wanted Annihilation-esque distortion.
I personally do love Alice’s character — Kuang is so good at writing feral women who have never done anything halfway ever and will lay down their soul and sanity for nothing less than acclaim and recognition. Alice’s debilitating fear of failure is what kept me going through this book that felt merely procedural at times.
I liked the ending, but I needed more than just those last 100 pages — Babel also suffers from this, I feel, and it almost comes off as low-stakes until the peak of the action(Alice’s meeting with Yama).
Elspeth was another standout to me, even if she is used as a mere foil to Alice — depression to her mania, the saying “fuck it” and letting go to Alice's “I will burn hell to the ground to graduate”.
i really did enjoy the philosophy-based magic system and all the references to classical philosophy and mythology. Even if it feels like an infodump at times. Even if Kuang comes off as pretentious and just flexing her Ivy-league wings -- that's part of why I like her writing: it engages with those concepts that have stuck in my head since intro to ancient philosophy, that when you finally understand them you have that “oh YEAH” moment. And I liked seeing those integrated into an adventurous story. It will resonate with those who have ever felt themselves pulled into the obsession of academia, unable to stop lest they lose their train of thought that might be The Idea.
it was a mix of hits and misses for me, but I did enjoy the majority of the time I spent reading it.
I wanted more of the flashbacks. I wanted more growing hatred and spite prior to Grimes’ death. The entire journey through hell felt very linear — one thing happened, and then the next, and oh no they're trapped, and then another thing happened. I wanted twisting and gorey and surreal rather than a modernization of the inferno. I wanted Annihilation-esque distortion.
I personally do love Alice’s character — Kuang is so good at writing feral women who have never done anything halfway ever and will lay down their soul and sanity for nothing less than acclaim and recognition. Alice’s debilitating fear of failure is what kept me going through this book that felt merely procedural at times.
I liked the ending, but I needed more than just those last 100 pages — Babel also suffers from this, I feel, and it almost comes off as low-stakes until the peak of the action
Elspeth was another standout to me, even if she is used as a mere foil to Alice — depression to her mania, the saying “fuck it” and letting go to Alice's “I will burn hell to the ground to graduate”.
i really did enjoy the philosophy-based magic system and all the references to classical philosophy and mythology. Even if it feels like an infodump at times. Even if Kuang comes off as pretentious and just flexing her Ivy-league wings -- that's part of why I like her writing: it engages with those concepts that have stuck in my head since intro to ancient philosophy, that when you finally understand them you have that “oh YEAH” moment. And I liked seeing those integrated into an adventurous story. It will resonate with those who have ever felt themselves pulled into the obsession of academia, unable to stop lest they lose their train of thought that might be The Idea.
it was a mix of hits and misses for me, but I did enjoy the majority of the time I spent reading it.