Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Babel, or The Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution by R.F. Kuang

952 reviews

theasi's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful informative 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Body horror, Classism, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, War, Blood, Bullying, Death, Racism, Suicide, Violence, Murder, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Hate crime, Toxic friendship, Racial slurs, Sexism, and Grief

Moderate: Slavery, Child abuse, Rape, Religious bigotry, Colonisation, Domestic abuse, and Alcohol

Minor: Deportation and Drug use

idabwells's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Probably the most impactful book I've ever read besides Jemisin and Butler.

Manages to capture the devastating scope of colonial genocide while also portraying the courage and brilliance of those around the world struggling to survive and triumph over it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Violence, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Trafficking, Suicide, Xenophobia, Abandonment, Addiction, Murder, Police brutality, Sexism, Classism, Pandemic/Epidemic, Torture, Misogyny, Racism, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Mass/school shootings, and Kidnapping

Minor: Hate crime, Religious bigotry, War, Gun violence, Gaslighting, Rape, Slavery, and Injury/Injury detail

leonineliterature's review against another edition

adventurous dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

It had everything that made it a candidate to be amazing. But sadly, it just didn't work for me. I'm not sure exactly why.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death, Colonisation, Death of parent, Blood, Gore, Xenophobia, Violence, Toxic friendship, Sexism, and Racism

giulia_rossi's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, War, Racial slurs, and Racism

Non credo ci sia davvero un modo univoco per definire questo romanzo, é un’enciclopedia di conoscenze, di storia, di amicizia, di rabbia e di violenza allo stesso momento. L’autrice guida il lettore attraverso la storia dei protagonisti e nelle pieghe degli eventi storici che nei libri di scuola vengono lasciati da parte, non si può uscire da questa lettura senza essere ammirati, arrabbiati e spaventati al tempo stesso. Credo che questo libro verrà annoverato tra i classici della nostra epoca.

xxlynxx's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious 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

5.0

Ow… 5 stars tho

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Grief, Classism, and Racism

Moderate: Blood, Torture, and Violence

Minor: Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and War

dorisko's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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? No

4.75

Another amazing book by R.F.Kuang. You will hate colonialism even more after this.
And if you think any of the characters can stay happy for longer than 1 minute... think again!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Colonisation, Racism, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, and Classism

trashbinfluencer's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Torture, Blood, Confinement, Infidelity, Religious bigotry, Pandemic/Epidemic, Murder, Addiction, Bullying, Child abuse, Deportation, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, War, Cultural appropriation, Racial slurs, Classism, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Abandonment, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, Physical abuse, Colonisation, Drug use, Xenophobia, Suicide, Sexism, Police brutality, Suicidal thoughts, Racism, Alcohol, Cursing, Death, and Slavery

fionamclary's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring 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

4.5

If you've ever found yourself wondering what it would take for you to give up your current way of life and join an uprising, this book is for you.

As a huge language nerd, I was absolutely delighted with the magic system. It's clear that Kuang is also a language lover and has put a lot of research and passion into all the many languages that play a part in Babel. It's not a complicated magic system by any means, but it doesn't have to be when the intricacies are SO fascinating (at least to me).

Also, as a current physics grad student, the descriptions of Robin and his classmates' first few years at Babel were all too familiar and at times painfully relatable. The intense workload, the way it makes you a bit crazy, the closeness it can bring about when shared with others. The first third of the book set up the perfect premise for dark academia: golden summer days of picnics with your best friends, long nights in the library, and many hints that all is not right within the institution. And Kuang certainly delivered on that premise, escalating matters all the way.

I'm aware that this book made several white women quite angry. As a white woman, I can see why. Through one particular character, Kuang delivers an unflattering portrait of how white women can harm their friends of color simply by inaction and ignorance, and how they can fail when presented with the opportunity to commit to liberation. Although in some ways simplified for the purposes of fitting within the story and conveying the author's point, this portrait is not exactly wrong. I think there's some validity to criticism that the book does not do enough to address Robin and Ramy's internalized sexism, which hurts both Victoire and Letty. I think the fact that only Robin and to a somewhat lesser extent Ramy are fully fleshed-out for about the first half of the book does hamper some of the book's messages. But to say that this book indicts white women or even white people is ridiculous. The climax involves an immense show of solidarity across class and racial lines. Professor

Craft

, in my mind, serves to show what

Letty

could have been if she had fully confronted her biases and her complicity and done the right thing.

Speaking of which, the climax of this book was beautiful and destructive. I cried for fully the last 20 pages, which never happens. In the end, I don't think I fully agree with Robin. I'm not sure if Kuang does, either. I don't think we're meant to feel one way or the other -- just consider his choices and his beliefs, and hopefully we understand how he came there, having grown up with him, as it were, and seen him through all the events that led up to his decisions in the last chapters of the book.

Highly recommend for language lovers, academics who feel complicated about their funding sources, and first-world leftists trying to understand their place in the world and their role in a frightening future.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Xenophobia, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Colonisation, Death, Murder, War, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Racial slurs, Violence, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Hate crime, Blood, Sexism, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Gun violence, Misogyny, and Suicide

Minor: Religious bigotry, Abandonment, Addiction, Islamophobia, Slavery, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Pandemic/Epidemic

dripdrop's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Death, Torture, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Grief, Racism, War, Gun violence, Violence, Physical abuse, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Domestic abuse

pkonno96's review against another edition

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Racial slurs, Violence, Xenophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Racism, Misogyny, Death, and War

Moderate: Slavery, Islamophobia, Toxic friendship, Murder, Suicide attempt, Religious bigotry, Blood, Genocide, Hate crime, Gun violence, and Physical abuse

Minor: Drug use, Vomit, Police brutality, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Sexual harassment