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sarahofstories's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Cultural appropriation, Suicide, Xenophobia, Racism, Sexism, and Colonisation
Moderate: Trafficking, Violence, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, War, Gun violence, Hate crime, Murder, Police brutality, Slavery, Child abuse, and Death of parent
Minor: Drug abuse, Drug use, and Pandemic/Epidemic
spineofthesaurus's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Child abuse, Blood, Colonisation, Violence, Xenophobia, Classism, Death of parent, Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Medical trauma, War, Body horror, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Sexual harassment, Suicide, Torture, Emotional abuse, Murder, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Cultural appropriation, Genocide, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, Homophobia, Mass/school shootings, Misogyny, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Abandonment, Deportation, Islamophobia, Medical content, Slavery, Terminal illness, Ableism, Child death, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Drug use, Kidnapping, Sexism, and Trafficking
Minor: Excrement, Infidelity, Car accident, Alcoholism, and Addiction
anastashamarie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
📙 This review is going to be a doozy. I have a lot of thoughts after this one. As literary fiction exploring the ugly sides of British colonialism and academia, this work is a masterpiece; it's a well-done character study of the pressures and pain of marginalized populations trying to fit into a world that doesn't feel like it wants them. As a work of speculative fantasy (or as a fantasy novel in general), from a storytelling perspective, I have some complaints. But, the method isn't the point and never was, so I've decided that a 5-star review is probably most accurate when I consider this work for what it was meant to be, rather than what I wanted it to be.
📗 I feel like I should start by saying: This is not the story to read if you are trying to escape from the harsh realities of our world. It throws them at you repeatedly, in both subtle and undeniable ways. As a white woman in academia, I'm going to be honest and say this was at times profoundly uncomfortable to read...which is exactly what it was meant to be. To again go with honesty, there were times that the thought crossed my mind that I didn't need to finish this, that I didn't have to spend my weekend feeling angry on behalf of fictional people living these real life injustices. And that's a privilege that needs acknowledged, for there are so many people who can't just "turn off the audiobook" so to speak, not when these stories so closely mirror their daily experience.
📕 R.F. Kuang does an excellent job of keeping the reader engaged despite this discomfort, which is a feat of its own, but is also a terrible contradiction when considering that the overarching moral of this story is to encourage listening to understand, not to respond. Much the same as even writing a review to try to convey my experience also feels antithetical, as this is not a book designed to entertain, but a book to convey emotion and an experience. Yet I still found myself oscillating between being disappointed in the story structure while being blown away by the rhetoric throughout most of the book. So take where's hereafter for what you will; it's far less important than the rest that I've already said.
📘 Do I think this book was unnecessarily long and at times heavy handed? Yes. Do I wish it had a more satisfying conclusion that actually answered the titles promise to explore the necessity of violence? Also yes. But I also feel like it delivers incredibly well in the way that it conveys its broader themes and morals. Let me explain.
For a book about the power of words, this delivers in it's precise use of them to convey it's point and I think, for the most part, does so most successfully at the micro level. I understood fully why the characters did or did not find necessity in violence themselves, how their tragedies unfolded, and why hope may have still remained despite it all. But I think where we're left to struggle is to see if violence was actually something that made a difference on the macro level. For writing that hammered points over the reader's head at times, there is no actual discussion of whether the broad end justifies the means, because we don't actually see a macro level end in the books, just a micro level end for the characters. Maybe that's the point; maybe the purpose is just that we're if we truly listen to characters who never felt heard and that the story HAS to end with them. The existentialist part of me loves the idea that individual meaning trumps the universal experience. The collectivist part kind of hates the idea that only we alone matter in the end. Regardless, especially as a fantasy reader, the loose ends are tough for me.
Now, I don't mind ambiguity in a book in general. In fact, I think particularly in books that dive into social issues, nuance is crucial for understanding. This book approaches that nuance incredibly holistically in that it is very precisely, clearly delivered. I think this in part comes from the author's academic career and in part to convey the underlying need to be precise and clear in an attempt to be understood. I just wish the author would have either backed off this directness throughout OR carried it through all the way to the end. Make the point, however unpalatable, or leave it up to the reader to infer entirely. (But I again feel like I should acknowledge that may be easier said than done.)
📚 In the end, I can only truly speak to my experience of this work, as it exists through my own biases and experiences. I hope that honors Kuang's intentions with this story, and I hope that others take the time to read her words. There are so many layers here that I'm sure I'll be unfurling for a while to come.
Graphic: Physical abuse, Racism, Religious bigotry, Slavery, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, War, Xenophobia, Child abuse, Violence, Islamophobia, Colonisation, Racial slurs, Suicide, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Murder, Toxic friendship, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Torture, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Misogyny
Moderate: Addiction, Drug use, Genocide, Alcohol, Trafficking, Cultural appropriation, Fire/Fire injury, Hate crime, Drug abuse, and Kidnapping
sopherdopher's review against another edition
- 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? No
Graphic: Xenophobia, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Colonisation, Death, Racism, and Murder
Moderate: Physical abuse and Police brutality
Minor: Religious bigotry, Islamophobia, Drug use, and Slavery
hflh's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Major TW:
The content of this book is very heavy and very real. Some more specific TW than what the SG feature has:
Graphic: Child abuse, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Emotional abuse, Death, War, Racial slurs, Grief, Murder, Racism, and Violence
Moderate: Physical abuse, Misogyny, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Slavery, Death of parent, and Sexism
Minor: Islamophobia, Drug use, Religious bigotry, Pandemic/Epidemic, Suicide, Sexual harassment, and Classism
saucy_bookdragon's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The fact it took me six months to actually get this review written is appropriate, a book called Babel leaving me speechless.
Babel drove me into the cliff of insanity. It is a dark academia novel heavy on both the dark and the academia. Its magic system focused around linguistics in an alternative history where translators work literal magic. At the center of it is a found family doomed by the narrative that absolutely destroyed me and the main character, Robin Swift, who is a poor little meow meow. The first half of the narrative is slow, getting the reader familiar and comfortable with this cast and world before throwing you off the aforementioned cliff of insanity as the second half is a metaphorical avalanche built up from the first.
It mainly discusses colonialism, and here is where I’ve seen readers get the most divided over the story. My interpretation is not that Kuang was preaching the reader, but rather that the characters are contradictions. They say a lot about fighting colonialism, but they struggle to actually turn that talk into actions, specifically with how much of their privileges they are willing to give up and what methods are the most effective. When the stakes heighten in the second half and they have to actually put their talk into practice, it is no longer a debate and lives are on the line as they try to figure out how to strike in a way that hits the most important people.
With all this praise, I will critique the historical inaccuracies. It opens with an author’s note about the intentional inaccuracies and I found the excuses kind of weak, mostly chalking up to Kuang wanting the characters’ experiences to reflect her own at Oxford. They’re mostly small details and I don’t see why she couldn’t have just stuck to the actual history. The dialog is also a little too modern. These mostly didn’t bother me, but I do think the world building would have been stronger and I imagine these inaccuracies might annoy people who really know this history.
Babel was my favorite book of 2023, or my Roman Empire to use a very 2023 term. It’s an extremely clever and shocking dark academia fantasy that follows a tragic cast of translators dealing with colonialism in academia.
Graphic: Violence, Racism, Toxic friendship, Gun violence, Islamophobia, Gore, Pandemic/Epidemic, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Grief, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Torture, Colonisation, Xenophobia, Death, Classism, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Sexism, and Suicide
Moderate: Alcohol, Medical content, Sexual harassment, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Drug use, Child abuse, and Religious bigotry
talonsontypewriters's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Classism, Gun violence, Murder, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Sexism, Xenophobia, Torture, Physical abuse, Colonisation, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Fire/Fire injury, Suicide, Misogyny, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Police brutality, Violence, and Racism
Moderate: Gore, Confinement, War, Cultural appropriation, Islamophobia, Sexual harassment, Drug use, Slavery, Religious bigotry, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Vomit, Child death, Alcohol, and Addiction
sarrie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Characters: A little flat and one note. We get brief beautiful glimpses of who they are meant to be but that's ultimately lost to the plot and it's messages.
Setting: The setting is rich, Oxford is the biggest character in this story.
Magic: Very low magic. We have an explanation as to why and how the magic works but not much of one.
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Slavery, Religious bigotry, War, Violence, Colonisation, Xenophobia, Torture, Sexual harassment, Racial slurs, and Racism
abby_bookworm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Colonisation, Hate crime, Xenophobia, Racism, Violence, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Death, Police brutality, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Bullying, Classism, Emotional abuse, Grief, Islamophobia, Misogyny, Sexual harassment, Religious bigotry, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Blood, and Child abuse
Minor: Addiction
achay91's review against another edition
- 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? No
4.75
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Grief, Murder, Racism, Sexism, Suicide, War, Colonisation, Death, Classism, Religious bigotry, Toxic friendship, Violence, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Bullying, Death of parent, and Gun violence
Minor: Drug use, Addiction, Alcohol, and Child abuse