Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Babel: An Arcane History by R.F. Kuang

718 reviews

beetree'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? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Good grief did I love this. And to read it right after I finished “Edible Economics” which goes into the theory and history of the economic principles at play? Just wow. This is so meticulously researched and detailed. A magnum opus kind of book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation and Racial slurs

Moderate: Child abuse, Misogyny, and Death of parent

emmas_reads_'s review against another edition

emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

• 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

3.75

did i cry? absolutely.

did that make this book better? not really. (please don’t kill me)

let me preface with this: babel is such an important book for me, especially as a white woman, to read. and i’m glad i did. i think every white person should read this. a lot of it felt like colonialism and imperialism 101, but there were perspectives that i appreciate reading from, especially the difference between violent resistance to oppression and revenge (and if there’s any at all).

all of my problems with this book are purely technical - writing, characters, and pacing.

r f kuang’s writing: i found a lot of it a bit amateur-ish, there was a lot of infodumping on how the british empire functioned with the silver rather than industry. some of it felt natural, but i’d suddenly realize that i was being infodumped on. it was a jarring experience. i felt a lot of the foreshadowing was obvious, but that also could be on purpose and i didn’t pick up that subtext. i don’t think her writing style is for me - however she makes writing about grief her BITCH, and i love her for it.

the characters: i actually really appreciated these characters. sometimes they felt like the preachy twitter user engaged in race and colonialism discourse (which was also a weird aspect to the writing style of this book). i think they are all (minus letty) good representations of being raised within a privileged society yet experiecing racism and being molded as tools for furthering the colonization of their countries.

pacing: it was a bit odd. i saw someone say it should’ve been two books, and i’m a little inclined to agree. the first 3 parts of this book should’ve been a first book, to build up to the action of a sequel (the last 2 parts of this book).

extra misc. stuff:

armed/violent resistance is so, so important to learn about. as much as we preach “nonviolent protests,” so much of historical revolutions and decolonization (which is still ongoing) was armed resistance. it’s important to understand the buildup to violence because it happens over, and over, and over again - it’s literally on loop as we speak.

also: robin and ramy were so in love, i’m happy i got surprised by a bit of LGBTQ+ (it is pride month). if anyone needs scenes/quotes for evidence, i will provide.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Racial slurs, and Racism

Moderate: Death and Violence

Minor: Death of parent

emviolet's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Physical abuse, Racism, Colonisation, Torture, Death, Xenophobia, Suicide, Slavery, Murder, War, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Death of parent, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Classism, Drug use, Toxic friendship, Blood, and Cultural appropriation

aleyajo's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark hopeful informative sad tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Classic college experience: magic, colonization, exploitation, racism, slavery, murder, and revolution

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Torture, Death, Murder, Child abuse, Classism, Medical content, Hate crime, Mental illness, Sexual harassment, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Death of parent, Misogyny, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, and War

rmperezpadilla's review against another edition

dark emotional informative 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Suicide, Murder, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Colonisation, Death, Racism, and Child abuse

Moderate: Genocide, Slavery, Death of parent, and Terminal illness

Minor: Deportation

winterjasmine's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Racial slurs, Classism, Death, Racism, Violence, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Suicide, Child abuse, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Murder, Sexism, and Misogyny

Minor: Blood, Sexual harassment, Drug use, Grief, Alcohol, and Cultural appropriation

laurawho's review against another edition

dark emotional informative mysterious 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Colonisation, Police brutality, Suicide, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Racism, Murder, Racial slurs, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Emotional abuse, Death, Sexism, War, Child abuse, and Misogyny

Minor: Slavery and Drug use

chelseaisreading's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

It is rare to read a book and just be in sheer awe of the author’s brilliance, but Babel is one such book. The intricate layers of history, language study, and colonial critique packed into this story following these four academics is nothing short of extraordinary. I find reading this book is timely, but realize that’s the point—these power struggles and structures are at the heart of most conflict we see throughout the modern world. Can you love something knowing what it is built upon? Can we make a difference? Is there a point in trying? In trying to translate that which can’t be described exactly in another language?
This one has me full of tears and thoughts.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief, Death of parent, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Colonisation, Death, Murder, Racism, Toxic friendship, and Xenophobia

Minor: War

bronzel's review against another edition

Too slow for me, I tried very hard to engage but it just wasn’t doing it for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Racism, Child abuse, and Racial slurs

oceanelle's review against another edition

adventurous 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

Absolutely fucking brilliant. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Xenophobia, Racial slurs, and Racism

Moderate: Suicide, Classism, Murder, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Bullying, Toxic friendship, Suicidal thoughts, and Physical abuse