Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

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

574 reviews

k_noodlesoup's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective medium-paced

• 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

I don't think I can adequately review this novel. The amount of research and dedication to it astounds me. I read this as part of my book club and it was an incredible experience. I cried so much while reading this. The poignant way this novel looks at capitalist and imperialist structures of society gave me so much to think about and resonate with. It was slow going in the beginning, but the way the story came together for me deserves a 5 star rating.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Xenophobia

Moderate: Child abuse and Death

quinn24's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny informative reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I am absolutely floored. I was so fucking stressed reading this I had to keep taking breaks and honestly I’m a little pissed at how intelligent R.F. Kuang is. Insane. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Blood, Alcohol, Child abuse, Classism, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Racism, Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic friendship, and Violence

Moderate: Bullying

Minor: Drug use, Addiction, Cursing, Drug abuse, and Vomit

glund_01's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Violence, Colonisation, and Racism

Moderate: Slavery, Child abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexism

em_callan's review against another edition

challenging informative slow-paced

• 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism, and Murder

Minor: Child abuse

adammuly's review against another edition

challenging dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, and Colonisation

Moderate: Violence, Physical abuse, and Child abuse

Minor: Cursing

samugranjo's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Colonisation, Classism, Murder, Grief, Violence, and Death

Moderate: Toxic friendship, War, Suicidal thoughts, Slavery, Islamophobia, Misogyny, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Child abuse, Bullying, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Drug use, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Gun violence, and Sexism

Minor: Confinement, Alcohol, Blood, Addiction, and Genocide

alexsouslesetoiles's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Merveilleux et terrible à la fois. Je ne me suis pas du tout ennuyé. C'est très bien écrit, très percutant et pertinent, avec beaucoup de réflexion politique encore d'actualité. Les personnages sont attachants et complexes. A mettre entre toutes les mains.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Racism, Torture, Child abuse, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Death, Misogyny, Suicide, Emotional abuse, and Racial slurs

ajobin's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional slow-paced

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

5.0

This book has left me a hollow shell of my former self. I can't wish this suffering on anyone and yet I desperately need everyone to experience it. This may be one of my favorite reads of all time.
The complexity of the characters felt realistic and I was incredibly attached to them all, especially Robin. I loved the world building around translation.
I will say that it's quite a slow pace, and part 5 really dragged for me. Overall though I really think it's a masterpiece.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, and Colonisation

Moderate: Death, Blood, and Violence

Minor: Child abuse

bookish_5280's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense slow-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Xenophobia, Racial slurs, Murder, Violence, Toxic friendship, Slavery, and Colonisation

Moderate: Classism, Sexism, Violence, and Misogyny

Minor: Child abuse and Islamophobia

ka_cam's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark informative reflective tense fast-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? Yes

4.0

This was well written and researched as relates to translation- an exploration of identity, friendship, family and academia and critique of colonialism and empire. I was intrigued by many threads of philosophy of translation- of words, of individual minds, of cultures and backgrounds. The historical part of the fiction (translation between past and present!) fell flat for me- it felt like conversations i heard on my college campus in the late 2010s copy-pasted into the 1830s. Though contemporary movements were referenced it didn’t seem like their time, or the magical part of their world, meaningfully impacted how they understood themselves and the world. Rather than history ‘rhyming’ this felt like one of the heavily biased and explanatory translations so often criticized in the text. Though I enjoy how this premise makes you wonder about and question all translations-bringing this critique to the fore! Maybe because of this I also found the plot suspenseful but largely predictable. For me the most interesting parts were the etymology and the internal grappling/soul searching, exploration of complexities, and theorizing of robin (and occasionally other characters, whose brief interludes both validated and challenged Robin’s worldview/analysis of them).  4 stars for readability, great writing, and interesting meditations. Folks might enjoy this more if they are more familiar with/attachment to Oxford and academia/academic identity though. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Toxic friendship, Child abuse, Bullying, Death of parent, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Colonisation, Grief, Gun violence, Islamophobia, Hate crime, Torture, Murder, Racial slurs, Addiction, Death, Racism, Sexism, Xenophobia, Misogyny, Violence, and Classism

Moderate: Cultural appropriation, Pandemic/Epidemic, Slavery, and War