Reviews with content warning for Classism - Babel, or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution

I was 60% through, giggling and kicking my feet, and ready to give this book a straight 5 star rating. Then I read the rest of it.

This is a book with some incredible elements. The prose, the characters and their interactions, the incredibly detailed grounding in history... it was all there.

To escalate the problem from their immediate surroundings to taking on world politics with only 25% of the book left.... it was always going to have pacing issues. The last quarter is way too fast, and highlighted other pacing issues I was willing to let go in the first half.

I also understand logically how a character can have such a dramatic personality change after a trauma, however... this book did not convince me with the words on the page. The characterizations in the last arc fell apart for me, as I wasn't convinced he would change like that.

I'm so tempted to drop the rating lower because I had such high hopes for this book and then I was extremely disappointed. But a lot of the elements here were genuinely good, so I've given it a four.

Content Warnings

alyssaborders's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense 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? No

3.25

Content Warnings

emmacartlidge's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective tense 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? No

3.0

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kredeprnz's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense 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

5.0

Absolutely incredible.

It was hard to get into at first, people don't lie when they say it's slow and sometimes reads like a textbook, but after the first quarter it drew me in and I couldn't escape.

The things I originally disliked (character driven, historical context, footnotes) became my favorite parts. I found myself so attached to each of the characters and wrapped into their stories.

As the story progressed you really grew with it, at least I did. Of course, a lot of the lessons I knew, but hearing them from a far more raw perspective was heartbreaking and eye opening at the same time. Looking now at the world we live in today, Babel is less fantasy than we think. The only magical thing about it is that the silver transforms, that is about it. Much of the basis of this book rang true during the time period, and still today.

The world building is amazing. The characters are so lovable (and hate able) and complex all around. They felt raw and real.

I'm so happy I picked up Babel, and it surpassed every expectation. Amazing. Truly, no words exist in the English language to explain my love for this book.

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sherny's review against another edition

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challenging dark 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

4.75

This book should be taught in high school curriculum, right next to 1984 and Fahrenheit 451. It features a dystopian world very similar to our own at the height of the British empire. It covers topics such as racism, classism, colonialism, workers rights, woman’s rights, and more. The way it talks about these topics is insightful and well informed, while also being interesting and mirroring our world while also relying on the twist that makes this world different. It has queer characters, though they are not out given the time period. It could be listed as scifi/fantasy, but is more historical fiction with a twist. Highly recommend as a read for white woman to understand intersectionality.

Only reason I’m not giving it 5 stars is because it contributes to the literary trope of queer people not surviving

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kittkat's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional informative reflective 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

wow-
definitiv mein bestes buch dieses jahr und ein neuer eintrag auf meiner lieblingsbücher-liste 🥹!!!!!!

so wundervolle, liebenswürdige charaktere! jede einzelne person hat eine ganz eigene komplexe persönlichkeit und sie sind vollkommen unperfekt… sie wären für einander gestorben und ganz ehrlich, ich auch.

die mischung von dark academia, linguistik, sprachen, kolonialismus, politik, ethik, erwachsenwerden und diese unfassbar heimelige freundesgruppe ist einfach das allerbeste!! ich kann das nicht beschreiben, aber ich habe mich so angesprochen und angeregt gefühlt.

EMPFEHLE DAS BUCH ZU 199% !!!!!

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kathrynwi11's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny informative sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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