Reviews tagging 'Child death'

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

71 reviews

spineofthesaurus's review against another edition

challenging dark informative sad tense

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

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

lemonysquish's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Blood, Racism, Child death, Xenophobia, Racial slurs, Bullying, Colonisation, and War

Moderate: Murder, Drug use, Slavery, Gun violence, and Physical abuse

Minor: Torture and Suicidal thoughts

jessi_c's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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? Yes

5.0

Speechless. Inconsolable and speechless.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug use, Torture, Racial slurs, and Grief

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Death of parent, War, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Child death and Addiction

starryeyesali's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring 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

I loved this book so much. The magical/fantastical elements seemed so plausible and the issues were so real and relevant - racism and belonging being at the forefront. The relationships between all the characters was so well written. I did find some parts confusing and, small point - the asterisks were too small and easy to miss so I often had to go back and find them to understand what the footnotes related to. But the world, the story and the plot were amazing. I REALLY hope there’s a follow up!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, and Child death

Moderate: Gun violence

talonsontypewriters's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

---

Content Warnings

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

marthadude's review against another edition

adventurous 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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Gore, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, Sexism, Slavery, Suicide, Grief, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, War, Colonisation, Xenophobia, Child death, Cultural appropriation, Genocide, Abandonment, Gun violence, Toxic friendship, Child abuse, Alcohol, Blood, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Racism, Body horror, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, and Gaslighting

midnightgremlin's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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? No

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Child death, Colonisation, War, Violence, Trafficking, Toxic relationship, Racism, Emotional abuse, Cultural appropriation, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Death of parent, Gun violence, Xenophobia, Death, Slavery, Sexism, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, and Murder

stephlikestoread's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring 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? It's complicated

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Blood, Bullying, Child death, Child abuse, Classism, Colonisation, Confinement, Cultural appropriation, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Slavery, Toxic friendship, Torture, War, and Vomit

moodreadswithmoe's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, War, and Blood

Moderate: Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Classism, and Death

Minor: Child death, Fire/Fire injury, and Death of parent

carina_dreamer's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious 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? It's complicated

5.0

Rating🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 + my heart

• Let me start by saying that I'm not a person that re-reads books (only if it has been close to 10 years), but I could make an exception for Babel.
This was such a masterpiece that I know I haven't grasped all of it on this first try!

• Basic summary: It's historical fiction because it happens in the 1800s during the British empire
(so we have colonialism and racism, it's after slavery has ended *but not in terms of white mentalities & supremacy*, women don't study, etc.).
It's magical realism & dark academy because Babel is a tower in Oxford where academics study translation to help the Empire deal with the colonies and on the 7th floor they do what seems like magic... They engrave silver bars with one word in English + the equivalent in another language = to magical enhancements to objects or environments.
Overused languages have weakened the effect on silver so they decide to snatch some native kids from colonies, instruct them in the Englishman ways, and make them study to prepare for Babel and in the future work for the Empire.
That's what happens to the group that we follow throughout the book.

• I wanted to try RFK writing through this standalone first before the Poppy War (cause I buy entire series from the go 😅) and it's marvellous!
It seems like a classic, but without the excessive adjectives that can make me fall asleep. It can be a little overwhelming in the beginning cause it's a slow start and we are as lost to the plot as poor 7-year-old Robin is.

• The character development was what made this book for me.
It spans for like 10 years and my view from the start to the end shifted together with the characters. They started scared, innocent, and mesmerised by the grandeur of Babel - A little found family in their solitary upbringing - but they discovered there's so much more going on around them.

• I studied translation and what I learned is actually discussed during the classes in Babel, which made de experience even more enjoyable! Also, my language nerdy side got a field trip with this book! 😍

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Hate crime, Racism, Forced institutionalization, and Suicide

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Violence, and Torture

Minor: Addiction, Sexual harassment, Blood, Car accident, Child death, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Drug abuse, and Grief