Reviews tagging 'Gun violence'

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

543 reviews

lillianreads's review against another edition

emotional 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? Yes

3.5

Rating this feels really hard because I liked the plot and the characters but the writing and construction of the story made it hard for me to connect fully with what was going on.

I can definitely appreciate the message R.F. Kuang is trying to convey and I liked the discussion of colonialism, the empire etc. But the story felt too much like a lecture at times and the description of the silverworking was very confusing and went on for too long in my opinion. The way the story is told made it really hard to connect to the characters and made them feel kind of surreal. That got better towards the end but it couldn't make up for the distance created in the beginning and middle. 

All in all, I think R.F. Kuang might just not be for me but I can still appreciate the story of Babel and how it handles the topic of racism, colonialism, slavery etc. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Torture, Racism, Violence, Death, and Grief

Moderate: Suicide, War, Sexism, and Death of parent

nisaak's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

I enjoyed this book at the beginning for the love of words and translation and a magic system that's based on words. It was very, very long and got really dark and I felt like my first reaction was naive.
I listened to the audiobook version which helped make some of the words in languages other than English and French come alive in my ears.

I was supportive of the revolution that happened towards the end of the book. I was supportive of the Hermes Society. If it had been real, I hope I would have chosen to be there to help Babel fall.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Xenophobia, Murder, and Blood

Moderate: Gun violence, War, and Child abuse

mollyelyn's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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: Child abuse, Classism, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Suicide, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexual harassment, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Addiction and Drug use

Minor: Alcohol and Blood

devirtualized's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense slow-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Classism, Colonisation, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Misogyny, Murder, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Racism, Sexism, and Torture

emilietje's review against another edition

adventurous dark reflective tense slow-paced

• 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? Yes

3.75

What a ride.
I enjoyed the research and knowledge that went into this book, especially when I started reading it. As a sinologist, it’s very fun for me to read Chinese translations or recognize the Chinese-foreigner struggles of the 1800s. But after a while it tired me out quite a bit and I ended up skipping paragraphs here and there. It’s a lot of information, a lot of complex words and thoughts and analogies. And frankly, I am not that big-brained <3
I think my biggest gripe is that I never ended up being incredibly emotionally immersed, even though I thought this book would do that for me. Robin as a main character is a rough journey to process, and I think I’ll keep thinking about him for quite a long time. Reading somebody reach such a breaking point in their life is a lot. I’ve seen people sob over this book, but it was just a couple tears here and there for me. Big thoughts, small emotions basically, despite the amount of struggle and grief in this book. Good media is media that can make me emotional, and I think Babel only did that a humble amount.

Regardless of everything I said here, it's gonna be a book that will stay on my mind for a good while at least. Here's to some good ol' discourse on colonialism!
(Finished my March book on the very last day, kinda slay of me to pull through <3)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence and Death

pianoman543's review against another edition

adventurous challenging reflective 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Colonisation, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Drug use, War, Suicide, and Gun violence

scytheria's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Death of parent, Grief, Sexism, Misogyny, Xenophobia, Colonisation, and Cultural appropriation

Moderate: War, Racial slurs, Gun violence, Violence, Trafficking, Suicide, and Slavery

Minor: Toxic friendship, Pandemic/Epidemic, Child death, Police brutality, and Islamophobia

sian_a_griff02's review against another edition

dark emotional sad fast-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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Racism, and Sexism

Moderate: War, Suicide, and Murder

Minor: Sexual assault, Police brutality, Slavery, Gun violence, Domestic abuse, and Xenophobia

koiolee's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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

I was teetering on the fence about giving this book 5 stars or not, but I decided that it rightfully deserves that 5th star. 
I love how symbolic the book is, and how soon the events are foreshadowed. This is an incredibly literary book. This book is about language and the nuances between languages and it challenges the space between language so masterfully. This book tackles the art of writing, translation, and the life beneath what is seen. And we haven't even got to the actual plot and story contents. 
Each character felt fully fleshed out and incredibly real. Oh my boy Ramy, poor Ramy. Robin, the main character, makes so many mistakes in all the best ways. I love how he overanalyzes every opportunity he's given, weighing the pros and cons only to uncharacteristically act on emotion and impulse, the very thing he's been taught not to do. In a book where words are everything, Robin tends to give himself away in his mind, yet never quite says the words that give away what he truly means. Victoire and Ramy probably had the best setup to be the best revolutionaries. They had their brains and wits about them, and the ability to rally the crowd, but Robin was the best choice they could've made. Robin was the one with the most and least self-control, and they bet on that. Victoire is the moral compass of the group and they all respect that. Ramy a fearless leader. Letty was the unfortunate sacrifice they needed to make. The one who couldn't hear what the world truly looked like, what didn't confirm what she knew about her world. Robin described her best, if she couldn't have the world, no one could have it. To be loved is to be heard, and she was deaf to their pleas.
As for the story, it's very neatly organized and linear, there were the climaxes that have you on the edge of your seat mixed with the wonderful lulls of normality. I felt like I was with them with the way Kuang described their second and third years. It reminded me starkly of my third and fourth years respectively (and the fallout that occurred around that time as well), it's good to know that it's a common experience (minus revolution of course).
My only qualm thus far is that all the villains are white people. We could've realistically had some brown people turn their backs on their own like what happens in real life, and given how realistically based this story is, I'm surprised there were no brown traitors. I guess you could say that Robin filled that role actually, but he came back so?
The Dark Academia I was looking for to satisfy the itch fr.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Sexism, Colonisation, Abandonment, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Domestic abuse, Islamophobia, Body horror, Toxic friendship, Violence, War, Murder, Death, Classism, Gore, Xenophobia, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, and Racism

Moderate: Gaslighting, Death of parent, Confinement, Cultural appropriation, Suicide, Trafficking, Forced institutionalization, Sexual harassment, Slavery, Mental illness, Alcohol, and Gun violence

chasinggrace's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious sad 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

There’s no other rating to give a Kuang book than five stars. 

The magic system and environment that Kuang creates is unmatched - completely transformative, no stone left unturned, no detail spared. 

The way Kuang breaches racism, colonialism, sexism, and exploitation is horrifyingly accurate. And this book is devastating. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Religious bigotry, Slavery, Suicide, Racism, Alcohol, Classism, Death, Grief, Bullying, Colonisation, Blood, Death of parent, Gun violence, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Child abuse, and War