Reviews tagging 'Panic attacks/disorders'

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

59 reviews

marissasa'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

5.0

Babel rocked me to my core, and left me reading for 5 hours straight until 2am because I couldn't stop and just needed to finish it. R. F. Kuang is a brilliant literary genius and I don't know how she could break my heart this many times in one book and then set it on fire with the flames of revolution and expect me to be okay at the end. Everything about this story enraptured me. The immense amounts of research that you can feel went into it, the incredibly detailed magic and world-building that still closely mimics real life, the nuance and depth of colonial discourse and how it feels to actively participate and benefit from it as a person of color, the setting of academia and ways in which research and higher education contributes and sustains imperial power, the layered and flawed and beautiful realness of the characters, the academic writing and footnotes that make you feel like you are actually reading a history book, and the devastating plot moments that will leave hauntingly gorgeous quotes stuck in your head for days. This is a new all-time favorite book for me, it is truly amazing how much Kuang captured in one book and how this story left me both broken and emotionally devastated as well as completely awed and profoundly satisfied. What a stunning piece of literature, I have truly read nothing else like it.

"That's just what translation is, I think. That's all speaking is. Listening to the other and trying to see past your own biases to glimpse what they're trying to say. Showing yourself to the world, and hoping someone else understands."

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Grief, Murder, Physical abuse, Slavery, Blood, Classism, Colonisation, Cursing, Death, War, Vomit, Alcohol, Child abuse, Sexual harassment, Addiction, Cultural appropriation, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Torture, Toxic friendship, Violence, Confinement, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, and Sexism

woweewhoa's review against another edition

dark emotional 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: Slavery, Gun violence, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Colonisation, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Islamophobia, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, and Racism

Moderate: Alcohol, Blood, Physical abuse, Toxic friendship, War, Torture, Sexual harassment, Drug use, and Child death

Minor: Antisemitism and Suicide

internationalreads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

R. F. Kuang is the smartest author I’ve ever read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, Cultural appropriation, Genocide, Violence, Gore, Grief, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, Vomit, War, Xenophobia, Abandonment, Alcohol, Gun violence, Blood, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

hamstringy's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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 think the reason this book made me cry so hard I sobbed through the entire plane descent into Seattle is because it is so easy to see it’s a tragedy from the beginning. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Suicide, Religious bigotry, Torture, Death of parent, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Colonisation, Violence, War, Blood, Child abuse, Cultural appropriation, Death, Grief, Racism, and Slavery

Moderate: Drug use, Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child death, Classism, Drug abuse, and Fire/Fire injury

quinnyquinnquinn's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-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

Without a doubt one of the best books I've ever read. I was hooked from the first 20 pages until the very end and everything about it was perfect from the complicated, complex characters to the smallest historical detail. It's obvious the author poured her heart and soul into the book and drew from extension research and her own experiences. The story blends real places and events seamlessly with a unique magic system that's based on language and translation (something I've never seen done before) and entrenches magic into academia. This book unapologetically confronts colonialism, racism, and oppression as the bedrock of society and explores the nuances of fighting this system. I cannot overstate how deeply this book made me feel; it lit an angry fire in my heart I haven't experienced from fiction before.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Violence, Misogyny, Sexism, Emotional abuse, Colonisation, Racism, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Classism, Murder, Torture, Death, Death of parent, Gun violence, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Slavery, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Alcohol, and Drug abuse

wornpagesandendlesscoffey's review against another edition

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

3.75

I’ll need to sit with this book hangover for a bit. Kuang is a phenomenal story teller who brought this world to vibrant, beautiful life and I loved every second of it. Even the ones I hated. The universal truths in this novel are heartbreaking and stripped bare for the reader, which is dramatic and necessary to the story. This should be required reading for advanced students in my humble opinion. Fiction can be such a wonderful receptacle for truth. 


Note- there are a LOT of triggers. It is still well worth reading. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Colonisation, Bullying, Sexual harassment, Grief, Gaslighting, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, Child death, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Panic attacks/disorders, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Slavery, Religious bigotry, Islamophobia, Xenophobia, War, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Gun violence, Emotional abuse, Classism, and Suicide

henriediosa's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny informative inspiring 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Blood, Torture, Suicide, Racism, Colonisation, Death of parent, Xenophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Drug use, Cultural appropriation, Classism, Suicidal thoughts, Racial slurs, Panic attacks/disorders, Emotional abuse, Murder, and Drug abuse

Moderate: Alcohol, Child abuse, War, Vomit, Gun violence, Violence, Addiction, and Bullying

Minor: Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Confinement

edgaranjapoe's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Murder, Gaslighting, Racism, Colonisation, Xenophobia, Death, Classism, Torture, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Kidnapping, Alcohol, Gore, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Racial slurs, Slavery, Physical abuse, Suicide, Child abuse, Grief, War, Misogyny, Gun violence, Fire/Fire injury, Deportation, Emotional abuse, Police brutality, Blood, Hate crime, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Islamophobia, Body horror, and Cultural appropriation

Minor: Child death, Drug use, Bullying, Mental illness, Trafficking, Sexual harassment, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide attempt, Dysphoria, Car accident, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Infidelity, Mass/school shootings, Genocide, Drug abuse, Abandonment, Vomit, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Addiction, Rape, and Sexual violence

taroroot's review against another edition

adventurous challenging tense slow-paced

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

5.0

i am an rf kuang stan <3 i adored the academic setting of Babel as well as the unique magic system based on silver and translation.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Blood, Grief, Death, Racial slurs, Drug use, Gun violence, War, Toxic friendship, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Misogyny, and Alcohol

tumbly_weed's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Racism, Grief, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Gun violence, War, Blood, Violence, Racial slurs, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Slavery, Death of parent, Child abuse, Confinement, and Alcohol

Minor: Sexual harassment, Panic attacks/disorders, War, Infidelity, Islamophobia, and Hate crime