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Reviews tagging 'Racial slurs'
Babel, or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution by R.F. Kuang
1051 reviews
toastielad's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
This book is excellent. There are elements that can be picked out, but overall really phenomenal.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racial slurs and Racism
afterplague's review against another edition
challenging
dark
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
4.75
There is a reason that so many people love and recommend Babel.
I will say, right off the bat, I really didn't care for the footnotes gimmick. I do understand it on a meta level. The book is supposed to be an account written by a character in the story, and obviously most of the characters are academics. This is very likely how a real, non-fiction account would be annotated. However, I read Babel as an e-book which means that the footnotes were not on at the bottom of the page; instead, there was around 200 pages at the back of the book each with a singular footnote on it. I was aware of this before I started reading because I had been warned, but the experience of having to click the hyperlinked asterisks to get to the footnote and then back severely interrupted my reading experience and on most occasions I found that the footnotes didn't add any necessary context.
I will also say that this is a VERY slowly paced book. It was long, and I do believe that it dragged in several places. I think around a hundred pages could have been cut and the story and messaging still would have come across just as well, but ultimately it's up to the author. She clearly felt that all of this was important to the plot.
I can't even really think of anything to say that hasn't already been said. The world-building is extremely interesting. Silver is so ingrained in the society of Babel and it's very well thought out. I will say that the magic system is dense and opaque. It's extremely difficult to understand how silver works, even though there are multiple long-winded explanations. Let me see if I can explain.
Silver has the ability to perform different tasks or enhance the was something functions. It does this through the power of language. On one side of a silver bar a word will be transcribed, and on the other a word in a different language. The words much be connected in some way, but they can't be an exact translation or the bar will not do anything. That is because the bar amplifies the difference between the words contextually. So if my word for jump is translated into a language where "jump" more accurately translates to float, then the bar would make it so if I jump in the air I would float. However, the bar only works if I am a native level speaker of both languages. The book essentially says you have to dream in the non-English language. It's SUPER confusing, but I'm pretty sure that's how it works?
The magic system was the most difficult part to get my head around, but once I kind of let go into it and just let things happen without thinking too hard I enjoyed myself. I also CRIED at the ending of this book which I legitimately never do. I'm pretty steady when it comes to emotional reading experiences but this one got me.
I can't say that I loved the characters because honestly I didn't really. I appreciated their friendship and the complexities that they had to navigate as students at Babel. I think that Letty was a pretty interesting character in relation to the theme because she is British and wealthy, so she is very ingrained in the system of exploitation without realizing it. I can appreciate her attempting to understand what they others are going through, and I can also appreciate where she ends that character arc even if I don't necessarily agree with it. I think some people need to remember the time that this novel is set. It would be extremely difficult for Letty to break her mindset, but I think it's more of a commentary on intersectionality than a specific dig at Letty's race.
Letty white, so she doesn't understand the racial discrimination that her friends have to go through, and while she sympathizes she can't empathize which I find odd. Letty and Victoire are women at a university that only allows women to work in the Babel college. She should understand discrimination because she's discriminated against based on her sex, but she can't fathom that she has privilege. I think that's partially because of the discrimination she faces. She feels like her friends are excluding her when she has experienced something similar. But, Letty can't shake her upbringing and therefore cannot connect with her friends on the level she wants to. I don't really have a conclusion to that, just observations.
Witnessing Robin becomes radicalized is also really fascinating. He's influenced by Griffin, but he's also influenced by time. He worked with Hermes for a long while, and yet things only seem to be getting worse, so it makes sense to him that he would fall into the harsher, more proactive ideologies that Griffin espouses. I think he develops from quite a passive character into a much more active one, a leader of a "terrorist" group. Ultimately, it's hard to say that Robin did the "right" thing because people were injured and killed in his pursuit of justice, but I don't think we're supposed to view it as the "right" thing. It was the desperate thing.
That was my only other complaint with the book. We don't get to see any of the outcomes of what happened at the end of the novel. On one hand, I fully and completely understand that this is on purpose. Many others throughout the story who were fighting for good didn't get to see the outcome of their work and sacrifice, so Kuang is placing the reader in their shoes. It does leave me with a really melancholic feeling in my chest. I wish I could see that the "good guys" won, that things changed and people changed and their goals were achieved, but we're denied that ending. It's correct for the themes of the story but it did leave me dissatisfied.
Overall, I would recommend! I wouldn't say it's a perfect book, and if you're not into academia I can't imagine you would enjoy a vast majority of this novel. However, it's an excellent story for discussing colonialism, especially within academic institutions. There's so much to say about Babel that I feel like I've hardly scratched the surface.
I will say, right off the bat, I really didn't care for the footnotes gimmick. I do understand it on a meta level. The book is supposed to be an account written by a character in the story, and obviously most of the characters are academics. This is very likely how a real, non-fiction account would be annotated. However, I read Babel as an e-book which means that the footnotes were not on at the bottom of the page; instead, there was around 200 pages at the back of the book each with a singular footnote on it. I was aware of this before I started reading because I had been warned, but the experience of having to click the hyperlinked asterisks to get to the footnote and then back severely interrupted my reading experience and on most occasions I found that the footnotes didn't add any necessary context.
I will also say that this is a VERY slowly paced book. It was long, and I do believe that it dragged in several places. I think around a hundred pages could have been cut and the story and messaging still would have come across just as well, but ultimately it's up to the author. She clearly felt that all of this was important to the plot.
I can't even really think of anything to say that hasn't already been said. The world-building is extremely interesting. Silver is so ingrained in the society of Babel and it's very well thought out. I will say that the magic system is dense and opaque. It's extremely difficult to understand how silver works, even though there are multiple long-winded explanations. Let me see if I can explain.
Silver has the ability to perform different tasks or enhance the was something functions. It does this through the power of language. On one side of a silver bar a word will be transcribed, and on the other a word in a different language. The words much be connected in some way, but they can't be an exact translation or the bar will not do anything. That is because the bar amplifies the difference between the words contextually. So if my word for jump is translated into a language where "jump" more accurately translates to float, then the bar would make it so if I jump in the air I would float. However, the bar only works if I am a native level speaker of both languages. The book essentially says you have to dream in the non-English language. It's SUPER confusing, but I'm pretty sure that's how it works?
The magic system was the most difficult part to get my head around, but once I kind of let go into it and just let things happen without thinking too hard I enjoyed myself. I also CRIED at the ending of this book which I legitimately never do. I'm pretty steady when it comes to emotional reading experiences but this one got me.
I can't say that I loved the characters because honestly I didn't really. I appreciated their friendship and the complexities that they had to navigate as students at Babel. I think that Letty was a pretty interesting character in relation to the theme because she is British and wealthy, so she is very ingrained in the system of exploitation without realizing it. I can appreciate her attempting to understand what they others are going through, and I can also appreciate where she ends that character arc even if I don't necessarily agree with it. I think some people need to remember the time that this novel is set. It would be extremely difficult for Letty to break her mindset, but I think it's more of a commentary on intersectionality than a specific dig at Letty's race.
Letty white, so she doesn't understand the racial discrimination that her friends have to go through, and while she sympathizes she can't empathize which I find odd. Letty and Victoire are women at a university that only allows women to work in the Babel college. She should understand discrimination because she's discriminated against based on her sex, but she can't fathom that she has privilege. I think that's partially because of the discrimination she faces. She feels like her friends are excluding her when she has experienced something similar. But, Letty can't shake her upbringing and therefore cannot connect with her friends on the level she wants to. I don't really have a conclusion to that, just observations.
Witnessing Robin becomes radicalized is also really fascinating. He's influenced by Griffin, but he's also influenced by time. He worked with Hermes for a long while, and yet things only seem to be getting worse, so it makes sense to him that he would fall into the harsher, more proactive ideologies that Griffin espouses. I think he develops from quite a passive character into a much more active one, a leader of a "terrorist" group. Ultimately, it's hard to say that Robin did the "right" thing because people were injured and killed in his pursuit of justice, but I don't think we're supposed to view it as the "right" thing. It was the desperate thing.
That was my only other complaint with the book. We don't get to see any of the outcomes of what happened at the end of the novel. On one hand, I fully and completely understand that this is on purpose. Many others throughout the story who were fighting for good didn't get to see the outcome of their work and sacrifice, so Kuang is placing the reader in their shoes. It does leave me with a really melancholic feeling in my chest. I wish I could see that the "good guys" won, that things changed and people changed and their goals were achieved, but we're denied that ending. It's correct for the themes of the story but it did leave me dissatisfied.
Overall, I would recommend! I wouldn't say it's a perfect book, and if you're not into academia I can't imagine you would enjoy a vast majority of this novel. However, it's an excellent story for discussing colonialism, especially within academic institutions. There's so much to say about Babel that I feel like I've hardly scratched the surface.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, and Sexism
Moderate: Murder
elessahr's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
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
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Colonisation
Moderate: Racial slurs, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, and Murder
Minor: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Gun violence, and Death of parent
feliscatusnum_1's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
mysterious
reflective
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? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Mentions all things surrounding colonialism after the US independence, Haiti revolution, and during the opium war.sarahreadssometimes's review against another edition
dark
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
4.5
I really enjoyed this book a lot actually! I think it was very engaging and you can clearly tell how much care Kuang took when researching for this novel. I really enjoyed the characters, and I think the magic system is quite unique. I think it was definitely a step up from The Poppy War and I can’t wait to read her future novels.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Classism
Minor: Child abuse, Misogyny, and Racial slurs
anni_shall's review against another edition
challenging
informative
mysterious
reflective
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
I love this book It’s taught me so much about so many things, Philosophy, linguistics and the effects of colonialism, it’s just the best deep read
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Racism, Blood, Murder, and Colonisation
Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, and War
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
biapoweer's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Grief, and Colonisation
charlie678's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
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
4.75
ow that ending
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, and Colonisation
Moderate: Child abuse, Racial slurs, Violence, and Death of parent
Minor: Gun violence and Torture
my_weird_bookish_heart's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
sad
tense
slow-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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Sexism, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Colonisation, War, and Classism
petra_eller's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
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
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Slavery, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Deportation