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

Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

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

45 reviews

graciffer's review against another edition

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challenging dark informative reflective tense medium-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

5.0

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eli_trieu's review against another edition

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adventurous 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

The last 100 pages were just...😭!!
I felt so seen and heard. I sympathised and empathised with many of the characters, especially Robin.
I learned so much and I love the time I spent reading this book because it was a beautiful record of what these people went through, even though, they were fictional.
This is my favourite book of all time. This is fiction at its finest. It captured a certain truth in fiction so well that it is almost real.
If I can give this book more stars, I would.
♾️⭐

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elnelson's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective 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

alite428's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious 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

starrysteph's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional informative 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

“Language was just difference. A thousand different ways of seeing, of moving throughout the world. No; a thousand worlds within one. And translation - a necessary endeavor, however futile, to move between them.”

Babel is a work of genius. Seriously. It’s an unflinching, penetrating, & clever deep dive into language as an oppressive tool; colonialism; racism; the damaging power of academia.

If you’ve ever had a curiosity for linguistics or spent any amount of time in academic circles, you’ll get the wonder of Babel, the prestigious school of translation situated in trapped-in-time, magical, captivating Oxford.

We follow Robin Swift, an orphaned boy from Canton who has been ‘rescued’ from his home and subsequently raised by Babel professor Richard Lovell. He trains for years in various languages (English, Greek, and Latin), all in preparation to attend the university where he is considered a special asset as a native Cantonese speaker.

Once Robin comes of age, he begins his studies at Babel and finds friendship in the 3 fellow members of his cohort. However, while he at first views Oxford as utopic, he slowly begins to question his identity and role in the Babel hierarchy. Add in the Hermes Society, a secretive anti-imperialist resistance group, and a slowly simmering rage that goes beyond the limits of non-violent academia may just spark a revolution.

Babel’s main purpose is to produce magical silver bars, which power Britain’s cities and armies and colonial rule. The bars are created from the space in between languages; words from different languages tied together to produce specific effects. They require fluent speakers (as in, dream-in-the-language fluent) in order to work, and can lose their powers as language shifts and adapts, and so students fluent in new-to-Babel languages are prized.

R.F. Kuang cleverly integrates real history with just this bit of fantastical magic; the bars serve as a rather blunt metaphor for all the goods stolen from around the world (they’re literally snatching up languages), and their services inherently savor the wealthy & those already in power. Magical power as an oppressive, colonialist tool … makes perfect sense. Magic is just another resource to be taken advantage of. Babel is not an alternative history of early 1800s Britain, but rather a very purposeful, active rewriting.

“It sounded so abstract - just categories of use, exchange and value - until it wasn’t; until you realized the web you lived in and the exploitations your lifestyle demanded, until you saw looming above it all the spectre of colonial labor and colonial pain.”

While you may be thinking - well, this sounds pretty damning - it is clear that Kuang has a deep passion and love for academia. As much as this is a challenge to academia and its flaws and oppressive nature, it is also a love letter to Oxford and learning and linguistics.

And overall, Kuang looks at the themes I’ve mentioned (colonialism, oppression, racism) in a blunt way. She’s a wonderful writer, and purposefully chooses to diffuse nothing, to not make these themes lighter or gentler than reality.

Kuang’s dialogue around translation is SO interesting. From the opening pages of the novel, little Robin discovers that translation is a form of power (and he was the one holding the cards & choosing how to relay a message). When they start their journey in a Babel classroom, the first thing they discuss is implicit bias in translation – and, as printed on the book cover: “An act of translation is always an act of betrayal.” No two languages exist in a 1:1 ratio (all are built quite differently), and so bias always seeps through, and the person translating must always alter the words in a meaningful way.

Robin is a deeply sympathetic character, and I was fascinated by his journey & character development. He begins as an easily manipulated little boy with a desire to be accepted and included and valued; he rejoices in what he thinks may be a true home. Over time, he slowly sees past the wonder and into the oppressive systems in place. All the little injustices start to stack, and he starts to recognize himself as expendable to those in power.

“He'd been so foolish to ever think he could build a life here. There was no straddling the line; he knew that now. No stepping back and forth between two worlds, no seeing and not seeing, no holding a hand over one eye or the other like a child playing a game. You were either a part of this institution, one of the bricks that held it up, or you weren't.”

Robin’s peers - Ramy & Victoire - were equally fascinating. The uniqueness and individual struggles of the group partnered with their experience of belonging (Robin was occasionally perceived as white - and often not immediately outed as “other” - led to varying levels of experience here) was so well done. The final, white member of their cohort (Letty) was a bit flat and villainously overdone at times, but she often served well as a foil, parroting the racist/colonialist values of those in charge but always presenting herself as a victim and a peer.

She’s a representation of a very dangerous sort of oppressor; she sees herself as progressive but is incapable of “getting it”; ultimately, she’s obsessed with victimizing herself. She has a deep misunderstanding of individual fortunes vs. systemic oppression, and can’t truly see the perspectives of her friends.

Letty and other antagonists throw the luxuries of Babel in the faces of those suffering under its hierarchy (Robin, Ramy, Victoire). They are “supposed” to be grateful for the privilege to study at Babel, to have stipends and homes and jobs waiting for them post-graduation, but none of them asked for this. They are slowly understanding that academic institutions work hand in hand with the government; they are not separate, not “above” it all; academia is not some precious isolated thing, and their work has REAL HARM.

Robin is often torn between his righteous anger and his optimism towards Babel; that perhaps there is hope, that he can improve it, that perhaps all those in power there are just ignorant and once they “get it” they’ll want to change. As he comes to term with his identity, he starts to see himself through Babel’s eyes: is he really valued? Or is he expendable; his skills are necessary but he as an individual can just be replaced by another boy snatched from his homeland?

“That’s the great contradiction of colonialism. It’s built to destroy that which it prizes most.”

Violent revolution is, well, violent. But inaction .. is also violence. If Robin keeps his head down and follows the rules and works, he is of course contributing to colonial violence and upholding systems of oppression. Not to mention that things aren’t easy at Babel for any of them - they are constantly battling either racism or grotesque fascination from their peers and professors.

Finally, Kuang asks a series of questions throughout the novel. Some she answers, and some she leaves to the reader to ponder. Is surviving enough? Can action be taken through academia? Does revolution necessitate violence? Or rather, is violence necessary to create real change?

Babel is often harsh. It’s an unforgiving narrative; there’s no happily ever after here. And yet there is reason to leave with a spark - I ended my journey with this book feeling both emotionally devastated and wildly alive.

“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.”

A few other frames that didn’t quite fit into this review:

• The narrative voice of the footnotes was fantastic. I looked forward to reading them.

• There’s a moment when the Oxford/Babel students are faced with real action for the first time, and they fumble through it as though playacting - it’s a “clumsy, silly clash of the abstract and the material” that was particularly enjoyable to read.

• A lot of thoughtful talk around code switching / going through distortions in order to be understood to the white folks in charge.

• There’s a beautiful relationship between Robin and Ramy that was so sweet and charming.

CW: death, murder, colonisation, racism & racial slurs, colorism, cultural appropriation, religious bigotry, xenophobia, misogyny, sexism, slavery, child abuse, domestic abuse, blood, bullying, suicidal thoughts, torture, toxic friendship, drug use (opium), war, gun violence

(I received an advance reader copy of this book; this is my honest review. All quotes are taken from this ARC and therefore may change in the final published copy.)

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