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Reviews tagging 'Police brutality'
Babel, or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution by R.F. Kuang
132 reviews
bilal_shumuus's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Toxic friendship, Kidnapping, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Xenophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Violence, War, Self harm, Torture, Colonisation, Death of parent, Genocide, Child abuse, Grief, Murder, Classism, Infidelity, Death, Sexism, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, and Racism
Moderate: Religious bigotry, Sexual harassment, Confinement, Blood, Police brutality, Abandonment, Addiction, Islamophobia, and Pandemic/Epidemic
mirandyli's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Death, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Police brutality, Drug use, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Xenophobia, Slavery, Alcohol, Confinement, Bullying, Child abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Toxic friendship, Violence, Blood, Cultural appropriation, Cursing, Colonisation, Murder, Suicide, Classism, Death of parent, Grief, Gun violence, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Genocide, Racism, Torture, and War
awildeasriel's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Moderate: Racial slurs, Violence, Torture, Child abuse, Police brutality, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, Death, Racism, Misogyny, Murder, and Slavery
Minor: Grief, Alcoholism, Classism, and Religious bigotry
scytheria's review against another edition
- 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
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
- 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
Graphic: Violence, Racism, and Sexism
Moderate: War, Suicide, and Murder
Minor: Sexual assault, Police brutality, Slavery, Gun violence, Domestic abuse, and Xenophobia
bababookmatt's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Blood, Bullying, Drug use, Gaslighting, Slavery, Child abuse, War, Physical abuse, Murder, Addiction, Colonisation, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Misogyny, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Classism, Cultural appropriation, Death, and Domestic abuse
polaris1117's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Death, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Racial slurs, Police brutality, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Death of parent, Xenophobia, Torture, Slavery, War, Violence, Suicide attempt, Suicide, and Racism
Moderate: Child abuse, Colonisation, Hate crime, Grief, Gun violence, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, and Gaslighting
crybabybea's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
First of all, the dark academia aspect was done very well. It felt atmospheric, grand, with a hint of mystery. It felt gloomy in a really fun way. The settings outside of the tower itself were less immersive, but the majority of the story takes place inside the tower anyway so it wasn't too distracting. The dark academia vibe was a genius way to explore a story about decolonization and racism. The magic system was inventive and interesting, and I liked how it stood as a metaphor for the industrial revolution.
The characters were just okay. We get to see Robin, the main character, the most, and I felt really attached to him by the end. The other characters had interesting stories that I felt didn't get explored enough. I understand this book leans in to its literary side, and the characters and arguably the entire plot are just allegories for bigger issues, but I think this made the character work suffer and it made the explosive ending pack less of a punch. Don't get me wrong, I loved the ending, and I still cried, but some of the other moments that were meant to be heavy-hitting fell flat because I didn't feel the connection to the characters. The found family aspect didn't feel fleshed out enough because of this as well.
I think the character work is a side effect of Kuang's tendency to overexplain things rather than actually have things happen. Some of the messaging was so on the nose that it felt pedantic and almost condescending at times. I wanted to read this book to challenge my thinking, and I hoped it would leave me with lots of thoughts to reflect on afterward, but everything gets explained to you so plainly that it completely ruins the amazing research and work Kuang put into telling the story of racism and colonization in academia. I mean, there were literally times when something racist or sexist would happen, then the narrator would have a whole paragraph to say something like "Robin wonders if this white person realized how racist they were being". It got irritating... I felt like I was on Sesame Street. I will say the writing itself was done very well, the prose was accessible despite the scientific, historical, and literary references used, and I appreciated a lot of R.F. Kuang's comments and her sarcastic footnotes.
The last issue is the pacing, which I think is also a side effect of this "telling not showing" issue. This book only gets good around the 60-70% mark. It had an extremely slow start with very little intrigue. We spent a long time in lectures and I felt not enough time was dedicated to furthering either the charcters OR the plot. It was a lot of sitting around and waiting. I don't mind books that have a hill into a snowball second half, but I almost put this book down multiple times because nothing was happening, then one minor action would happen and I would finally think we were going somewhere, just for it to slow down again.
All these issues made for a really weird reading experience where I absolutely dreaded picking the book back up, then when I started reading it was just fine and I wanted to know more, then it would get boring and the cycle repeated. I expected more from the rave reviews but left feeling like its potential got wasted. I still do think it's a good read overall, but it could have been better.
Graphic: Grief, Bullying, Child death, Classism, Colonisation, Addiction, Misogyny, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Emotional abuse, Violence, Torture, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Racism, Slavery, Domestic abuse, Gore, Kidnapping, War, Xenophobia, Death, Vomit, Murder, Drug abuse, Sexism, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Police brutality, Blood, Death of parent, Drug use, and Genocide
livcashmere's review against another edition
- 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
Moderate: Racism, Sexual harassment, Death, War, Toxic friendship, Murder, Violence, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Colonisation, Classism, and Slavery
broken_biscuits's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Police brutality, Colonisation, Islamophobia, Misogyny, Pandemic/Epidemic, Torture, Violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicide, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Child abuse, Classism, Physical abuse, Blood, Hate crime, Body horror, Death, Grief, and Murder