Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

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

48 reviews

meaghanslibrary's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective tense slow-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

4.5

I’m between a 4.25 and a 4.5.

The story is extremely interesting and the author does a wonderful job of world building.

The idea of the power of what is lost in translation tied with the power of language and its influence on colonialism is well thought out.

The reason why this book isn’t a 5 is because I felt for most of the book that it was too long. I think this book could have been several smaller books instead of one be very large book. The pacing of the story drags in the middle for me. Also I found the characters while not quite lovable or despicable, just sometimes annoying, especially Robin and Letty. That also factored in a bit to my rating.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Toxic friendship, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Violence, Cultural appropriation, War, Child death, Classism, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gore, Gun violence, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Colonisation, and Death

rlinnyc's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark 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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Xenophobia, Colonisation, and Death

Moderate: Physical abuse, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Gun violence, Racism, War, Blood, Bullying, Violence, and Body horror

lucy_shanners's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Grief, Body horror, Blood, Torture, Murder, Colonisation, Death, Violence, Suicide, Racial slurs, Racism, Toxic friendship, Xenophobia, Hate crime, Forced institutionalization, Confinement, Classism, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, War, Gore, Sexual harassment, Slavery, Medical content, Bullying, Alcohol, and Gun violence

Minor: Physical abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Child death, Drug abuse, Addiction, and Vomit

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

nichole_of_numenor's review against another edition

dark 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

5.0

I was drawn into this book before I read the first page. Not only were there maps (and I firmly believe that books with maps are better than most), but it promised an historical setting infused with unique magic.

Like Robin, the main character, I was lured into the mysterious world of exclusive academia. The prestige, the exclusivity, the pursuit of pure knowledge for knowledge's sake. I don't want to give away spoilers, but the way his view of the world changed and the inevitability of the events that followed had me in shock, disbelief, and it was quite the wild ride.

As someone who is a student of language, Kuang's own pedigree and familiarity with language and translation was spellbinding. There is always something lost in translation and this became the foundation of the magic. The whole book was sprinkled with etimologies from various languages and I just ate it all up.

From a sytlistic standpoint, I absolutely loved the way she liberally used footnotes to explain historical events, translations, or other tidbits, as if the book were an actual history (as the subtitle of the book states). There was plenty of dialoge to keep it feeling like a work of fiction, but I appreciated the use of footnotes as a more practical way that Kuang was pulling us into the academic world.

I can definitely see myself re-reading this one.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Body horror, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, and Murder

Moderate: Death of parent, Gun violence, and Slavery

elisabeth_with_an_ess's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional 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

3.5

The premise of the story and the magic system were original and engaging, and the characters were delightful. However, the historical aspects seemed a bit under-researched in places, and there was a lot of repeated information. I think it was a great story that could have benefited from a bit more time before it was published. But that final chapter, my goodness! That was a pure joy. And by joy, I mean I had tears running down my face.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Toxic friendship, Death of parent, Grief, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Blood, Deportation, Body horror, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Suicide, Classism, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Trafficking, and Murder

winterwoodbooks's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective 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

5.0

One the best books ever written.
One of my favorite books of all time, this feels like my soul.

For everyone who loves Addie LaRue! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Classism, Colonisation, Deportation, Domestic abuse, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Grief, Hate crime, Islamophobia, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Murder, Racism, Suicide attempt, Antisemitism, Drug abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Ableism, Death, Drug use, Mental illness, Self harm, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Torture, War, Addiction, Alcohol, Cultural appropriation, Cursing, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Trafficking, Toxic friendship, Death of parent, Medical content, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Blood, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gun violence, and Body horror

leedolee's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

Words cannot even begin to describe what an experience it was to read this book. 

It was exciting, shocking, and filled to the brim with knowledge about words and languages that I never imagined learning while reading this novel. It was certainly a tough book to read due to various sensitive topics: namely racism, colonialism, and sexism. But it was a reality in the past and is still very much prevalent in the present.

The four main characters are each uniquely different and yet similar in some cases. It was quite the journey being able to experience the world of Babel through Robin's eyes and to cheer him and his friends on as the book progressed. I would highly recommend this as a must-read but also caution any readers who may be triggered by the vast sensitive issues found within the pages of this novel. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Religious bigotry, Child abuse, Classism, Confinement, Hate crime, Violence, Suicide, Physical abuse, Colonisation, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Racism, Racial slurs, Murder, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Xenophobia, Torture, Sexism, and Misogyny

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Bullying, Blood, Body horror, and Slavery

Minor: Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Islamophobia, Addiction, Alcohol, and Alcoholism

chloenk_1011's review against another edition

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Body horror, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Racial slurs, Misogyny, Death, Drug use, Grief, Gun violence, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Violence, War, Addiction, Blood, Child abuse, Islamophobia, and Injury/Injury detail

random19379's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad 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: Racial slurs, Racism, War, Suicide, Gore, Xenophobia, Gun violence, Sexism, Body horror, Violence, Death, Colonisation, Grief, Torture, Genocide, Gaslighting, and Death of parent