Reviews

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

helennajuuliabooks's review against another edition

5.0

5/5⭐

Simplemente diré que estoy aprendiendo griego y latín, para entender mejor el resto de idiomas que hablo o quiero hablar.

Gracias a Babel, he recuperado el amor por las lenguas; por querer entender el significado y el origen de las palabras que uso en mí día a día. Me parece que R. F. Kuang ha hecho un gran trabajo en cuanto al tema de la traducción.

En cuanto a la ambientación me parece que está muy bien lograda, también. A través de un solo lugar hace entender los sentimientos de cada uno de sus personajes. Y ya no solo en la ambientaci{n, sino, en su contexto histórico. Como estudiante de Historia, estaba marcando y apuntando cada hecho históroco relevante que ocurría. Se nota que la autora es hisotira dora espezialida en sinología. (lengua y cultura china)

Me ha sorprendido también, el epílogo. El personaje que nos lo cuenta se ha he ho empoderado y muestra una gran valía y unas grandes ganas de seguir adelante.

Esta novela trata temas como el racismo, la superioridad del hombre blanco en el siglo XIX y como el imperio británico sólo quiere a extranjeros, como los protagonistas como herramienta para aprovecharse de los países tercermundistas. En su trama poco a poco, vamos viendo como el personaje principal se da cuenta de esto, y al final se rebela contra el imperio, y aunque no acabe bien él es consciente de que ha hecho lo correcto.

Merece muchísimo la pena leer este libro.

mcmah303's review against another edition

3.0

The magic wasn't quite as magical as I expected; all of the events that silver was blamed for in the book actually happened in real life without the magic during the industrial revolution. Additionally, while I think the premise of this story was very interesting, as an exploration of the experience of foreigners in 1830s London it fell a little flat for me because the author skips over the formative childhood experiences of the characters after they are taken from their homelands; this makes it difficult to understand their mindsets and motivations throughout the book. I have now read two books by the author, this one and Yellowface, and my impression is that she wants to say something about race relations, but often misses the important intersections with class in the interactions her foreign/ethnic minority characters, who are in positions of social and economic privilege, have with the white people they interact with. This makes the main characters seem very holier-than-thou and naive to the struggles that marginalized people, either of an ethnic minority or of lower socioeconomic status face. In fact, none of the main characters ever have a meaningful interaction with a non-member of either Oxford specifically or a governing official on the page. Overall, this was an interesting premise but I think it failed to explore its own themes deeply enough to be compelling. I was very excited to finally get a chance to read this one, but was disappointed in the execution.

thebookgremlin's review against another edition

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

leenbrug's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious

4.25

milatonin's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative inspiring 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? It's complicated

4.5

sa_b's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective slow-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

4.25

madmissmedic's review against another edition

adventurous 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

joshy167's review against another edition

adventurous dark inspiring mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

Gripping story with a detailed and well developed world. Themes of colonialism and imperialism are deep and woven throughout the narrative. 

pagesandjournals's review against another edition

4.0

4.5 ⭐️

that was heartbreaking

babetteje's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad 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

4.25

First of all, the book is very well written and included a lot of knowledge. However, the storyline was long and i think it could’ve been shorter. Also, personally, the characters didn’t really stay in my mind when I put the book away. But, definitely 4 stars on how it is written including all the knowledge! Very well done!