Reviews - Babel | The StoryGraph

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64.3k reviews for:

Babel

R.F. Kuang

4.34 AVERAGE

emcdonald's review against another edition

5.0

challenging dark emotional slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

still in shock will update later

whitneydmcneal's review against another edition

3.0

adventurous challenging informative slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

dreamsinfiction's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous challenging emotional tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I finished Babel but at what cost 😭

They said this book is a masterpiece - I can see that bc wow for one person to come up with this fantasy/dark academia concept but still delving into very real issues of racism/baggages from colonialism...RF Kuang is truly a different kind of author.

That said, this book gave me trauma fr; there's so many plot twists and our motley crew of Babblers unfortunately did not remain so innocent and pure by the end.

Curiously when I finished the book, I felt like I could do a lit paper on how Robin really evolved throughout the story (this coming from a student who has never taken Literature before lol). I thought it'll be so interesting to dive deep into his character, his motivations and how he became who he was at the end of the book.

5 stars because I'm still thinking of the book and its themes (mark of a great book if anything).

rjwilde's review against another edition

4.25

dark emotional hopeful 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: Complicated

margotxoxo's review against another edition

5.0

challenging dark reflective tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

voracious_g's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

intoner's review against another edition

DID NOT FINISH: 87%

R.F. Kuang is a very talented writer, but a horrible storyteller. She insists on bludgeoning the reader over the head with her intended messages, as if her audience is stupid. Her characters are bland, boring, and one-dimensional, serving more as mouthpieces. The magic system is woefully underutilized, and it genuinely just feels like it was tacked on at the last second. I like what she's writing about, I just get irritated at the way she does it.