Reviews - Babel | The StoryGraph

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babel by r.f. kuang is a dark academic fantasy (who doesn't love a historical fantasy??) that weaves language, colonialism, and revolution into a stunning and acutely distressing tale set in an alternate 1800s oxford.

this. this is an unforgettable read. mystical in atmosphere yet razor-sharp in intellect. kuang amazingly conjured an alternate world, one that is both deeply magical yet painfully real in its own ways, resonating with the historical weight of empire, language, and resistance. as we journeyed with the four main characters through their struggles of identity and belonging, we also saw betrayal, wrapped in kuang's beautiful and cold narrative of translation and etymology.

i felt so much heartache towards the inevitable choices each of them made as individuals, where they carried their own contexts and wounded histories into the weight of their decisions and relationships with one another. robin as a character was written so so beautifully - the way his torn state was articulated through his multiple hesitations, self doubts, and how many times he internally debated to cling on to the idea that he could very well flourish in a system that was built to exclude him. i'll be thinking about this read for a while for sure

muir323's review against another edition

5.0

This in my opinion is one of the most important books ever published. The message of this book is something that was important in the time frame it was taking places and still is very important today. This should be a required reading in High School.

calistagresick's review against another edition

5.0

challenging emotional informative tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

A masterpiece, truly.

hopereads123's review against another edition

3.0

slow-paced

Boring, next! In all seriousness, yeah, that's kind of it... I mean, the book was fine, but it felt too long. I felt like it was just getting interesting in the last part of the book, which is sad. It was mostly boring up until then. And, some of the stuff that I would find interesting in other books was just boring in this. So, yeah, that's about all. I wish I dnfed this.