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isaaceelliot's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Graphic: Death, Blood, War, Islamophobia, Death of parent, Gun violence, Racism, Sexism, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Slavery, Child abuse, and Colonisation
lucyatoz's review
- 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
5.0
It tells the story of four young adults, Robin, Victoire, Ramy and Lettie, as they come together as the 1st year cohort at the Oxford University's Royal Institute of Translation in 1836, as they each have amazing talents when it comes to learning languages that can be used for the benefit of the British Empire, regardless of the cost for them and those they love and care about.
It is a big and ambitious novel tackling big topics although it starts off quite slowly, but when the group come together, the action starts apace and takes you on a fantastical journey, which, at times, I could not tell was real or imaginary.
I borrowed a copy of this book from Taunton Library and listened to it on BorrowBox. I read this for prompt 26, hybrid genre, for the 52 Book Club Reading Challenge 2024.
Graphic: Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Gore, Xenophobia, Death of parent, Gun violence, Murder, Misogyny, Racism, Grief, Toxic friendship, Death, Violence, and Classism
Moderate: War, Pandemic/Epidemic, Vomit, and Blood
discocaptain'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
4.25
Graphic: Colonisation, Bullying, Child abuse, Death of parent, Misogyny, Suicide, Classism, Suicidal thoughts, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Cultural appropriation, Death, Racial slurs, Racism, War, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Blood, Alcohol, Gun violence, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail
catmisae's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Unfortunately I think Kuang put so much work into the world building and linguistics content that she didn’t have a lot of space left for the character development. For a story about belonging, alienation and a conflicted sense of national identity, our protagonists felt pretty flat to me. The reader would often be told that characters felt certain ways for specific reasons, but as a result their various reactions and changes in perspective felt forced. They almost seemed more like figures in a case study rather than characters in a work of fiction. Maybe this was deliberate? I’m not sure.
Moderate: Racism, Racial slurs, Gun violence, and Classism
Minor: Child abuse, Slavery, War, and Islamophobia
tranvnguyen'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
4.0
Graphic: Violence, War, Racism, Gun violence, Death of parent, Death, and Colonisation
neonskylite'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, Colonisation, Racial slurs, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Child abuse, War, Misogyny, Sexism, Gun violence, and Slavery
Minor: Drug use and Drug abuse
liafiles'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? No
5.0
Graphic: Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Colonisation, War, Death, Misogyny, Gun violence, Classism, Murder, Racism, Racial slurs, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Sexual harassment
melodyseestrees'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
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
There are several characters that I wish had been explored more
It also would have been interesting to see the effects Britain was having on other places in addition to China, which may have helped cement each of our four main characters' motivations a bit better. We know explicitly that Robin and Ramy want to help their homelands but Victoire is a little unclear and Letty is Letty.
There is a really great quote about Letty and how her upbringing shapes her world:
The ending was unsatisfactory because of the epilogue.
Graphic: Child abuse, Racial slurs, Colonisation, Racism, and Violence
Moderate: Alcohol, Sexism, Slavery, Cultural appropriation, War, Blood, Child death, Drug abuse, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Gaslighting, Grief, Murder, Ableism, Classism, and Drug use
Minor: Death of parent, Gun violence, Death, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic friendship
We see body horror-esque violence precisely in one scene. There is a lot of blood-related description from that scene on.jrae_miller'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: Sexism, Murder, Gun violence, Violence, Grief, Colonisation, Torture, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, Cultural appropriation, Islamophobia, and Racism
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Bullying, Suicidal thoughts, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Blood, Xenophobia, Toxic friendship, Medical content, Sexual harassment, Gun violence, Torture, Sexism, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Drug use, Alcohol, Violence, Death, and Classism
johannaplatt'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
4.5
Graphic: War, Murder, Colonisation, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, Suicide, Racism, Death, Death of parent, Xenophobia, Racial slurs, and Classism
Moderate: Sexism, Torture, Violence, and Panic attacks/disorders