Reviews tagging 'War'

Babel by R.F. Kuang

1029 reviews

elisha002's review against another edition

emotional mysterious sad tense 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? Yes

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Racism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Trafficking, Death of parent, Colonisation, War, and Classism

eldervampire83's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring 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

Phenomenal narration. It made an already brilliant story all the more gripping, with individual voices for each character portrayed by Chris Lew Kum Hoi. He captures all of the emotions and even the inflections of each quote. An excellent touch, as well, to have a separate reader narrate the footnotes.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, Death of parent, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Drug use, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Cultural appropriation, and War

elliott_the_clementine's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful sad tense fast-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? Yes

I can’t even give this book a review. Heartbreaking. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Torture, Blood, Murder, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Fire/Fire injury

praaliine's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

why does she always do this? anyhow, this is the most profound piece of writing i’ve read till date i think.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Misogyny, Racism, Forced institutionalization, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Death

Minor: Drug use, Violence, and War

tarasamson's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

A beautiful (and tragic) story set in an even more beautiful world that I had the pleasure of exploring.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Murder, Colonisation, and War

pixiewoo's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense 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? Yes

3.5

R.F. Kuang’s novel is a thought-provoking exploration of colonialism, power, and identity, with a gripping emotional payoff that earns it a 3.5 out of 5 from me. The book’s strongest moments lie in its examination of how colonial systems exploit and dehumanize, culminating in a powerful, unforgettable ending. However, the journey to get there is slow and sometimes bogged down by over-explaining its themes.

While the focus on colonialism and racism is crucial and well-intentioned, the repetitive way these issues are addressed can feel heavy-handed, lessening their impact. Additionally, the detailed focus on linguistics—while thematically relevant—didn’t captivate me and slowed the pacing further.

That said, once the plot picks up and the stakes come into focus, the narrative becomes much more engaging. The story’s commentary on the destructive nature of empire shines brightest in its final chapters, rewarding readers who stick with it. This is a book that asks for patience but ultimately delivers a strong, emotional conclusion.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Racism, Violence, and War

raynearchv's review against another edition

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

my mind is absolutely blown away r.f. kuang is a genius in her field of work and i have huge respect for her.
as for the reading experience, i do admit that the first half of the book is quite slow, it felt like a huge essay while also getting glimpses into the different characters and their dynamic, but dear goodness does the pace and plot pick up drastically throughout the second half and i binged it all

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Islamophobia, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Gun violence, Violence, Death of parent, and War

Minor: War

morganlink11's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, and Classism

bookcheshirecat's review

challenging dark emotional medium-paced

4.0

“Betrayal. Translation means doing violence upon the original, means warping and distorting it for foreign, unintended eyes. So then where does that leave us? How can we conclude, except by acknowledging that an act of translation is then necessarily always an act of betrayal?” 

➽ 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Grief, Murder, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Addiction, Drug use, and Slavery

carly_reads's review against another edition

dark emotional sad

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Slavery, Grief, and War