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themoostconfused'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
"That's just what translation is, I think. That's all speaking is. Listening to the other and trying to see past your own biases to glimpse what they're trying to say. Showing yourself to the world, and hoping someone else understands." (pg. 535)
I don't even know where to begin. R. F. Kuang has done it again. She has rattled me, shaken me to my core and I thank her for it. Going into it - having read the entire Poppy War series - I knew I was not bound for a happy, carefree book. Coming from an anthropology background, the extent of human destruction and hatred of "the other" it not news to me but it continues to move me every time.
I can already sense that I will return to this book over and over again in the future and will recommend it to everyone I come across, although not without warning.
The book's alternate title "The Necessity of Violence" captures the journey this book takes one on while reading quite succinctly, althought the extent of this might not seem obvious upon first glance.
In the process I have learned a great deal about linguistics and am planning on dealving into that further. But first I am going to have to digest what I have become witness to by reading this book.
Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Islamophobia, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Deportation
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Deportation
Minor: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Deportation
clovetra's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
- the linguistic side. idk it made this book feel more real. plus you could tell it was interesting and deeply researched
- ramy. my love. my dear. you are babygrill. 🫶
- after canton 2: electric bugaloo, the book REALLLLYYY gripped me. like i was HOOKED. i think from there i literally finished the rest of this book in one day.
- the first half of this book was great in terms of atmosphere ! i actually was really digging it ! but after a while i realised the points raised weren’t really going to go past the basics i became a bit disillusioned
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Murder, Colonisation, and War
Moderate: Drug use, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Grief, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, and Classism
lemilysnikda's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Drug use, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Torture, Xenophobia, Colonisation, War, and Classism
endlessly_jasmine's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
2.5 stars because the concept had potential and could have amounted to something much better if the author had devoted more time and pages to world building and character development instead of repeatedly telling the reading that imperialism is bad and only benefits the rich and powerful.
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Xenophobia, Colonisation, and Classism
Moderate: Sexism, Torture, Violence, and Blood
Minor: Drug use and War
karashleigh's review against another edition
- 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
Moderate: Physical abuse, Violence, Murder, Colonisation, and Classism
This book was simply incredible. Complex and beautiful world-building, multi-faceted and deeply developed characters and relationships, and a storyline to inspire generations to burn exploitative institutions to the ground.songofachilleus's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Grief, Death of parent, and Classism
Moderate: Hate crime, Violence, Murder, Toxic friendship, and War
Minor: Sexual harassment
friendly_neighborhood_grandma'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: Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, and Classism
Moderate: Addiction, Child death, Drug abuse, Gore, Terminal illness, Blood, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Suicide and Vomit
dragonlilly's review against another edition
4.0
The history of colonization and all that is intertwined within that history is quite thoroughly explored, especially through the ways the characters interact with one another, and the individual difficulties they face as people who are seen as ultimately foreign to England and Europe generally, no matter how long they have lived there or become a part of that land. Yet, we also see the unique difficulties the characters face because of their different phenotypic appearances, genders, races, languages, and religions. So, while our main characters are able to come together to form an immensely strong bond, especially due to the prejudices they face, we can also see how unique all people are generally. Each character came from different parts of the world, grew up differently, and had wholly distinctive experiences that causes them to have their own opinions, biases, and views on the world. This creates conflict in the dear friend group, but they often come back together because they only have one another in the end. I also felt the characterization of these individuals was very consistent, and their actions always seemed to make sense. I liked Ramy instantly, and liked Victoire quite a bit, while the other characters grew on me.
The exploration of translation and etymology, along with the characters and story, was one of my favorite aspects, and the quotes I loved the most from this book all seem to relate to that theme:
Ch. 6 - "'You don't think that an original language exists?' Robin asked.
'Of course I [Richard] don't. The most devout Christians think it does, but you'd think if the Holy Word were so innate and unambiguous, there'd be less debate about its contents'"
Ch. 8 - "'How can we conclude, except by acknowledging that an act of translation is then necessarily always an act of betrayal?'"
Ch. 33 - "The bars were singing, shaking; trying, he thought, to express some unutterable truth about themselves, which was that translation was impossible, that the realm of pure meaning they captured and manifested would and could not ever be known, that the enterprise of this tower had been impossible from inception... Language was just difference. A thousand different ways of seeing, of moving through the world. No; a thousand worlds within one. And translation - a necessary endeavour, however futile, to move between them"
Ch. 33 - "'That's just what translation is, I think. That's all speaking is. Listening to the other and trying to see past your own biases to glimpse what they're trying to say. Showing yourself to the world, and hoping someone else understands.'" - Ramy
(My favorite quote, very likely)
Overall, great book! I just didn't absolutely adore this. I would certainly recommend this to those interested in history, translation, and the uniqueness among people, and those who can handle the slower sections, as I think that can easily bog people down a bit.
Some spoiler notes I wanted to think on:
The reveal of what was in Griffin's note for Robin was very interesting. It seems Robin may have had other brothers in Hermes abroad! That could have been the hope to allow him to live and believe in a future. But maybe it wouldn't have changed his mind either, as all of his love and love for life was somewhat centered upon Ramy. Quite horrifying to think that Richard Lovell was just impregnating possibly dozens of Chinese women though, as this reveal shows.
I enjoyed the picnic conversation between Ramy and Robin that was revealed in the last chapter. While I didn't feel any chemistry beyond solid friendship throughout the story, I thought this scene was very cute. Although, I guess Robin wasn't able to put a name to these feelings either until the end, so I suppose it being hard to notice could make sense, I just wish is was a teeny bit more obvious. I had honestly thought there were hints between Robin and Victoire earlier on, but it must have just been platonic admiration.
Dang it Letty. Yet, I see in how her characterization led to this.
Lots of unexpected moments in the story, mainly the deaths. It certainly captured my interest and made for some fast reading though.
The standoff between Griffin and Sterling Jones was a bit comic, playing on them being the 'main characters' of their own stories at one point and in another book, this would be their ending. I didn't love this scene, just found it a bit funny. But Griffin's death was indeed sad.
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Addiction, Body horror, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Genocide and Slavery
spirited_basil_plant's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Regular Review Style
1. ROBIN ARE YOU OKAY! ROBIN!
2. Lovell pissed me off from the start
3. Ramy was my favorite
4. Victoire was the least insane out of all of them and I love her for that
5. This book was great, it had great social commentary, great themes, it was dark and really bleek but it was good
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Toxic friendship, and Colonisation
Moderate: Slavery, War, and Classism
Minor: Death of parent
sunsuci'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: Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Colonisation, War, and Classism