Reviews tagging 'Deportation'

Babel by R.F. Kuang

82 reviews

bgmylc's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense

• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, Murder, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and War

Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Blood, and Death of parent

Minor: Deportation

beonie's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Suicide, Torture, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Slavery, Grief, Religious bigotry, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Infidelity and Deportation

buffalomj's review

challenging dark sad 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

4.5

I devoured this book. Kuang has written some of the best character work that I have ever seen, and I felt I knew every one of them within a few pages. I loved the simplicity of the magic system at work — it’s barely fantastical which, when combined with the PhD-level attention to linguistics, creates something entirely unique and enrapturing. I feel like the momentum was unsustainable though, and the resolution was kind of abrupt — definitely would have enjoyed more espionage in books IV and V, but I was still invested.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Death of parent, and Colonisation

Moderate: War and Classism

Minor: Addiction, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Deportation

themoostconfused's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective 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? 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. 

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Content Warnings

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

laffi's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective 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? It's complicated

4.5

Great work, but I saw about every plot twist coming miles ago

I predicted that

Ramy would die

at the start of the book, I saw the

Griffin/Anthony/Evie/Sterling history

,

Lovell being Robins father

,

Babel being destroyed by the translate-silver-work

, and many more.

Great book nevertheless

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Blood, Grief, Murder, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Bullying, Gun violence, Misogyny, Slavery, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Vomit, Antisemitism, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Death of parent, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Deportation

teawitchontravel's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective 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? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Deportation

Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Slavery, Death of parent, and Deportation

Minor: Vomit, Antisemitism, Car accident, and Alcohol

the_scribe_of_amyklai's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad slow-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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Grief, Murder, Cultural appropriation, and Colonisation

Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, War, and Classism

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Deportation

ford_defect's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Slavery, Trafficking, Religious bigotry, and Abandonment

Minor: Islamophobia, Deportation, and Pandemic/Epidemic

petra_eller's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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? No

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Slavery, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Deportation

exhaustrovert's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense medium-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Xenophobia, Death of parent, Murder, Cultural appropriation, War, and Deportation

Moderate: Physical abuse, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Police brutality, Grief, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail