Reviews tagging 'Pandemic/Epidemic'

Babel by R.F. Kuang

85 reviews

alixlowe's review

challenging dark 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? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, Trafficking, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

adriennemrn's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad 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

5.0

I love the juxtaposition of academic form (ie. footnotes that take up the whole page) with a somewhat epic story about violence and rebellion.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Xenophobia, and Murder

Moderate: Sexual violence, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic

feliscatusnum_1's review

dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious reflective tense medium-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Mentions all things surrounding colonialism after the US independence, Haiti revolution, and during the opium war.

daniellekuhrt's review against another edition

emotional sad medium-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Gun violence, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, Murder, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic

delaneybarry's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad 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? Yes

2.75

This book seems to be well researched and R.F. Kuang writes skillfully. However, while the story is compelling, it does at times feel like an exceptionally long lecture on etymology and colonization more so than a historical fantasy. The footnotes, a novel in their own right, are also a hefty weight to bear. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Xenophobia, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, War, and Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

booksthatburn's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Racism, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Sexism, Slavery, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Child death, Excrement, and Deportation

vitoriaemi's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective fast-paced

• 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

Reading this book felt like a slap on the face, a punch on the mouth and a kick on the stomach

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Alcoholism, Alcohol, War, and Deportation

lizzyjean's review

dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

I thought I had cried while reading before. I thought I’d felt the grief and sadness and emotion that the characters were feeling and mourned for them, but the sobbing that took over me while reading Babel was something I’ve never experienced before while reading. I genuinely went through all 5 stages of grief (still working on acceptance) and had to close the book on multiple occasions because I couldn’t bear to read one more word. This book was a beautiful and heartbreaking story, and I cannot recommend it enough.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Child abuse, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Religious bigotry, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Drug abuse, Drug use, Vomit, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

lynxpardinus's review

adventurous dark emotional tense

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Misogyny, Racism, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, and Classism

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Child death, Gore, Physical abuse, Slavery, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, and Pandemic/Epidemic

cayliehausman's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective tense slow-paced

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

5.0

A beautifully written story of revolution in the face of colonization, racism and injustice. Though set in the 1830s, it’s startlingly relevant to the politics and issues of 2024; Kuang tells the fictional history in a way that makes you take a step back and see the bigger picture of the world, and it’s people, in 2024. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Cultural appropriation, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Child abuse, Drug use, Violence, Vomit, Death of parent, and War

Minor: Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Pandemic/Epidemic