Reviews tagging 'Pandemic/Epidemic'

Babel by R.F. Kuang

70 reviews

abhay_'s review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad 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? No

4.5

Very engaging read but a lot of the parts in a classroom went over my head lol 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Drug use, Violence, Gun violence, Racism, Xenophobia, Death, Alcohol, Pandemic/Epidemic, Sexism, Death of parent, and Blood

sunflowerwork's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Racism, Blood, Child abuse, Classism, Colonisation, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Gun violence, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, and War

jelliestars's review

challenging dark reflective tense medium-paced

• 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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Violence, Toxic friendship, Suicide, Racism, Cultural appropriation, Death, Blood, Death of parent, Torture, Colonisation, Gun violence, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Sexism, Murder, and Misogyny

Moderate: Gore, Torture, Child abuse, Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Slavery, Injury/Injury detail, Alcoholism, Classism, Drug abuse, Sexual harassment, Terminal illness, War, and Addiction

Minor: Child death, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Religious bigotry, Kidnapping, Medical content, Pandemic/Epidemic, Trafficking, Car accident, Genocide, Infidelity, Islamophobia, Vomit, Confinement, Cursing, Forced institutionalization, Alcoholism, and Panic attacks/disorders

fluffyinsect's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad 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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Sexism, Murder, Gun violence, Slavery, Pandemic/Epidemic, Violence, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Misogyny, Grief, and Colonisation

Moderate: Classism and Blood

scmiller's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Colonisation, Confinement, Physical abuse, Racism, Police brutality, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Torture, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, Child abuse, Classism, Forced institutionalization, Gun violence, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, Racial slurs, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Xenophobia, War, Toxic friendship, and Trafficking

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Pregnancy, Drug use, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Bullying, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, Addiction, Infidelity, Confinement, Cultural appropriation, Deportation, Drug abuse, and Vomit

rieviolet's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative 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

5.0

Honestly this book is like catnip for me. A historical setting (with a heavy focus on imperialism and colonialism) plus a sprinkle of fantasy elements, and above all so much about language and translation embedded into the storyline, just sign me up please! 

It is not without flaws. At times the handling of its themes is very heavy-ended, everything is spelled out for the reader and you can see the author's hand very cleary, so much so that you feel a bit pulled out of the narrative. The portrayal of some characters could use some more depth and exploration, in places it felt a little surface-level and stilted. 
The ending is maybe a bit too open-ended for my liking.

That being said, the book is still a marvellous feat of the dark academia genre. I loved the reading experience, it was fascinating and gripping, it kept me on the edge of my seat with its twists and turns and put me on a roller coaster of emotions. Just, why did you have to crush my heart like that, R. F. Kuang? My poor boys.

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. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Colonisation, Classism, Sexism, Slavery, Xenophobia, Blood, Violence, Torture, Grief, Toxic friendship, Child abuse, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Death

Moderate: Confinement, Gun violence, Pandemic/Epidemic, Suicide, War, Death of parent, and Cultural appropriation

Minor: Addiction, Religious bigotry, and Sexual harassment

chiwirite's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, Suicide, Racism, Classism, Death, and Drug use

Moderate: Alcoholism, Racial slurs, War, Pandemic/Epidemic, Blood, Bullying, Xenophobia, Violence, Drug abuse, Child abuse, Murder, Gun violence, Grief, Deportation, Addiction, Slavery, and Sexism

daniela_09's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective 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

4.5

This is the fantasy and dark academia I wanted The Secret History by Donna Tartt to be. 

Babel is immersive, passionate and critical as expected of R. F. Kuang's incredible writing. 
I felt like I was transported to Oxford in the past with sprinkles of magic. You could tell how much research goes into this book and it was so heart-warming reading about the friendship and found family of Robin, Rami, Victoire and Letty. 

This is my 3rd book of Rebecca Kuang and I can’t wait to read Yellowface soon 💛

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Grief, Hate crime, Misogyny, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Violence, War, Xenophobia, Suicide, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, and Death of parent

asifsyed's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Colonisation, Racial slurs, Racism, Cultural appropriation, Xenophobia, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Violence, Murder, Trafficking, Fire/Fire injury, Addiction, Slavery, Misogyny, Grief, Drug abuse, and Gun violence

Minor: Torture, Police brutality, War, Abandonment, Terminal illness, Religious bigotry, Sexism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

signeskov's review against another edition

adventurous dark informative reflective 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Cultural appropriation, Classism, Xenophobia, Toxic friendship, Torture, Misogyny, Colonisation, Child abuse, Blood, Sexism, Racial slurs, Islamophobia, Forced institutionalization, Sexual harassment, Grief, Racism, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, and Addiction

Moderate: Pandemic/Epidemic, Slavery, and War