Reviews tagging 'Genocide'

Babel by R.F. Kuang

128 reviews

emsavors's review

dark emotional 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: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

allys_shelf's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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: Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, War, Classism, and Deportation

lizzie_b99's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative 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

This book. Wow. Just wow. It's amazing. Make sure you check triggers as needed because this books has A LOT of triggers. I love the reimaging of the Industrial Revolution as powered by silver rather than coal and the focus on how academia is implicated in colonial systems. The ending was so good. I wished for more, but the elisions I think are intentional and are part of Kuang's point. I both have too many thoughts and no thoughts. Be prepared to stay up super late once you get to the latter parts, because you'll need to know how this book ends immediately. I'm going to have to get The Poppy War trilogy ASAP now to read more of Kuang's amazing work. 

Did anyone else see Ramy/Robin's relationship as queer-coded? I'm wondering if part of the reason Ramy doesn't see Letty in a romantic light is because he's queer? (Though to be clear, there are A LOT of reasons why Ramy might not want to be in a relationship with Letty. Like so many). In a lot of passages throughout the novel, but especially Ramy/Robin's instant connection and Robin's response after Ramy's death really made me see their relationship as being more than just a close friendship

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Gore, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Child death, Drug use, Gun violence, Sexism, Slavery, Police brutality, Alcohol, War, and Classism

Minor: Confinement and Infidelity

uranaishi's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative reflective 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Racism, Torture, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Sexism, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Child death, Drug abuse, Genocide, Homophobia, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual assault, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, Car accident, War, and Deportation

bookishmaggie's review

adventurous reflective tense

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

Excellent commentary on atrocities of colonialism, the self destructive force of imperialism, and the bonds formed among the marginalized in this violent demanding world 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Islamophobia, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

johnbat's review

adventurous challenging emotional informative inspiring 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Cultural appropriation, Colonisation, War, and Classism

beccaaa's review

adventurous 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, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

sn03's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Murder, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Bullying, Confinement, Genocide, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Alcohol

anxieteaandbiscuits12's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Genocide, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Colonisation, War, and Classism

Moderate: Hate crime, Torture, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Death of parent

thebankofbooks's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Misogyny, Racism, Suicide, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, and War

Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Torture, and Fire/Fire injury