Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

Babel by R.F. Kuang

499 reviews

raitherabbit's review against another edition

emotional hopeful 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Suicide, Xenophobia, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Alcoholism and Abandonment

prettieststar's review

challenging dark emotional informative reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

in my top five books

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Xenophobia, Colonisation, War, and Classism

Moderate: Racial slurs and Sexism

Minor: Physical abuse

zuv's review

emotional informative inspiring 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

5.0

A beautiful book that highlights the impact of colonialism on people and how they have been perceived in western countries historically. A fascinating magic system and loveable characters make this book one that I would recommend to pretty much everyone! It is hefty though.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Religious bigotry, Colonisation, and Classism

antiquekeks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad slow-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

A linguistic masterpiece, the writing style is absolutely outstanding. It conveys the feeling the characters have in the course of the story itself extremely well - as a result it has lengths at times and is very theoretical/academic, but the characters in the situation feel the same way. Especially as a white person, I learned a lot about the colonial era and racism that no history book or documentary could really convey to me. The book is extremely interesting, shocking, instructive and exciting. A must-read for any intellectually and linguistically interested reader.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Sexism, Suicide, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Physical abuse

lavendervioletreader'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? Yes

5.0

I can't say anything else but : breathtaking, I don't think I'll recover from this story, ever.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, Trafficking, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Torture, Blood, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and War

Minor: Alcoholism and Drug use

minorvamp's review

challenging dark emotional informative 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? No

5.0

What an astonishing book.

I've had this sat on my kindle for nearly a year and so decided to tackle it as my first book of 2025.

The first half is not for the faint of heart, the plot develops slowly as do our characters, and it is all interspersed with deep philosophical lectures from the Oxford professors. The slow pace allows for the reader to get into Robin's head, to fall in love with Oxford and it's mad academic rituals and rigour. And to empathise with his struggle to reconcile his love for the life and family he's built and his creeping realisation of the evils of his colonial oppressors.

I read the last 200 pages in one afternoon, pausing every time my heart broke, but unable to put the book down.

A true masterpiece.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Racism, Xenophobia, and Colonisation

Minor: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Death of parent

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

gallifreyanpanicmoon's review

fast-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? Yes

5.0

A historical fantasy, postcolonial twist on the classic university novel, providing a rich exploration of the colonial violence of the British empire through a Chinese-English pupil's candidature at Oxford University. With a truly unique magic system based on etymological links between translated words, this gripping novel uses magic to interrogate Britain's dark history of colonialism, and transforms Oxford University into a magic institution that manufactures stolen magic off of colonised subjects and their languages.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Colonisation, War, and Classism

Minor: Sexism and Cultural appropriation

risingred's review

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Xenophobia, and Colonisation

Moderate: Death, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, and Cultural appropriation

Minor: Physical abuse, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment

nikki_flowers's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective 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

This book was brilliant in so many ways that I cannot even begin to adequately put into words. 

This is a book to help you decolonize your mind. The story itself is beautiful and the message is powerful. Fiction like this is so important. People need to see, these stories, to read these stories. Decolonial fiction like this gives us insight and hope and community and so much more. 

As I reflect back on my journey reading this masterpiece I cannot help but think of the events that were unfolding in the world at the same time. 

As I very slowly (for thoroughness sake, not a lack of interest) made my way through the book, I watched the world justify the genocide of Palestinians and the further colonization of Palestine. I watched so so many people, white girls and women in particular, obsess over this book but refuse to put the message into practice. If felt like a fetishization or infantilization of the book and its decolonial efforts. How many read this book and took what they wanted from it for their own selfish reasons and then watch Palestine burn and called Hamas terrorists or stayed completely silent. A completely colonizer move to take what you want from the book and leave the rest to burn regardless of the harm caused.

And yet, how many others read this work and felt its message in their bones. How many saw themselves on the page for the first time. How many people were awakened to liberations struggles. How many felt and cried and turned it into action. How many had hard and necessary conversations with themselves and/ or others because of this book.

That is the legacy of this book. The change it brought about to so many. The perverse colonizer response is not its legacy but rather further example of exactly why we need books like this. 

May this book live on in the hearts of those who have read it and may it fuel our souls in the liberation/mutual aid/revolution/abolition work we do.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Islamophobia, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Vomit

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Mass/school shootings, and Alcohol