Reviews tagging 'Torture'

Babel by R.F. Kuang

543 reviews

shermansays's review against another edition

adventurous emotional informative inspiring 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: Xenophobia

Moderate: Racism, Torture, Violence, and Murder

Minor: Racial slurs, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and War

dragonlilly's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.0

Quite an excellent book, especially with R. F. Kuang's studies and research. The book is long with slower paced sections, and bursts of crazy events throughout, but it all felt right. The characters were well built (although summarizing their relationships with one another during the school years was a bit off-putting, rather than having consistent scenes and conversations but I get it in the context of a more informational-style story almost), the story was consistently interesting, and while there were repetitive bits, the themes examined within this book were well explored. It took me a while to be convinced by the magic of silver, but I eventually accepted it and was interested in how it worked and how it accelerated the British Empire's power. 

The history of colonization and all that is intertwined within that history is quite thoroughly explored, especially through the ways the characters interact with one another, and the individual difficulties they face as people who are seen as ultimately foreign to England and Europe generally, no matter how long they have lived there or become a part of that land. Yet, we also see the unique difficulties the characters face because of their different phenotypic appearances, genders, races, languages, and religions. So, while our main characters are able to come together to form an immensely strong bond, especially due to the prejudices they face, we can also see how unique all people are generally. Each character came from different parts of the world, grew up differently, and had wholly distinctive experiences that causes them to have their own opinions, biases, and views on the world. This creates conflict in the dear friend group, but they often come back together because they only have one another in the end. I also felt the characterization of these individuals was very consistent, and their actions always seemed to make sense. I liked Ramy instantly, and liked Victoire quite a bit, while the other characters grew on me.

The exploration of translation and etymology, along with the characters and story, was one of my favorite aspects, and the quotes I loved the most from this book all seem to relate to that theme: 

Ch. 6 - "'You don't think that an original language exists?' Robin asked.
'Of course I [Richard] don't. The most devout Christians think it does, but you'd think if the Holy Word were so innate and unambiguous, there'd be less debate about its contents'"

Ch. 8 - "'How can we conclude, except by acknowledging that an act of translation is then necessarily always an act of betrayal?'"

Ch. 33 - "The bars were singing, shaking; trying, he thought, to express some unutterable truth about themselves, which was that translation was impossible, that the realm of pure meaning they captured and manifested would and could not ever be known, that the enterprise of this tower had been impossible from inception... 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"

 Ch. 33 - "'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.'" - Ramy
(My favorite quote, very likely)

Overall, great book! I just didn't absolutely adore this. I would certainly recommend this to those interested in history, translation, and the uniqueness among people, and those who can handle the slower sections, as I think that can easily bog people down a bit. 

Some spoiler notes I wanted to think on:

What was Richard Lovell reaching into his pocket for at the moment of his death?! I feel like this was an interesting thing that was missed upon. 

The reveal of what was in Griffin's note for Robin was very interesting. It seems Robin may have had other brothers in Hermes abroad! That could have been the hope to allow him to live and believe in a future. But maybe it wouldn't have changed his mind either, as all of his love and love for life was somewhat centered upon Ramy. Quite horrifying to think that Richard Lovell was just impregnating possibly dozens of Chinese women though, as this reveal shows. 

I enjoyed the picnic conversation between Ramy and Robin that was revealed in the last chapter. While I didn't feel any chemistry beyond solid friendship throughout the story, I thought this scene was very cute. Although, I guess Robin wasn't able to put a name to these feelings either until the end, so I suppose it being hard to notice could make sense, I just wish is was a teeny bit more obvious. I had honestly thought there were hints between Robin and Victoire earlier on, but it must have just been platonic admiration. 

Dang it Letty. Yet, I see in how her characterization led to this. 

Lots of unexpected moments in the story, mainly the deaths. It certainly captured my interest and made for some fast reading though. 

The standoff between Griffin and Sterling Jones was a bit comic, playing on them being the 'main characters' of their own stories at one point and in another book, this would be their ending. I didn't love this scene, just found it a bit funny. But Griffin's death was indeed sad.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Body horror, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Genocide and Slavery

peachmoni's review against another edition

challenging emotional inspiring 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Blood, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, and Colonisation

Moderate: Alcoholism, Confinement, Gun violence, Slavery, Torture, Xenophobia, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Ableism, Addiction, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Police brutality, Cultural appropriation, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, and Classism

cloverandmoss's review against another edition

dark emotional informative 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

3.25

WY too many unnecessary footnotes that could have easily been incorporated into the story 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

bibi_lotta101's review against another edition

dark emotional informative 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation

Moderate: Death, Racism, Sexism, and Grief

Minor: Torture, Death of parent, and War

infusionofviolets's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-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

Graphic: Hate crime, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Torture, Xenophobia, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Bullying, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Islamophobia, Grief, Death of parent, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Alcoholism, Gun violence, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Vomit, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

gologel's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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? Yes

4.0

I liked the author's writing style and the insights into translation theory, you could really tell how much of a passion it is for her and it transferred onto me. I also liked the unique perspective we take through the characters.

However, there are a few aspects I didn't like. Characterizations as well as plot points felt very often told instead of shown. I didn't form attachement to any of the characters because they felt flat and one-dimensional, two-dimensional at most. Especially

Letty's development from (blindly privileged to) bad to antagonist

seemed rather forced than natural/completely logical to me. 
Also, some conversations, especially at the end, felt too academic and not really fitting for the intimate two-people-setting.
And I was disappointed that

Hermes (in Babel) was basically killed off and the last act of revolution was done by two/three characters we know and a bunch of randoms

. I couldn't care less.

Overall, I liked the book and it offered a unique story, but it also had it's weaknesses in execution.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Drug use, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Gun violence, Slavery, Grief, Sexual harassment, and War

harryjordan42's review

challenging dark informative reflective sad 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? No

3.5

I wish this book was 100 pages shorter and 30 pages longer

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Racial slurs, Racism, and Torture

Moderate: Gun violence, Suicide, Violence, and Classism

Minor: Addiction, Suicidal thoughts, and Blood

jordyfrombookclub's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional informative inspiring 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

Wow. A sweeping, powerful and well-researched alternative history of the decline of the British Empire. Driven by a fascinating near-alchemical magic system, flawed and lovable main characters and an engrossing plot line, Babel is a poignant telling of the often brutal necessities of righteous revolution. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, and Colonisation

Moderate: Child death, Suicide, and Torture

readingrinasrealm's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Minor: Addiction, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail