Reviews tagging 'Islamophobia'

Babel by R.F. Kuang

232 reviews

misszierose's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring tense fast-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

This is a dense, erudite, and dark book.  I truly believe everyone who loves language and books and believes in basic human rights even if people different from you should at least attempt this book.  It is so important especially in the social and political and cultural time we are currently living through.  Our choices matter.  People deserve respect.  Knowledge is power.  Who holds that power is something that can alter the whole world’s future.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Colonisation, War, and Classism

Moderate: Slavery, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

joey_estrada's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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

4.5

The writing is beautiful and poetic and flows smoothly. I like how the dialogue is written.
I really liked all the literary references and just the general atmosphere of the book. Reading it made me feel smart and uneducated at the same time. 

The way that colonialism, racism, slavery, etc. were talked about was very interesting and felt brutally honest, which I appreciate and think is needed when talking about this sort of thing. 
Language was intertwined with and used as an example of how colonialism affects people and their identity. I thought it was done very well. 

The character development for everyone but especially Robin was very interesting to see and perfectly shown. 
You can see how drastically Robin's thoughts, feelings, and morals change and go back and forth. You can see his inner turmoil and contradictions so vividly.

This book did not go quite how I expected it to based on some happenings towards the beginning, but truthfully, it got so much better and more interesting than I thought it would and I already had high hopes for this book. I cried and teared up multiple times while reading for multiple different reasons.

I think everyone should read this at least once.
The feeling of being alone as a person of color, the different yet similar experiences people of color can have from each other, the devastating cruelty of how racism and colonialism work, the tragic realizations all throughout, and even more emotional, heavy, complicated, upsetting topics are somehow put into words perfectly.

(I realize that this is a very long review, but this book is so packed full with emotion and information that I feel it's only right. For all I know, I'll add more thoughts later.)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Child abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Islamophobia, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Addiction, Drug use, Slavery, and Death of parent

aidamaria_reads's review against another edition

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

5.0

This is a literary middle finger to colonialism, capitalism, racism, classism, sexism and all the other -isms, basically. I admire the way the author came up with the magic system (as a former translation student, it was truly amazing) and how it plays into the historical setting. The writing was wonderful. I wonder how long we’ve got until some government(s) bans this book.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, War, and Classism

lararajs's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny 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? Yes

4.0

4 stars bc i LOVED this book personally but i also think theres a lot that could be improved, mainly i wish the characters had been more fleshed out & the footnotes were overused. i could write an essay of a review but i cant be bothered. also fuck all the reviewers saying this book is just a load of white people slander… you have obviously missed the point of the book ❤️ (sorry i was tipsy when i wrote this review)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug use, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Islamophobia, Death of parent, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Colonisation, and War

crusoe's review

challenging dark emotional reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.75

Can't give this the full 5 stars because I could not connect well to the characters but in every other regard I adore this book! From the slow world-building to a fantastic climactic end; everything lines up. Every character has their own motivations, even the sidecharacters and that breathes real life into the story. It feels like there is much under the surface that can be revealed at a second read. 

As someone who was once ensnared in the claws of academia, the way this story weaves theory with history and critique of the institution was quite nice. 

Can't wait to read more in the dark academia subgenre of 'WTF RICHARD?!'

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Xenophobia, Trafficking, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, and Classism

Moderate: Gun violence, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, and Alcohol

20sidedbi's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Drug use, Genocide, Infidelity, Misogyny, Slavery, Blood, Islamophobia, Trafficking, Religious bigotry, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Deportation, and Pandemic/Epidemic

mrgilgamesh95's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny inspiring reflective sad tense slow-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

I can summarise this book no better than the line from the inside cover/blurb: "Every act of translation is an act of betrayal".
A delicate balance of hope and revelation, this book cannot be recommended. It can only be experienced. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Death, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, Colonisation, and Classism

Minor: Addiction, Child death, Cursing, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Slavery, Blood, Islamophobia, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

This book is a deeply researched and carefully explored examination of the impacts of colonialism and the long shadow of imperial hegemony. Approach with caution and with expectation of what that would mean for a person of colour in England.

mudiasmusings's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Slavery, Colonisation, and War

Moderate: Misogyny, Racial slurs, Violence, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, and Murder

Minor: Medical trauma and Abandonment

Letty when I catch you Letty. Also my Shayla’s Ramy and Robin, whyyyyy

radiating_jackalope's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark funny sad tense slow-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Racism, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, Medical content, and Murder

Moderate: Gun violence, Racial slurs, Violence, and Gaslighting

jamielikestoread's review

emotional 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Suicide, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Child abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Islamophobia, and Toxic friendship