Reviews tagging 'Trafficking'

Babel by R.F. Kuang

101 reviews

joliebean's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Trafficking, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Colonisation, War, and Classism

s4r41d's review

adventurous challenging informative reflective sad slow-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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, and War

Moderate: Torture, Trafficking, and Cultural appropriation

Minor: Death of parent

ford_defect's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Slavery, Trafficking, Religious bigotry, and Abandonment

Minor: Islamophobia, Deportation, and Pandemic/Epidemic

chloemakesbooks's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad tense fast-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

Devastating. Clever. Awesome. Irritating. Absolutely one of the best books I've ever read. All the possible plot holes and character foibles can't take away from the world building, masterful construction, and conceptual prowess. Achingly confrontational, righteous, and disappointing. I have several critiques (slow start, Letty... Just Letty, Robin was fairly boring, killing off characters, heavy handed ending, anachronisms, some lack of device clarity) but I can't argue with choices that were clearly made thoughtfully, intentionally, to serve and make her point so masterfully. I think this is actually magical realism, not fantasy, and I loved the footnotes. Injected some much needed humor and self-deprecation/meta-commentary. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Racism, Slavery, Suicide, Trafficking, Death of parent, Murder, and Colonisation

Moderate: Sexism, Torture, Toxic friendship, and War

Minor: Addiction, Child death, Drug use, Gun violence, and Fire/Fire injury

alixlowe's review

challenging dark 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, Trafficking, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

annmeyer's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful tense 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

4.25

oh man. it took me a while to get through Babel between the length + slow pace, but i found the second half to be much faster and the plot picked up a lot of momentum, so once over some of the early hurdles and more invested, i felt naturally hooked. i definitely cried at the end (even the last chapter's epigraph from Aristotle hit hard), but the subject matter of the book is very heavy throughout overall so mind the content warnings if you're thinking of picking it up. also, it's not all too often that i read a book told predominantly from a MMC's pov (and then enjoy it), but i really liked Robin a lot. most of the key side characters were great, too; i loved their vignettes and only wish we got more.

of what i've read, the plot + themes + magic system felt most comparable to m.l. wang's blood over bright haven.

i'd recommend Babel to anyone open to a long read who:
- is a languages nerd
- has intense beef with the British empire (for obvious reasons)
- is a fan of dark academia
- loves a good bildungsroman, especially if radicalization (sans any negative connotation) & revolution are involved

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Slavery and Violence

Minor: Trafficking

saskiahill's review against another edition

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Trafficking, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

soniajoy98's review

challenging emotional informative inspiring 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Body horror, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Slavery, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Bullying, Confinement, Drug abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual violence, Vomit, Trafficking, Religious bigotry, Cultural appropriation, and Deportation

redheadorganist's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Trafficking, Grief, Death of parent, and Colonisation

Moderate: Drug use, Gore, Blood, and War

Minor: Fire/Fire injury and Sexual harassment

idabwells's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative reflective sad tense fast-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

Probably the most impactful book I've ever read besides Jemisin and Butler.

Manages to capture the devastating scope of colonial genocide while also portraying the courage and brilliance of those around the world struggling to survive and triumph over it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Abandonment, Colonisation, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Gun violence, Hate crime, Rape, Slavery, Religious bigotry, Gaslighting, War, and Injury/Injury detail