Reviews tagging 'Trafficking'

Babel by R.F. Kuang

106 reviews

tardislibrary's review against another edition

challenging dark informative reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.75

I got stuck an out a third of the way in. But pushed through. Those last 100+ pages fly by.  
This is a hefty book. With language and world building so thick you can sink your teeth into it. 

Read it, it’s worth it

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Racism, Torture, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Child abuse, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Trafficking, Colonisation, and Classism

Minor: Addiction, Drug use, Racial slurs, Sexism, Grief, Death of parent, and War

bookshelfmonkey's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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? Yes

4.75

 Oh god R.F. Kuang's broken my heart again.

Having read the Poppy War trilogy and sobbed for 30 minutes straight after finishing it, I should have been at least somewhat prepared for this, but R.F. Kuang broke down my emotional walls, got me attached to these characters and invested in their lives and futures and relationships and made me fall a little bit in love with this magical, corrupted, broken world, and then did... that.
 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Drug abuse, Torture, Blood, Trafficking, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and War

Minor: Addiction, Child death, and Abandonment

46jjsg's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad 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? Yes

5.0

I think this might be one of my favorite books of all time. Granted- I do have some criticisms about this book (more on that later) and this rating skews closer to a 4.8 than a perfect 5 star novel; however, I genuinely enjoyed this book so much I can't help but rate it 5/5. I've never seen anyone do what R.F. Kuang did in this book.

Pros:

This novel really put everything I've always felt into words- for context, I'm someone who fled her home country, only to end up in the same country that had destroyed it. There are so many feelings that come to mind when I think about the country I was raised in. "Racist" feels too cheap, yet "colonialist" feels too broad of a term to explain the experience. Yes it was those things, but it's almost so much more. Maybe dehumanizing is too much of a dramatic word to use, because I, too, have privileges that people would be grateful for... I can't help but feel pure dehumanizing hatred sometimes when I think about it deeply. 

I would never call the relationships in this novel a "found family," but the way R.F. Kuang wrote their friendships ache in familiarity. The cohort's relationship in their first books is so mundane, but it's painfully heartwarming and profound. 

Robin Swift- a greatly flawed protagonist.

An unreliable narrator unlike other unreliable narrators to the end. Very fitting for a wasian haha.

Little Robin. Slow, but adaptable. Small and timid, but aggressive when they perceive a threat to their territory. Everytime I felt frustrated with Robin, I kept thinking about that little boy in Canton. The cruel irony of his last name dawned on me as I finished the novel-

Robin Swift. Slow to realize the impact of the Silver Industrial Revolution, until he saw the impact himself. Slow to commit to the Hermes Society, until he was caught. Slow to understand Griffin's violence, until he died. Slow to even realize his own romantic feelings, until his person had died. Slow to want to live and survive, until he committed his final act.

Oh precious Robin... thinking about you makes me ache. 

Griffin- I love this character dearly, y'all have no idea. Ironically, I didn't make the connection that he, like Robin, has a bird name until the very end as I reflected on the entire novel. A devastated character and his parallels with Robin is not lost on me. The catchphrase used to promote this novel that is seen time and time again is "an act of translation is always an act of betrayal," and the title itself includes the phrase "the Necessity of Violence."

As the novel progresses, we can see these statements ring true- yet, the act of translation being an act of love is undeniable. To disregard love and violence not being the same coin in my opinion is disregarding Robin's entire story arch, Griffin's parallel, and the very existence of Victoire. 
 

 

Letty-

I wish I could have said that she surprised me, but as soon as she was introduced I knew. Maybe my own experiences made me jaded, but for me the cracks were apparent from the start. 

I can't get over Letty calling Robin "Birdie" in chapter 16... using a word- an word of affection- no, Stealing a word and using it as a weapon is so. Narratively fitting. It sent a chill down my back and my stomach churned. Letty's white woman allyship is something I'm all too familiar with... her cognitive dissonance when her schema is challenged and ultimately her final reactions/actions is something I've seen time and time again. I loved how Victoire mentioned that from Letty's perspective, she must've felt just as betrayed as them. Betrayed for not staying in the status quo. Betrayed for not accepting and being grateful for the privilege and opportunity given to them- for she, too, is a minority. After all she is a woman. What she doesn't understand and what she will ever understand, is that compared to them she will always be white first. Letty can't get over the fact that she too has struggled and yet she would never rebel like they would. Letty can't see that it's not racism vs misogyny. She can't and won't ever see the intersectionality of the two. Her rigid way of thinking and seeing herself as a victim first completely disregards the fact that Victoire is a woman of color and her very existence is an act of rebellion. 

I think like me, Victoire saw the end of Letty coming, but her talk with Robin really put everything I feel about white woman into painful but honest words:
 

 

Victoire didn't need to ask who he meant. 'It was like an exercise in
hope, she said after a pause. Loving her, I mean. Sometimes Id think she'd come around. Sometimes I'd look her in the eyes and think that I was looking at true friend. Then she'd say something, make some off-the-cuff comment, and the whole cycle would begin all over again.

It was like pouring sand into a sieve, nothing stuck. 

Ramy-

My darling, dearest, dead Ramy. I feel like I never got to grieve Ramy properly and that aches. From the moment he appeared, I was dazzled by his character and could not stop myself by making him my favorite. I definitely felt influenced by Robin's narration, but I suppose I also felt a sense of self through Ramy... Nonetheless, I won't ever accurately find the words for what Ramy made me feel so I won't.

I think I screamed when I turned the page and saw "Interlude: Ramy," written at the 50% mark of the novel. I'm all too grateful for having that small bit of him.

So. About Robin and Ramy. Listen- mayhaps I , too, am naive and slow EQ like Robin, but I listen I have my own issues. At the 93% mark, my notes state "and if i said maybe Robin was maybe a little in love with Ramy would I be wrong...?"  and by the end of the novel my reaction was the following: "I 100% know the cohort loved each other but I genuinely think Robin held romantic love for Ramy... [Robin and I] didn't realize it until after Ramy's death tho.... there was this one line when Robin and Victoire talked with Letty- a fleeting thought about how Robin felt it was odd bc their cohort was unbalanced bc they were always in pairs and I just full-body slammed at the thought that oh that was right Robin and Ramy were pairs. Match-pairs like silver. That also made me reflect to earlier where Robin and Victoire talk about Letty for the first time after she betrayed them- that Robin realizes that for Victoire the betrayal must be deeper bc they, too, were a pair." Full-on sobs once I came to the realization- they loved LOVED each other. I would ask myself "how did I not see it," but just like Robin I was a little preoccupied with the looming Hermes Society and the stress of Babel okay. I've seen other reviewers comment on their little back and forth in the ball scene, but I mistakenly interpreted that tension was over the fact that Robin wasn't picking up that a brown man and white woman could never be together not that Ramy felt something for Robin !!! I feel quite foolish now, but it all makes the loss of Ramy even more devastating. 

Victoire-

My beloved Victoire. I've seen some criticisms point out the fact that Victorie is not a fleshed-out character and her appearance in the novel is not nuanced. Immediately, I felt defensive because for the moment she was introduced was aware of what she had gone through, what she was going through, and what she will go through. I felt like it was obvious, which I suppose to me, it was since I am a woman of color. Anytime we saw her casually mentioned in Robin's pov, I couldn't help but already think about her perspective- it was all too natural. Maybe because R.F. Kuang is also a woman of color, she dropped the ball because she felt that way too... It's a valid crisitim I can't lie, but I just can't agree with it. 

I'm all too fascinated by the parallels between Robin/Victoire and Griffin/Anthony as we got to the later half of the book. I could on and on about the act of translation, violence, and love but I think this review is already too long. 

I can't get over the reflection of her solitude despite the existence of the cohort. How lonely she must've felt. How hopeful she must've been.

In the end, Victoire was right. She chose the harder way by continuing to live. By continuing to survive. In a world where her very existence as a black woman is an act of rebellion, she can't help but chose this path. Victoire is resilience to live and fight in a world that doesn't want her to live is heartbreaking. 

Also ngl- I gagged when I realized her name was a hint the entire time. A beacon of hope and promise to the future. R.F. Kuang your mind!!! 

Cons:

So after finishing this novel, I've come to understand the familiar criticism that R.F. Kuang doesn't trust that her readers come to their own conclusions. Example: 

 

They'd had this argument before. The ghosts of Anthony and Griffin loomed between them: one guided by the conviction that the enemy would at least act in rational self-interest, if not altruism, and the other guided less by conviction, less by telos, and more by sheer, untrammelled rage.

 

I'm not really sure who R.F. Kuang writes for... if she's too on the nose, POC will say well isn't that obvious? If she's too vague, white people misinterpret or miss the point entirely. It's a difficult balance and I think there's no pleasing everyone. I think it's up to the reader to decide how they feel personally on this aspect of R.F. Kuang's writing. 

Side Note: I love love loved the creativity, the cleverness, and just the existence of the footnotes. They provide information, context, and at times humor. The footnotes narrator is one of my favorite characters and it baffles me that people skipped reading the footnotes entirely. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Terminal illness, and Death of parent

ineedmorecoffee's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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

I loved this book. An epic tale, with so many incisive observations about the nature of colonialism and power.

Ramy’s death, I felt like I’d been injured, he was that well written that I rooted for him.

A long book, but definitely worth getting stuck into.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Suicide, Torture, Blood, Trafficking, Death of parent, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

not_asha01's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Islamophobia, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Addiction

tbd24's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

4.75

this book was my niche exactly so I feel a little biased but I liked it a lot. The writing was very good and evocative, I found myself literally gasping aloud or beginning to sweat during tense parts of the book. Very good character writing and development, though I was a little disappointed

Rami and Robin were only ever subtext, I would have been a bit more satisfied if they had a proper conversation about it, even once, especially since they were gonna die in the end anyway so what did the author have to lose. I feel like the reason it was never explicit is because the author didn’t know how to write a conversation like that and still keep the historical realism, though others have done this well. idk, it just disappointed me

. Overall, the only reason this was not a five star read for me was the pacing was a little bit too sporadic for my taste. There were drawn out moments that I wish had been shorter and quick fly by scenes that I wish we could have relished in. But other than that, loved it, and will defs read again

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Sexism, Slavery, Islamophobia, Trafficking, Toxic friendship, and War

jelliestars's review

challenging dark reflective 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? No

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Toxic friendship, and Colonisation

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Slavery, Terminal illness, Torture, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Alcoholism, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Genocide, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Vomit, Islamophobia, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, and Pandemic/Epidemic

scmiller's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Trafficking, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, and Deportation

jamesdaniel's review

adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, Murder, Colonisation, and War

Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Gun violence, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Trafficking, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Classism

Minor: Body horror, Blood, Antisemitism, and Medical trauma

solarel's review

challenging informative reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

The first third of this book was an interesting dive into an academic and magical world. The rest of it was a slog. Plot twists occurred but felt more anxiety inducing than exciting. The last quarter of it that ramped up to the climax was just a passage of days and weeks where nothing happened at all. 

Conceptually the book discussed important themes with no subtlety, but there was nothing there to keep attention to. A bit disappointing. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Trafficking, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, and Classism