Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

Babel by R.F. Kuang

119 reviews

monicalaurette's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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

4.75

I knew from the beginning that I was going to like this book, I just didn’t know how much - and isn’t that a lovely feeling?

Part of me wanted to make this review short and almost like a joke by saying “5 stars, made me feel bad for being white” but truly I never felt bad for being white while reading the book so I also didn’t want to be false in my review. I took more time to look at my privileges as a white woman in the USA and what that meant for me and all those around me.

So many people say that books should not be political or talk about controversial topics, but I think having books like that only enhance a person, even if the book is escapism. If a book helps you to understand your place in the real world, but still offers you a haven from it - I think that makes it an absolutely wonderful book and I don’t know why others don’t see it or refuse to allow themselves that sentiment.

But now back to the book because I’ve gone a slight tangent - sorry!

I loved following Robin and seeing things through his eyes and also the fact that he would acknowledge the challenges of all his cohort as the years went on. I also enjoyed the way that Kuang wrote the divide in Robin’s mind about his feelings for Hermes vs Babel. The struggle he went through was so vivid that at times I was feeling conflicted while reading. I was also feeling stressed out while the cohort was preparing for their exams, so much so that I had to not read those parts at work so I could focus better!

"Translation means doing violence upon the original, means warping and distorting it for foreign, unintended eyes."

Certain parts of this book happened and I said to myself - this is not a middle of the book event, what else is going to happen now that this has come to pass? - and was just taken on a wild ride for the last like 40% of this book. And that 40% had so much emotions swirling in my head that I rarely took breaks unless necessary.

Very happy that this was my first book by R.F. Kuang and looking forward to my other book of hers on my shelf. And I know that the message and characters of this book will stay with me longer than normal while I move on to other books. The way this book ended I feel was such a testament to the characters and what they all stood for in their hearts and how they knew they could change the world both as a group and individually.

"A mind was not meant to feel this much. Only death would silence the chorus."

I liked Miss Piper and hated Lovell from the start - I’m glad those feelings never changed as the book moved forward.

Honestly thought Evie was also a part of Hermes somehow and not really dead - and I know that I trust Griffin’s version of the story more than Lovell’s on what happened to her with the bar.

Had I not been at work when I read it I would have cheered a little when Robin killed Lovell. He would’ve done something to him either while on the boat or when they returned from Canton so to me it was both self-defense AND revenge for his mother.

Removing .25 stars because of Ramy, and listen: I GET why he had to die, but it just made me so incredibly sad when it happened because I never handle character deaths well.

When Robin & Victoire were talking about the tower burning all I could picture in my head was the burning Elmo meme and I’m so sad I wasn’t able to paste it into my reading journal.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Blood, Grief, Violence, War, Classism, Hate crime, Racism, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, and Gore

Moderate: Abandonment, Blood, Violence, Slavery, Emotional abuse, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Drug abuse, Torture, Sexism, Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, Medical content, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Bullying and Confinement

kirareads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Murder, Torture, Violence, Racism, Grief, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Racism, Child abuse, Sexism, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, Slavery, Abandonment, and War

Minor: Blood

xx_salem's review

adventurous emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.0

The first 200 pages of this book where incredibly difficult to get through, I would put it down for weeks and only get through a couple pages. Reading it made me feel good and intelligent and yet I don’t think I picked up nor absorbed much of the content or the message for the first while. The last 200 pages though were intense and interesting and I couldn’t put it down. The ending was satisfying and made me want a second book so I could watch the fallout, it felt realistic. But I never loved the characters, their deaths meant nothing and I simply couldn’t be attached to any of them. They felt so lackluster and unfeeling, it was really the plot and the intrigue and what thoughts it provoked that made this book good.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Addiction, Blood, Violence, Child abuse, Sexual harassment, Murder, Mass/school shootings, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Hate crime, Misogyny, Bullying, Suicidal thoughts, War, Xenophobia, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Abandonment, Cursing, Drug use, Racial slurs, Slavery, Gun violence, Body horror, Car accident, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Death, Death of parent, Alcohol, Sexism, and Toxic friendship

samick23's review

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

This is probably one of my favorite books I have ever read. I also don't know when I'll be able to handle reading it again. I know I want to but I am devastated. You should read this book, it is incredible. R. F. Kuang's world building never ceases to amaze. Equally so her ability to let you live and breathe in the world and really make you feel like you understand it moments before she pulls the rug out from under you. I am equal parts in mourning and in love.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Racism, Misogyny, Islamophobia, Abandonment, Genocide, Colonisation, Torture, Toxic friendship, Bullying, Classism, and Grief

ayoung720's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

4.5

What a fascinating read. Taking the context of Victorian-era England and using the expansion of Empire and the complexities of language as the foundation for a fantasy novel is a truly inspired move and one that I found to be the basis for an amazing tale full of well-rounded characters, heartbreaking betrayal, and stunning acts of bravery. While there is a section of the book that slightly drags - about 150 pages of their time as students, where we get many a dialogue about the complexities of language and why certain languages are more capable than others in expressing certain ideas - it all builds up to a very satisfying conclusion. There's a moment about 2/3 of the way through the book that you never expect the main character to be able to pull off, and the fact that he does really sets up the final third brilliantly. I still don't completely understand how the magic system works - I get that it manipulates the nuances of translation, but I still don't understand how it causes the desired effects - but I think that each case of use is explained well enough to be able to gloss over the final details. Kuang is one of my favorite authors ever since I read Poppy War and I can't wait for more! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment

Moderate: Addiction, Racism, Sexism, Xenophobia, and Racial slurs

Minor: Blood and Alcoholism

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

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

Minor: Abandonment, Addiction, and Child death

mishasbooks's review

dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• 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: Abandonment, Alcohol, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Hate crime, Addiction, Chronic illness, Death, Racial slurs, Slavery, Child abuse, Colonisation, Drug use, Bullying, Torture, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Islamophobia, Gun violence, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Murder, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Vomit, and War

bobaduckie's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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: Racism, Gun violence, Violence, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, War, Sexism, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Xenophobia, Torture, Colonisation, Hate crime, Gore, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Child abuse, Pandemic/Epidemic, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Blood, Sexual harassment, Abandonment, Toxic friendship, and Slavery

Minor: Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Islamophobia, and Cultural appropriation

Spoilers ahead: Betrayal because

Letty shoots Ramy and turns Hermes in

lilly24's review

dark emotional informative inspiring 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? It's complicated

5.0

A beautiful book, in and out. Loved it. Let you staring at the wall

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Deportation, Emotional abuse, Death, Slavery, Racial slurs, Bullying, Cultural appropriation, Cursing, Gaslighting, Racism, Misogyny, Classism, Hate crime, Abandonment, Colonisation, Islamophobia, Toxic relationship, Sexism, Violence, Murder, and Xenophobia

leweylibrary's review against another edition

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

5.0

I have to come back to this later because it's freaking 5am, but I just wanted to leave this bit so I know where the heck to start with this review later. But I just want to start by saying that this book has WRECKED me. Devastated. Shredded me to bits. I really do not know how I just go about my life now?? My brain is throbbing and feeling irrevocably changed. This book hit me so hard in so many ways. I have THREE NOTES WORTH of quotes like what?? How?? How is any one person THAT gifted with words. Kuang is just... I ironically just don't have the words for her brilliance, but it's undeniable. I am pretty sure I have never ever wept reading a book simplt because of how beautiful passages were, but I did at least three times reading this book. This needs to be studied and analyzed in classes not just for its brilliance but for its contents. I know not everyone will, but everyone should read this book. It is just spot on about so many things and can open so many eyes to vital aspects about our society and our own humanity. Everything about how we communicate and interact, the power of words and languages, the bonds we form and the bonds that break, EVERYTHING about academia (the good, the bad, the UGLY), obviously colonialism and racism, just SO MANY powerful and important topics are covered in this book and it has BROKEN my brain. Just shattered to smithereens. I will not sleep another peaceful night now because this book is now my new Roman Empire. I will be on my deathbed and sit up just to be like "okay but I'm just now realizing, there's this one part in Babel where..." 

So yeah. Read this book. LISTEN to this book. Internalize it. But don't do so lightly because yes; it will break you. And you will be grateful for it. It'll hurt like hell in a multitude of ways, ways you didn't even know you could be broken, but you'll be grateful. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Child abuse, Suicide, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Emotional abuse, Police brutality, Gaslighting, Murder, Toxic friendship, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Abandonment, Colonisation, Racism, Grief, Death, Religious bigotry, Classism, War, Xenophobia, Violence, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, Bullying, and Alcohol

Moderate: Alcoholism, Sexual harassment, and Drug use