Scan barcode
winterwoodbooks's review against another edition
- 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
One of my favorite books of all time, this feels like my soul.
For everyone who loves Addie LaRue!
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Classism, Colonisation, Deportation, Domestic abuse, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Grief, Hate crime, Islamophobia, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Murder, Racism, Suicide attempt, Antisemitism, Drug abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Ableism, Death, Drug use, Mental illness, Self harm, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Torture, War, Addiction, Alcohol, Cultural appropriation, Cursing, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Trafficking, Toxic friendship, Death of parent, Medical content, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Blood, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gun violence, and Body horror
kumquats87's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
4.25
Yes, there were footnotes. Yes, some characters could have been developed beyond the role of ideologue. Yet I also wanted to jump on the decolonisation train. (Sure, I wanted to do so beforehand, but that’s besides the point.) I felt sickened while reading this, so for me, it did the job.
Now, my final point. This was far funnier than I thought it would be. While it is not a comedy by any means, the dark humour in this book was right up my alley.
Graphic: Classism, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Grief, Genocide, Emotional abuse, Xenophobia, Death of parent, Religious bigotry, Racial slurs, Bullying, Death, Slavery, Child abuse, Hate crime, Torture, Racism, Physical abuse, Gun violence, Toxic friendship, and Violence
Moderate: Misogyny, Deportation, Blood, Gaslighting, and Islamophobia
Minor: Alcohol, Police brutality, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Suicidal thoughts, Religious bigotry, Addiction, Medical content, and Sexual harassment
dany_casimiro's review against another edition
- 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
Babel is an intricate attack and discussion on power dynamics and their relation to words. It tells an alternate History of the British empire in the 19th century, with the colonialist and oppressive lines it draws on the world. And it reads as real History would; a ton of footnotes, most of which are inspired by real events and people, which add layers of apparent veracity to the plot, making it even more immersive.
The characters are complex and nuanced, each with their own fleshed-out personality and motivations. Although I related more to Robin and personally find Ramy to be the best character, Letty and Victoire are never forgotten by the writer, who brings them to the forefront at exactly the right moment. Even secondary figures receive similar treatment and are given the opportunity to make themselves known.
It is interesting how, each time we are told what is going to happen, Kuang voices precisely the worries and possibilities of different outcomes, matching the reader's inner thoughts.
From theoretical and philosophical questions discussed by overly sheltered students, who are forced to take their arguments into the real world, into their lives.
Kuang has taken dark academia literature and translated it into something more. The ways she explores literature and the freedom and oppression provided by languages are absolutely brilliant. The suffering derived from racism, xenophobia, elitism, sexism, and class discrimination it displays is raw, bitter, while poignantly casting light on truths and values that are unfortunately present in our own time and History.
Graphic: Hate crime, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Classism, Colonisation, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, Death, Emotional abuse, Deportation, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Cultural appropriation, Grief, and Torture
lokes's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Colonisation, Suicide attempt, Racial slurs, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, Classism, Religious bigotry, Racism, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Domestic abuse, Deportation, Death of parent, Suicide, Slavery, Genocide, Death, Child abuse, War, Transphobia, Toxic friendship, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug use, Gaslighting, Blood, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Slavery, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, War, Abandonment, Addiction, Eating disorder, Misogyny, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Cursing, Hate crime, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Trafficking, Alcohol, Homophobia, and Murder
emlouise42's review
- 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
Graphic: Slavery, Child abuse, Sexism, Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, Classism, Racism, Emotional abuse, Trafficking, Addiction, Toxic friendship, Racial slurs, Deportation, and Colonisation
Moderate: Gun violence, Violence, Grief, Cultural appropriation, Suicide, Gaslighting, Genocide, War, Hate crime, Death, Torture, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Physical abuse, Murder, Islamophobia, Sexual harassment, Torture, Drug abuse, and Death of parent
chlorophyll's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Death and Death of parent
Moderate: Cultural appropriation, Deportation, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, Sexism, Abandonment, Racism, Murder, Religious bigotry, Classism, Colonisation, Xenophobia, and Misogyny
Minor: Slavery
kers_tin's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Toxic friendship, Violence, Child abuse, Police brutality, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, Classism, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Drug abuse, Islamophobia, Racism, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Racial slurs, Slavery, and War
Minor: Deportation and Sexual harassment
elizmoe's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
to that bookstagrammer, whose main gripe with the novel was how all the white characters were flat cartoon villains, just want to say: Abel Goodfellow and Mrs. Piper are RIGHT THERE. not to mention professor craft! pls !!
regarding Letty, (spoiler) yeah she does some really fucked up shit! and up until betraying everyone, the book gives her a lot of grace in terms of portraying her as a complex human who loves her friends and experiences heartbreak and grief ////and also was indoctrinated with white supremacy from birth and therefore will never be able to see her nonwhite friends as fully human in their own right. she even got her own interlude from her POV, where she gets to defend her choices for an entire chapter. the book then goes on to gives her more grace AFTER her betrayal, during Victoire and Robin’s last conversation about her — the line “loving her was like an exercise in hope” continues to haunt me. Victoire wanted so desperately for Letty to see her and respect her Blackness and Haitianness as part of her humanity, and the tragedy of Letty as a character is she never does. she compartmentalizes her friends’ racial/national identities as _separate_from the people she thinks she loves. and then she puts white supremacist colonialist empire before their lives when shit gets real, a well-documented tendency of white women throughout history. tldr; if you think the white villains in this book are all one dimensional or unrealistic, i genuinely don’t think you read this book!
other thoughts: the portrayal of a friend group united by shared academic stress and unhinged desire to succeed? while staying up all night every day eating garbage and losing their minds together? was maybe one of the most viscerally realistic college friend groups i’ve ever read
other !!! things
-the exploration of language was super interesting. it is not a subject i’m well-versed in and i appreciated how it was more than just a magic system, but an actor in the story in its own right
-i liked the footnotes! sue me!!
-i generally really liked the prose
-the audiobook narrators were absolute fire. especially chris lew kum hoi with the bajillions of accents they had to do
-robin? bisexual. definitely in love with rami (probably also had crushes on both victoire and letty at different points) and while i absolutely wanted them to actually get together, i understand why they did not and i respect the choice! even though rf kuang you’re absolutely sick for that face touch the first day they met,
i agree the magic system was maybe a bit underdeveloped but while reading it never really bothered me, however i understand it as a gripe from people who read or write more complex fantasy with complicated and thought-through magic systems.
one more con: i get the complaints about how the existence of silver doesn’t change the 1830s world as we know it, just adds extra flair to the things that actually happened. it would have been interesting to see a more alternate history where this source of power affects the world more comprehensively, but i also kind get why kuang didn’t go that route and instead chose to just use silver/language magic to explore historical british colonialism as we know it.
Graphic: Genocide, Blood, Cursing, Religious bigotry, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Death, Colonisation, Fire/Fire injury, Classism, Grief, Murder, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Violence, and Racial slurs
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Slavery, Drug use, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Toxic friendship, and War
Minor: Addiction and Deportation
waverb's review against another edition
- 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
For example, look up the etymology of the names of all major characters. Kuang chose these names precisely and the characters reflect their names beautifully.
In my search, I discovered a supreme court case in the USA, Lovell v. Griffin. The names of Robin's colonizer father and his mixed race rebel brother. The court case relates to freedom of speech as it pertains to pamphlets and leaflets 🤯 pamphlets were a major tool of the Hermes society.
I'll be recommending this book to everyone I know. Kuang guides the reader through philosophical discussions in a way that feels welcoming and approachable. This is perhaps the most beautifully written book I have ever read.
Graphic: Deportation, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicide, Police brutality, War, Suicide attempt, Trafficking, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Xenophobia, Classism, Confinement, and Slavery
clairew97's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Gaslighting, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Torture, Violence, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Slavery, Addiction, Alcohol, Colonisation, Sexism, Death of parent, Deportation, Drug use, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, War, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Police brutality, Child death, Classism, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Racism, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Vomit