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ericadawson'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
4.75
People like to pull Playfair's quote about the violence and betrayal of translation from the text and present it as one of the most gut-wrenching lines in the entire novel. In fact, there are many such lines across many contexts. If I went through Babel now to put them all here, I'd never stop. I may as well quote the whole book.
Babel is about a a young, half-Chinese, half-English man named Robin Swift as he grapples with his role in support Britain's colonial Empire in the 1830s. The lynchpin for all of England's dealings is silver, imbued with the magical and abstract powers of the tongue via the powerful spaces between translation.
Babel has almost everything for me. I love all of the characters. The "math" of the arcs--that is, why anyone one character says or does anything at any give time--makes perfect sense. It's not predictable; simply logical. I could never hate Robin or Victoire or Letty for their initial love of Babel. I couldn't blame Ramy for anything he did or said. Letty's white feminism, white supremancy, and willfully ignorant understanding of the world was on point until it got tiresome.
That is where I have to shave off a portion of a point, unfortunately. Letty's point as a character was hammered home until the wood was dented and the head was flying off the hammer. While I can understand that narrative math of Robin, Ramy, and Victoire explaining to Letty over and over how hard it is to be non-white in a fundamentally white supremacist insitution, white supremacist land--at a point, I grew patient with them. Especially after
Another portion of a point gets shaved off for Victoire's character. I loved her, I do, I just wish she stood out more from the beginning. I loved her especially in the end, with how her character was set up against Robin's and how they played off each other's strengths and weaknesses.
Yet another portion of a point for the pacing of the ending in general. It was slow for me. There were two supposed twists/keys to success that I was waiting for the characters to remember and use, which made me get impatient.
None of these things overall seriously detracts from my star-point rating for Babel. It was a lovely book. The prose was straightforward without being plain, and often punched me in the gut (in a good way). The concept was amazing, and the entire plot was clearly well-researched. I loved the footnotes. I loved everything. Highly recommended. If there was top-shelf wine for books, Babel would be up there.
Graphic: Child abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, and Classism
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, and Colonisation
Minor: Addiction
jiwiz's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
4.0
I'd describe this book in one sentence as a very loud 'Fuck you' to western colonialism. I've seen people criticise how on-the-nose it is. It drives its point home in such a glaringly obvious way that it's impossible to misinterpret it. I think it definitely could stand to deliver its message in a more subtle, nuanced manner. That being said, it was a solid read. I think R.F. Kuang does a good job at writing less-than-perfect protagonists and the magic system is very fresh and unique.
Graphic: Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Xenophobia, Murder, and Colonisation
Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Grief, Murder, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Blood
mereas'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
Besides the foundation to this historical fantasy, the found-family trope touched my soul. I am a sucker for the most of unlikely friends to become a group of four. Between the lines, there are undertones of queer sentiments that also resonated with me, though they do not go further than just that. This, I did not mind because the characters are constantly in survival mode whether physically or emotionally. The reality underneath Rebecca F. Kuang's words is like a goldfish peaking above the water's surface--the social arguments always felt natural and fluid, which hurt the most.
Language holds so much power, yet it can just as easily be lost.
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On a side note, I love to find authors' favorite diction. Rebecca F. Kuang is biased to: teeter, tranquility, translation.
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"'Because you're a good translator.' Ramy leaned back on his elbows. 'That's just what translation is, I think. That's all speaking is. Listening to the other and trying to see past your own biases to glimpse what they're trying to say. Showing yourself to the world, and hoping someone else understands'" (535).
"Oxford relied on silver, how without the constant labour of its translation corps, of the talent it attracted from abroad, it immediately fell apart. It revealed more than the power of translation. It revealed the sheer dependence of the British, who, astonishingly, could not manage to do basic things like bake bread or get safely from one place to another without words stolen from other countries" (471). This, made me question what else can stand in for silver. Oil. Petroleum. Fast fashion. And, at what cost?
Graphic: Death, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Suicide, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Addiction, Body horror, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Colonisation, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic
navayiota'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
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Islamophobia, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, and Deportation
penofpossibilities's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Ableism, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Addiction, Genocide, Gore, Infidelity, Vomit, Islamophobia, and Alcohol
Minor: Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Slavery, Forced institutionalization, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic
carlapastor'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? It's complicated
5.0
Also, I don't think it was ever dense. This is one of those books that just make you want to keep reading. If I'm honest, I hope next time I read it it's not before bed, because I just can't put it down.
One of the few 5 stars I've read in my life.
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, Colonisation, and War
Moderate: Addiction
quinn24'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Bullying
Minor: Addiction, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Vomit
mr_ryancowboy'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
Graphic: Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, Murder, Cultural appropriation, and Colonisation
Moderate: Misogyny, Physical abuse, Slavery, Suicide, Blood, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Addiction, Drug use, and Pandemic/Epidemic
samugranjo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Death, Racism, Violence, Grief, Murder, Colonisation, and Classism
Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and War
Minor: Addiction, Confinement, Genocide, Blood, and Alcohol
ceruleanshelves's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.0
however, i can see how some readers don't like the second half as it slows down in action, but underneath it's an emotional build.
i think overall this is a very solid addition to dark academia. honestly still processing that last 10% 😭
def check TWs
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Sexual harassment
Minor: Addiction