Reviews tagging 'Fire/Fire injury'

Babel by R.F. Kuang

84 reviews

giulianalb99's review against another edition

challenging dark informative reflective 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? It's complicated

3.5

La relación tóxica que tengo con este libro es inexplicable. Me lo compré por todo el hype que tenía y por la sinopsis me pareció un libro bastante interesante. Me tarde un poco en ponerme con él porque tenía otros libros pendientes hasta que, después de unos meses, por fin he podido leerlo. La verdad es que la autora escribe increíblemente bien, su pluma es una pasada. Sé perfectamente que es un libro de ficción histórica pero a mí me lo habían vendido como un <i>dark academia</i> con mucha magia con vibes de Harry Potter pero no ha sido así para nada. En algunas ocasiones hasta parecía que estaba leyendo mi libro de historia del instituto y la verdad es que eso me desilusionó un poco, ya que la magia aparece bastante menos de lo que pensaba y sinceramente hay información que se podría haber omitido del libro (porque, en mi opinión, le sobran bastantes páginas) y haber sido mucho más corto. 

El mensaje que quiere transmitir la autora con este libro sí que me ha parecido súper bueno, además que en el libro ves cómo los personajes son tratados y estereotipados por sus razas/colores de piel, así como una misoginia tremenda hacia las mujeres que, por desgracia, aún sigue pasando. Los personajes me han encantado, sobretodo Victoire y Ramy, y me encanta cómo la autora ha plasmado a Letty para representar lo que una persona blanca nunca podría llegar a entender (la razón por la cual llevaron a cabo el desmantelamiento de los planes que tenían entre manos los profesores de Babel con respecto a China) básicamente porque nunca ha tenido que pasar por racismo. 

Aunque yo tenía otras expectativas, no es un libro para nada malo, pero ha habido veces que se me ha hecho insufrible, y no es hasta más de la mitad del libro que empiezan a pasar cosas interesantes. Lo del tema de la traducción me ha parecido bastante interesante, eso sí. A eso me refiero a lo de mi relación toxica, porque me parece un libro súper pesado pero que está increíblemente escrito.
Por supuesto, leeré más libros de R. F. Kuang. La verdad sea dicha: ella es increíble.


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The toxic relationship I have with this book is inexplicable. I bought it because of all the hype it had and from the synopsis it seemed like a pretty interesting book. It took me a while to get to it because I had other books on my tbr, but after a few months, I was finally able to read it. The truth is that the author writes incredibly well, her pen is amazing. I know perfectly well that it is a historical fiction book but I had been told that it was a a dark academia with a lot of magic (Harry Potter-ish vibes) but it wasn’t like that at all. On some occasions it even seemed like I was reading my high school history book and the truth is that that disappointed me a bit, since magic appears much less than I thought and honestly, there’s information that could have been omitted from the book (because, in my opinion, it had more pages than needed) and it could’ve been much shorter. 

The message that the author wants to transmit with this book is incredible, in addition to the fact that in the book you see how the characters are treated and stereotyped because of their race/skin color, as well as a tremendous misogyny towards women which unfortunately it's still happening. I loved almost all the characters, especially Victoire and Ramy, and I love how the author wrote Letty to represent what a white person could never understand (the reason why they carried out the dismantling of the plans of the Babel professors regarding China) basically because they’ve never had to go through racism. 

Although I had other expectations, it's not a bad book at all, but there were times when I found it insufferable, and it's not until more than halfway through the book that interesting things start to happen. However, all the translation stuff was quite interesting to me. That's what I mean about my toxic relationship with it, because it’s such a dense book but it's incredibly written.
Of course, I will read more books by R. F. Kuang. Truth be told: she is amazing.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Hate crime, Misogyny, Murder, Racism, Blood, Classism, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Slavery, Torture, War, Xenophobia, Gun violence, Cultural appropriation, Death, Forced institutionalization, Racial slurs, Suicide, Violence, Colonisation, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Sexism, Toxic friendship, Physical abuse, and Islamophobia

Moderate: Alcohol and Suicide attempt

Minor: Drug use

daisy2050's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense 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

5.0

They say nonfiction is about "them" and fiction is about "me". This fiction book is perfect for this moment. It's a long book, the beginning is a bit of a slog because they need to lay a foundation, but get through it and enjoy the wild ride the rest of the book takes you on. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Torture, Violence, Classism, Colonisation, Blood, Body horror, Gun violence, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Death, Fire/Fire injury, War, Racism, Sexism, and Slavery

Minor: Chronic illness, Confinement, Medical trauma, Police brutality, Suicide, Alcohol, Cancer, and Misogyny

codifyy's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

I liked the notes at the bottom of the pages. I found them informative and they added an extra level of depth to the story. I liked that each character got their own chapter as a backstory, even though I had to read more about Letty. Ramy deserved better. They all did actually but especially Ramy - he was my favourite. I thought their dynamics and their friendships were interesting and the way their relationship breakdown was foreshadowed added more intimacy to the plot and the message. I have never read a book where the author's opinions are so obvious and I wasn't sure I liked it at first but I think it's necessary for a novel like this to not be as open to interpretation. I loved discovering and learning the origins of words and the interconnectedness of languages - it made me realise there was so much I didn't know. At first, I was slightly confused about how quickly Robin changed mindsets but then it quickly became justified and more understandable, especially when he began to reflect Griffin. Although the ending was tragic, it was also necessary and it made me appreciate Robin and Ramy's relationship even more. I'm glad I read this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Gore, Murder, Slavery, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Blood, Toxic friendship, Grief, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Hate crime, and Racism

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Confinement, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, and Police brutality

Minor: Addiction and War

stephlikestoread's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Blood, Bullying, Child death, Child abuse, Classism, Colonisation, Confinement, Cultural appropriation, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Slavery, Toxic friendship, Torture, War, and Vomit

butterfly_seraph's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious 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? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Colonisation, and Grief

Moderate: Sexism, Sexual assault, Islamophobia, Misogyny, Torture, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Murder, Violence, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Child abuse, Classism, Confinement, Cursing, and Gun violence

Minor: Addiction, Fire/Fire injury, War, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Cursing, Drug abuse, and Drug use

ewalkergrace's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective 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: Gun violence, Racial slurs, Child abuse, Colonisation, Death of parent, Murder, Racism, Death, and Violence

Moderate: Alcohol, Classism, Suicide, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, War, Slavery, Toxic friendship, and Xenophobia

Minor: Confinement, Addiction, Drug abuse, and Fire/Fire injury

meganfletcher's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional informative tense fast-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: Xenophobia, Torture, Classism, Colonisation, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Racism, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Gun violence, War, Grief, Drug abuse, Misogyny, Violence, Slavery, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Death, and Cultural appropriation

Minor: Alcohol

moodreadswithmoe's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, War, and Blood

Moderate: Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Classism, and Death

Minor: Child death, Fire/Fire injury, and Death of parent

theinfinitebookcase's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark sad 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

It is so hard to wrap up my thoughts and feelings about this book; I feel I can't do it justice. Kuang did such an incredible job at exploring colonialism and its effects. Our main character has to grapple essentially with siding with those in power who can provide him a sense of social and financial safety (choosing survival) versus siding with those who are being harmed by the ones in power (including those in his hometown). I also couldn't help but care about these characters, even when I knew at the same time that some of them couldn't be trusted. This is my first book by Kuang and I am really looking forward to reading more of her work.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, Death of parent, and Racism

Moderate: War, Fire/Fire injury, and Drug use

lucy_shanners's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Grief, Body horror, Blood, Torture, Murder, Colonisation, Death, Violence, Suicide, Racial slurs, Racism, Toxic friendship, Xenophobia, Hate crime, Forced institutionalization, Confinement, Classism, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, War, Gore, Sexual harassment, Slavery, Medical content, Bullying, Alcohol, and Gun violence

Minor: Physical abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Child death, Drug abuse, Addiction, and Vomit