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Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Xenophobia, Colonisation
Moderate: Drug use, Suicidal thoughts
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
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:
No
I've felt like this about a book and never this intensely. I cried when I closed it for the last time, after reading the last word of the last line of the acknowledgements. I felt like something was being taken from me. Like my skin streched and ripped as the story got farther and farther away. I couldn't let go of the book. Like a mother and her child holding each other after birth, but I didn't feel like a mother, maybe like a child. I feel like my molecules are now organized diferently. I didn't want it to be over, but I don't know if liking would be the correct word for the experience.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Blood, Grief, Murder, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Slavery, Islamophobia, Medical content, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, Toxic friendship, Alcohol
Minor: Genocide, Trafficking, War
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book has garnered numerous glowing reviews, but personally, I found it a chore to go through.
Kuang's writing style bears a resemblance to that of an academic, presenting information in a top-down manner with a focus on conveying a message rather than delving into character or world-building. The characters feel one-dimensional, merely serving as mouthpieces for Kuang's ideas, maneuvered around like marionettes. While there are fantasy elements incorporated, they seem inconsequential against the backdrop of extensive technical discussions on linguistics and historical context.
Another aspect that didn't work for me was the inclusion of footnotes. They often came across as patronizing, hammering in obvious themes in a shallow manner.
Despite acknowledging Kuang's growth as a writer, "Babel" falls short of being a great story. It reads more like a dissertation on language than a fully immersive narrative, attempting to address numerous subjects without achieving depth.
The writing style is repetitive, echoing similar concepts across hundreds of pages, which left me with the impression of being preached rather than engaged in a rich storytelling experience.
Kuang's writing style bears a resemblance to that of an academic, presenting information in a top-down manner with a focus on conveying a message rather than delving into character or world-building. The characters feel one-dimensional, merely serving as mouthpieces for Kuang's ideas, maneuvered around like marionettes. While there are fantasy elements incorporated, they seem inconsequential against the backdrop of extensive technical discussions on linguistics and historical context.
Another aspect that didn't work for me was the inclusion of footnotes. They often came across as patronizing, hammering in obvious themes in a shallow manner.
Despite acknowledging Kuang's growth as a writer, "Babel" falls short of being a great story. It reads more like a dissertation on language than a fully immersive narrative, attempting to address numerous subjects without achieving depth.
The writing style is repetitive, echoing similar concepts across hundreds of pages, which left me with the impression of being preached rather than engaged in a rich storytelling experience.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Colonisation
Moderate: Sexism, Slavery, War
challenging
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:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Colonisation
Minor: Misogyny, Slavery
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Xenophobia, Colonisation
Moderate: Death, Slavery, Grief
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Colonisation, Classism
Moderate: Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Xenophobia, Murder, Toxic friendship, War, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
challenging
dark
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Powerful and immersive. Reads like a historical narrative at times. Light magic system. Dense story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence
Moderate: Death, Misogyny, Racism, Suicide, Colonisation
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Colonisation, War
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
'...when they wouldn't have to go through endless distortions just to be understood.'
This book fascinated me because I went into knowing nothing about what was going on, but loving every bit of it. This is beautiful. This is horrifying. This is fictionalised. this is true. This was life for them. and still is. I wanted to laugh and cry and all of the above, I simply loved it. Thats not to say it was without its imperfections, but the overall message was beautifully done.
This is a quote I laughed about how blunt but how true it was:
This is a quote I laughed about how blunt but how true it was:
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.
Ironic this is a 544 page book, but I said its a fast paced book. My only comments would be I wish it were longer, maybe even a duology because some parts could have been fleshed out more, I felt the climax came too quickly, and ending the story on Victoire had no significance. Otherwise I loved Kaung's intricate world building and the little notes at the end of the pages that made aspects of Babel feel real.
I didn't have high expectations after reading R.F. Kaung's Yellowface which I mildly enjoyed, but this by far is my favourite book out of the two, and its everything I didn't expect it to be, and more.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia
Moderate: Slavery, Grief, Death of parent, Murder
challenging
dark
emotional
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Misogyny, Racism, Xenophobia, Murder