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giulianalb99'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
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.
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
kayfab'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: Classism, Death, Gaslighting, Islamophobia, Misogyny, Mental illness, Bullying, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual harassment, Toxic friendship, Violence, and Xenophobia
evanmcomer'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
To be sure, this is not a happy story. Babel is not Hogwarts. And while the book is beautifully written, it is tragic, historically accurate, and unfair to the characters that I grew to love while reading it. But that’s precisely what makes Kuang’s work so compelling. It interrogates and problematizes the tropes, settings, and characters that we take for granted as readers of fantasy.
Graphic: Suicide, Racism, and Mental illness
edgaranjapoe'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
4.5
Graphic: Violence, Murder, Gaslighting, Racism, Colonisation, Xenophobia, Death, Classism, Torture, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Kidnapping, Alcohol, Gore, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Racial slurs, Slavery, Physical abuse, Suicide, Child abuse, Grief, War, Misogyny, Gun violence, Fire/Fire injury, Deportation, Emotional abuse, Police brutality, Blood, Hate crime, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Islamophobia, Body horror, and Cultural appropriation
Minor: Child death, Drug use, Bullying, Mental illness, Trafficking, Sexual harassment, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide attempt, Dysphoria, Car accident, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Infidelity, Mass/school shootings, Genocide, Drug abuse, Abandonment, Vomit, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Addiction, Rape, and Sexual violence
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
peonydancer'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? It's complicated
4.75
As for what I didn't like; I think due to other reviews, I expected to cry and feel super emotional about the ending of the book. But honestly, besides
The one thing I TRULY didn't like was how stereotypical the final embodiment of villainy ended up being. As in, having
I would suggest an air of caution in taking the message of this book and applying it to the real world now.
That's my review - highly recommend this book.
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Colonisation, Classism, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Child abuse, Drug use, Islamophobia, Death of parent, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, Slavery, Toxic friendship, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, War, Gun violence, and Suicide
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
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
zghutcheson01's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Grief, Mental illness, Murder, Violence, Emotional abuse, Colonisation, Racial slurs, Blood, Bullying, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Police brutality, Racism, Sexism, Death, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, and Classism
Moderate: Torture, Confinement, Toxic relationship, Slavery, Misogyny, Hate crime, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Blood, and Toxic friendship
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