Reviews tagging 'Religious bigotry'

Babel: An Arcane History by R.F. Kuang

161 reviews

bilal_shumuus's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Kidnapping, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Xenophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Violence, War, Self harm, Torture, Colonisation, Death of parent, Genocide, Child abuse, Grief, Murder, Classism, Infidelity, Death, Sexism, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, and Racism

Moderate: Religious bigotry, Sexual harassment, Confinement, Blood, Police brutality, Abandonment, Addiction, Islamophobia, and Pandemic/Epidemic

mirandyli's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

Amazing book, especially if you like magical realism and linguistics. Anti-colonialist in a historically realistic way. This was the best book I've read this year. It made me really think about my own simultaneous oppressions and privileges, and how violence is necessary for anti-colonialist, anti-capitalist revolution.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Police brutality, Drug use, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Xenophobia, Slavery, Alcohol, Confinement, Bullying, Child abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Toxic friendship, Violence, Blood, Cultural appropriation, Cursing, Colonisation, Murder, Suicide, Classism, Death of parent, Grief, Gun violence, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Genocide, Racism, Torture, and War

justmys's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

…ok. So. Let me just say, the concept, themes and the way the fantastical elements of the world were woven in amongst real world history and colonialism were masterful. Truly. The love, care and passion that went into the building of those portions of the book were truly jaw dropping. 

Kuang’s level of intelligence and brilliance surrounding etymology and translation and her immense skill at bringing issues that are still horrifyingly prevalent in the world to the forefront of the story through a powerful lens were a true gift to read and will be staying with me for a long time to come. 

And that’s where my 2.75 stars go. That side of this novel was an astounding piece of work. Unfortunately, the rest of the book had to be consumed alongside it. 

I was told that the beginning of this book is slow. For me, the beginning ended up being the first 328 pages. And this is a heavy read to begin with.

I found all of the characters within the book shallow and underdeveloped. So much of their lives and interactions were glossed over. Flashbacks or explanations for their behaviour and decisions were often sewn into the book through footnotes giving them the feeling of an afterthought.  I spent the entire time wishing this book would have been at least a duology so as to have given room for us to actually get to know the characters as people, and not just awkward stunted players in a black box theatre production. 

The main female characters, Victoire and Letty, were often left T-posing in the corner of scenes, utterly forgotten in place of their male counterparts. When they were used (which was woefully little) they either felt like the author didn’t know their character (as with Victoire) or were an absurd cartoonish creation (as with Letty). 

Despite the overall themes being interesting I did feel like I was being smacked over the head with the book at times whilst being asked, “Do you get it? Do you understand? Do you even comprehend yet?” which got exhausting because I don’t think I’m as stupid as this book thinks I am. 

This book would have been so much more interesting if the lectures had been edited down somewhat in order to give room for character exploration. I’m certain the characters could have been truly loveable if they had been allowed to exist outside of a 2D space. I said to friends that this book had scope to be up there with Six of Crows or Lies of Locke Lamora if only the characters that inhabited the world were given the same love and detail as the world was. 

I do want to give this author another chance so will likely read more of her work in the future. There were so many moments where I was sure I could have fallen in love with her writing if only given more to work with. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Physical abuse, Racism, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Medical trauma, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Sexism, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Racial slurs, Sexual harassment, and Torture

Moderate: Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Vomit, Abandonment, Religious bigotry, Drug abuse, Addiction, Deportation, Gun violence, Slavery, Toxic friendship, Panic attacks/disorders, and Torture

aliyachaudhry's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

rip robin swift you would have loved twitter
rip ramy mirza you would have loved comedy specials
rip griffin lovell you would have loved action movies

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Suicide, Xenophobia, Colonisation, Racism, Torture, Blood, Bullying, Classism, Grief, Gun violence, Murder, Violence, Death, Racial slurs, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Addiction, War, Sexism, Slavery, and Misogyny

hagwife's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative 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

5.0

Babel is all at once one of the most precise novels I've ever read and also one of the most tumultuous – precise and exact in the storytelling, the construction, and of the violence of colonialism and tumultuous in how the cohort of Robin, Remy, Victoire, and Letty have to navigate the spaces in which the reside. It is a stunning work, wrought in marvelous detail, scathing truths, beautiful relationships, and heartbreaking depictions of the choices anyone who is not in the majority must make to survive, let alone thrive, in the face of overwhelming abuse. And it is also a love letter to language, to meaning, to one's personal history, and to using those to form connection.

For anyone looking for another deep-dive into an alternate history that weaves magic and does not pull its punches, I recommend Dan Vyleta's Smoke. To anyone looking for the headlong rush of adventure and an unapologetic, vicious love letter to a place and its peoples, N.K. Jemisin's The Great Cities duology is the way to go.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Colonisation, and Child abuse

Moderate: Grief, Death, Emotional abuse, Racism, Cultural appropriation, Racial slurs, Sexism, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Sexual assault and Toxic friendship

mollyelyn's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring sad tense slow-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Classism, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Suicide, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexual harassment, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Addiction and Drug use

Minor: Alcohol and Blood

awildeasriel's review against another edition

dark emotional tense slow-paced

• 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racial slurs, Violence, Torture, Child abuse, Police brutality, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, Death, Racism, Misogyny, Murder, and Slavery

Minor: Grief, Alcoholism, Classism, and Religious bigotry

chasinggrace's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious 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? No

5.0

There’s no other rating to give a Kuang book than five stars. 

The magic system and environment that Kuang creates is unmatched - completely transformative, no stone left unturned, no detail spared. 

The way Kuang breaches racism, colonialism, sexism, and exploitation is horrifyingly accurate. And this book is devastating. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Religious bigotry, Slavery, Suicide, Racism, Alcohol, Classism, Death, Grief, Bullying, Colonisation, Blood, Death of parent, Gun violence, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Child abuse, and War

imds'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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, War, Suicidal thoughts, Pandemic/Epidemic, Religious bigotry, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Terminal illness, Child abuse, Cultural appropriation, Drug use, Misogyny, Torture, Xenophobia, Racial slurs, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Sexism, Islamophobia, Murder, Racism, Gun violence, Hate crime, Classism, Colonisation, Grief, and Physical abuse

ryanandrew23's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Death, Gun violence, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Sexism, Grief, and Racism

Minor: Religious bigotry, Drug use, Confinement, Hate crime, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, and Racial slurs