Reviews tagging 'Murder'

Babel: An Arcane History by R.F. Kuang

931 reviews

sunfleurbelle's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful informative sad tense medium-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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Blood

Moderate: Bullying, Death, Kidnapping, Murder, and Alcohol

meganamelia's review against another edition

adventurous challenging mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• 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

Graphic: Death, Racism, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Drug use, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, War, and Classism

exhaustrovert's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Xenophobia, Death of parent, Murder, Cultural appropriation, War, and Deportation

Moderate: Physical abuse, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Police brutality, Grief, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

nina_rae_131's review against another edition

challenging dark informative 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Xenophobia, and Colonisation

Moderate: Misogyny, Racial slurs, Suicide, Grief, Murder, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Torture and War

tulip_ss's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Racism, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Murder, and Colonisation

Moderate: Genocide, Misogyny, Toxic friendship, War, and Classism

bakerindale's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-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

An act of translation is always an act of betrayal. Of the text, of the speaker and of yourself. 

Translate, traduire, tłumaczyć

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Xenophobia, Murder, and Colonisation

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, Sexism, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Sexual harassment

soniajoy98's review against another edition

challenging emotional 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Body horror, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Slavery, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Bullying, Confinement, Drug abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual violence, Vomit, Trafficking, Religious bigotry, Cultural appropriation, and Deportation

jotee76's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.5

I found this book a bit of a chore to get through, possibly because I read it as an audiobook. I feel that there was a lot of time where nothing was happening.  However,  the subject matter was interesting and offered a fascinating commentary on colonialism,  race, feminism, capitalism and much more. I'm not sure alternative reality fiction is really my thing. I know the author in the preface explained how history had been altered for the book, but this left me wondering what was fact and what was fiction at times. The silver bar thing I just found odd and a bit Harry Potterish. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Murder, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

jamie003's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense fast-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

4.0

I was expecting to like this book more than I did. While the premise and linguistics were interesting, the development of any character besides Robin was lacking. Letty remained an unsympathetic character on any individual level; Victorie was compelling when given space. The relationship between Robin and Ramy relied on hints throughout. While not necessarily a flaw, it left little room for character exploration. For a book that was over 500 pages, I was hoping for the characters to develop more deeply. Robin’s experience of double consciousness was the most complex and engaging aspect of the story.

The plot twists were predictable, starting with Anthony’s “death” and ending with Robin’s.

As a whole, the book kept me interested once I was a 100 pages in, but it left a lot to be desired.
Edit: The themes of the novel speak to how academia, particularly the humanities, continue to debate the ethics and responsibilities of translation and research. Some of the conversations between Robin, his cohort, and their professors sounded familiar, if not more overt, in the institution’s acceptance of colonization and belief in academia/knowledge as objective truth. (I will be rereading this book in a couple months and then again later on). 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Xenophobia, and Colonisation

Moderate: Misogyny, Violence, Murder, and Sexual harassment

bo0ks_are_cool91's review against another edition

challenging dark informative mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Abandonment, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Death of parent, War, and Deportation

Minor: Cursing