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mariahmmm'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? It's complicated
3.0
What a book. An exhausting read with dense and heavy content that picks apart and lays bare the prejudice and injustice of white colonialism and the greed for power and control.
Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Antisemitism, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Deportation
lynxpardinus's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Misogyny, Racism, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, and Classism
Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Child death, Gore, Physical abuse, Slavery, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, and Pandemic/Epidemic
cayliehausman's review
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Cultural appropriation, Colonisation, and Classism
Moderate: Child abuse, Drug use, Violence, Vomit, Death of parent, and War
Minor: Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Pandemic/Epidemic
scifi42'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
Highlights: an absolutely fantastic cast of characters, meaningful but incomplete foreshadowing, several different and grounded perspectives (none declared "right") on decolonization processes.
Kuang also makes several bold formal moves- I'm pretty sure this is the first "untranslated" fiction I've read that includes footnotes. The book is broadly accessible but definitely rewards readers with some understanding of British colonization. The characters are relatable, the magic well systemized, the situations absurd in their realism.
Speculative fiction at its best.
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Genocide, Torture, Police brutality, and Colonisation
Moderate: Hate crime, Death of parent, Classism, and Deportation
noms01'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
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Xenophobia, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, War, and Classism
Moderate: Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Addiction
redheadorganist'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
5.0
Graphic: Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Trafficking, Grief, Death of parent, and Colonisation
Moderate: Drug use, Gore, Blood, and War
Minor: Fire/Fire injury and Sexual harassment
idabwells'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
Manages to capture the devastating scope of colonial genocide while also portraying the courage and brilliance of those around the world struggling to survive and triumph over it.
Graphic: Addiction, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Abandonment, Colonisation, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Gun violence, Hate crime, Rape, Slavery, Religious bigotry, Gaslighting, War, and Injury/Injury detail
xxlynxx'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
Graphic: Racism, Grief, Colonisation, and Classism
Moderate: Torture, Violence, and Blood
Minor: Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and War
trashbinfluencer's review
- 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
4.25
Moderate: Addiction, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Deportation, and Pandemic/Epidemic
fionamclary'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
As a huge language nerd, I was absolutely delighted with the magic system. It's clear that Kuang is also a language lover and has put a lot of research and passion into all the many languages that play a part in Babel. It's not a complicated magic system by any means, but it doesn't have to be when the intricacies are SO fascinating (at least to me).
Also, as a current physics grad student, the descriptions of Robin and his classmates' first few years at Babel were all too familiar and at times painfully relatable. The intense workload, the way it makes you a bit crazy, the closeness it can bring about when shared with others. The first third of the book set up the perfect premise for dark academia: golden summer days of picnics with your best friends, long nights in the library, and many hints that all is not right within the institution. And Kuang certainly delivered on that premise, escalating matters all the way.
I'm aware that this book made several white women quite angry. As a white woman, I can see why. Through one particular character, Kuang delivers an unflattering portrait of how white women can harm their friends of color simply by inaction and ignorance, and how they can fail when presented with the opportunity to commit to liberation. Although in some ways simplified for the purposes of fitting within the story and conveying the author's point, this portrait is not exactly wrong. I think there's some validity to criticism that the book does not do enough to address Robin and Ramy's internalized sexism, which hurts both Victoire and Letty. I think the fact that only Robin and to a somewhat lesser extent Ramy are fully fleshed-out for about the first half of the book does hamper some of the book's messages. But to say that this book indicts white women or even white people is ridiculous. The climax involves an immense show of solidarity across class and racial lines. Professor
Speaking of which, the climax of this book was beautiful and destructive. I cried for fully the last 20 pages, which never happens. In the end, I don't think I fully agree with Robin. I'm not sure if Kuang does, either. I don't think we're meant to feel one way or the other -- just consider his choices and his beliefs, and hopefully we understand how he came there, having grown up with him, as it were, and seen him through all the events that led up to his decisions in the last chapters of the book.
Highly recommend for language lovers, academics who feel complicated about their funding sources, and first-world leftists trying to understand their place in the world and their role in a frightening future.
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicide, Blood, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Slavery, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, Abandonment, and Pandemic/Epidemic