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A review by m4rtt4
Babel: An Arcane History by R.F. Kuang
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-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
5.0
There are 4 months left of this year, but I am pretty condifent to have found my best book of 2023, as well as one of the best I've ever read: Babel by R. F. Kuang.
Set in the 1830s' Oxford, on a surface level Babel may seem like any other dark academia book where its main characters major in (ancient) languages, but there's so much more as nothing can ever exist in a vacuum; even the coziest corners of a university library are a reflection of the outer world, and little by little the students find themselves in a secret rebel society to fight against the injustices of the white supremacist British Empire (specifically the Opium Wars in this book).
Heavy content warnings for racism, xenophobia and colonisation, as well as violence and death — even though fictional as a whole, almost every individual element of the story still continues to happen in some way in our modern world, as our societal systems were built on this racist and exploitative history that should not be erased or belittled because we supposedly have "abolished the bad things so and so long ago". Through the character of Letty I was rightfully made uncomfortable about my whiteness; the call-out was a much needed reminder of how there is so much oppression I will never understand or have to experience just because of the way I look.
As much as I loved the plot and the writing, half of the time I was just fangirling over Kuang's expertise in liguistics and the massive amount of research that must have gone into creating a historical setting so realistic and interesting. I have studied 7 languages, and though I can call myself fluent in barely two of them, studying languages and new concepts, whole new worlds behind the words will always be a huge passion of mine. So yeah, I really loved all the educational footnotes, even the lengthy ones that took up half a page and even those with Chinese charactes I had no idea how to read (maybe some day I will).
There was also just the right amount of fantasy for my liking — it did exist, but not by any supernatural means or creatures — it was tied to languages, the every-day magic we all use because no words are ever just words. Here am I as well, trying to create deep meanings with complex sets of characters to convey you a message: Go read Babel, NOW. For your own good.
Set in the 1830s' Oxford, on a surface level Babel may seem like any other dark academia book where its main characters major in (ancient) languages, but there's so much more as nothing can ever exist in a vacuum; even the coziest corners of a university library are a reflection of the outer world, and little by little the students find themselves in a secret rebel society to fight against the injustices of the white supremacist British Empire (specifically the Opium Wars in this book).
Heavy content warnings for racism, xenophobia and colonisation, as well as violence and death — even though fictional as a whole, almost every individual element of the story still continues to happen in some way in our modern world, as our societal systems were built on this racist and exploitative history that should not be erased or belittled because we supposedly have "abolished the bad things so and so long ago". Through the character of Letty I was rightfully made uncomfortable about my whiteness; the call-out was a much needed reminder of how there is so much oppression I will never understand or have to experience just because of the way I look.
As much as I loved the plot and the writing, half of the time I was just fangirling over Kuang's expertise in liguistics and the massive amount of research that must have gone into creating a historical setting so realistic and interesting. I have studied 7 languages, and though I can call myself fluent in barely two of them, studying languages and new concepts, whole new worlds behind the words will always be a huge passion of mine. So yeah, I really loved all the educational footnotes, even the lengthy ones that took up half a page and even those with Chinese charactes I had no idea how to read (maybe some day I will).
There was also just the right amount of fantasy for my liking — it did exist, but not by any supernatural means or creatures — it was tied to languages, the every-day magic we all use because no words are ever just words. Here am I as well, trying to create deep meanings with complex sets of characters to convey you a message: Go read Babel, NOW. For your own good.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Xenophobia, Racism, Sexism, Blood, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Violence, Death of parent, Gun violence, Death, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Grief, War, Slavery, and Misogyny