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A review by isabel_reyes
Babel by R.F. Kuang
4.0
so many things i could say about this in criticism, so i should start with the good. firstly, the first 400 pages are a magnificent show of research and general knowledge of languages. she writes four wonderfully distinct characters and encorporates them in believable conversations and even more believable stories of race and colonialism. her character of letty was particularly well written and i love how she ended up (not bc i identify with her but because it was very realistic)
but, inevitably, rf kuang struggled with the last 100 pages in the same way she did in the poppy war. she took a masterful story and tried to make it into something it wasn’t (a story of war). i ended up hating the MC in the end because he follows the exact same character journey, and character flaw, as the poppy war character. it was infuriating and worsened by the numerous plot holes in the last 100 pages
still worth at least a 4/5 for the beginning tho
but, inevitably, rf kuang struggled with the last 100 pages in the same way she did in the poppy war. she took a masterful story and tried to make it into something it wasn’t (a story of war). i ended up hating the MC in the end because he follows the exact same character journey, and character flaw, as the poppy war character. it was infuriating and worsened by the numerous plot holes in the last 100 pages
still worth at least a 4/5 for the beginning tho