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A review by inknosedowl
Babel by R.F. Kuang
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
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
OH. MY. GOD.
What an amazing story with deep characters and language. This is one of the most unique books I have ever read in my life. It goes from being Dark Academia, to Political Fiction, to Mystery, to Revolution and Kuang does it all flawlessly.
This book is not for the faint of heart. It is long and the story and characters are revolved around language and the implications of that on culture and race. The subject matter grows and grows until it is so obvious what she is wanting to say it slaps you in the face. The tolls and hardships that Robin and his cohort go through are so incredibly interesting you cant look away from the page. There were so many twists and turns in this novel it was always keeping me wanting more.
<SPOILER>
My heart is absolutely broken on how this beautiful story ends. They all fought so hard and learned so much in knowing who they are and who they are is amazing no matter what the British thinks. I am not surprised at Robins demise because once Griffin had fallen almost everything he loved was lost other than Victore. I feel horrible for Victore because he did not have the heart to stay alive for his one and only alive friend and she has to live with that for that for the rest of her life.
Going on to the writing it is truly to die for. It is challenging and beautiful what a wonderful book to challenge yourself with. A lot of the conversations are about language and how everything connects and what is lost in translation. This is entirely new to me and I found it so interesting and I loved how it played into the story.
I will recommend this book for the rest of my life. If you want something new please please please read this book!
What an amazing story with deep characters and language. This is one of the most unique books I have ever read in my life. It goes from being Dark Academia, to Political Fiction, to Mystery, to Revolution and Kuang does it all flawlessly.
This book is not for the faint of heart. It is long and the story and characters are revolved around language and the implications of that on culture and race. The subject matter grows and grows until it is so obvious what she is wanting to say it slaps you in the face. The tolls and hardships that Robin and his cohort go through are so incredibly interesting you cant look away from the page. There were so many twists and turns in this novel it was always keeping me wanting more.
<SPOILER>
My heart is absolutely broken on how this beautiful story ends. They all fought so hard and learned so much in knowing who they are and who they are is amazing no matter what the British thinks. I am not surprised at Robins demise because once Griffin had fallen almost everything he loved was lost other than Victore. I feel horrible for Victore because he did not have the heart to stay alive for his one and only alive friend and she has to live with that for that for the rest of her life.
Going on to the writing it is truly to die for. It is challenging and beautiful what a wonderful book to challenge yourself with. A lot of the conversations are about language and how everything connects and what is lost in translation. This is entirely new to me and I found it so interesting and I loved how it played into the story.
I will recommend this book for the rest of my life. If you want something new please please please read this book!