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4parkerlane 's review for:
Babel
by R.F. Kuang
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I was hoping that the second half would lean into nuance and/or subtlety but it just got yet more preachy, to the point of being condescending, and was still just too long for the level of resolution that we got.
Colonialism is bad, white people suck, etc. But if that was it, it would have been fine, definitely with points for an interesting magic system. Where this one really lost me was the dehumanization of Letty. By the end of the novel, Robin basically calls her an animal with no empathy who doesn't deserve to be loved. As if this line of thinking will fuel the revolution and someone make the world a better place? And if you complain about the characterization of the white people, that's just your white fragility showing up so sit down, shut up, and take your medicine in the form of preachy footnotes.
I didn't care for the Poppy War and I think it's best I just don't pick up another book by this author, brilliant as she may be. She's writing for a very specific audience who already agrees with her on everything and I'm not adding to the conversation by being irritated about it.
Colonialism is bad, white people suck, etc. But if that was it, it would have been fine, definitely with points for an interesting magic system. Where this one really lost me was the dehumanization of Letty. By the end of the novel, Robin basically calls her an animal with no empathy who doesn't deserve to be loved. As if this line of thinking will fuel the revolution and someone make the world a better place? And if you complain about the characterization of the white people, that's just your white fragility showing up so sit down, shut up, and take your medicine in the form of preachy footnotes.
I didn't care for the Poppy War and I think it's best I just don't pick up another book by this author, brilliant as she may be. She's writing for a very specific audience who already agrees with her on everything and I'm not adding to the conversation by being irritated about it.