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A review by spookylettuce
Babel by R.F. Kuang
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I cannot express how much Babel resonates with me (reference intended) as an Indigenous person, a person with both colonised and coloniser heritage, in academic spaces. I also work in a colonial institution where artefacts are displayed that include some of my direct ancestors. This is some of my positionality that I think is why Babel echoes my experience.
Some things explored within Babel (or at least how I interpreted it while reading) that really resonated with me and that I grapple with in my life were:
In colonial institutions whose foundations are built on systemic classism and racism how far must we go to decolonise? Does it require the complete dismantling of these institutions? Is violence necessary and/or justified, and how much of it? If colonised people are used by the system and benefit from it, are they complicit in the lateral violence against their own people? And how much are they willing to tolerate the inherent racism/classism/colonisation they are subjected to within these systems to survive? How far does their personal responsibility to advocate for their people extend? And many more but I feel like this is already a lot.
I also loved the magic system and the way that it considered the effects of globalisation/colonisation on evolving word meaning and that the effectiveness of match-pairs changed as a result.
The two languages I am fluent in (and dream in) are both languages of colonising nations while I only know bits and pieces of Indigenous language, learned in other dialects in colonial academic institutions. I’m in the sciences where despite Western methods often corroborating Indigenous Knowledge and Ways of Knowing, and holistic understanding being so integral to innovation and understanding, non-Western traditional methods are still widely frowned upon. Which I feel like Babel mirrored with a particular character and a particular character’s upper-year project respectively.
Ultimately, I don’t think Babel will have such an effect on all readers. But for me as an avid enjoyer of magical realism, magic in academic settings, magic systems, and with my personal lived experience it was profound.
Some things explored within Babel (or at least how I interpreted it while reading) that really resonated with me and that I grapple with in my life were:
In colonial institutions whose foundations are built on systemic classism and racism how far must we go to decolonise? Does it require the complete dismantling of these institutions? Is violence necessary and/or justified, and how much of it? If colonised people are used by the system and benefit from it, are they complicit in the lateral violence against their own people? And how much are they willing to tolerate the inherent racism/classism/colonisation they are subjected to within these systems to survive? How far does their personal responsibility to advocate for their people extend? And many more but I feel like this is already a lot.
I also loved the magic system and the way that it considered the effects of globalisation/colonisation on evolving word meaning and that the effectiveness of match-pairs changed as a result.
The two languages I am fluent in (and dream in) are both languages of colonising nations while I only know bits and pieces of Indigenous language, learned in other dialects in colonial academic institutions. I’m in the sciences where despite Western methods often corroborating Indigenous Knowledge and Ways of Knowing, and holistic understanding being so integral to innovation and understanding, non-Western traditional methods are still widely frowned upon. Which I feel like Babel mirrored with a particular character and a particular character’s upper-year project respectively.
Ultimately, I don’t think Babel will have such an effect on all readers. But for me as an avid enjoyer of magical realism, magic in academic settings, magic systems, and with my personal lived experience it was profound.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation
Moderate: Child abuse, Racism, Sexism, Xenophobia, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism