A review by hopesmalley
Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution by R.F. Kuang

dark emotional 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

It's Donna Tartt meets Charles Dickens and add a bit of fantasy. It feels like it shouldn't work but boy does it. This was honestly going to be a 4.5 star read for me until the last 25% of the book which just ripped out my heart and crushed it. I finished this book two days ago and I am still thinking about it. If the book wasn't so chunky and my TBR pile so big I would probably reread this. 

I would definitely recommend the audio book for this one. I did the first 50% with audio and the last half reading a physical copy and the footnotes were much more manageable and easier to follow with the two audiobook narrators (one reads the footnotes and introduction exclusively which helps you figure out which is an explanatory note and which one is Robin's POV). Also
Is it a dark academic novel if there isn't obvious homoerotic tension between the two male protagonists that isn't acted upon and is only briefly mentioned in the last chapter? Sweet Ramy, you deserved the world and more.
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