A review by cookedw
Babel by R.F. Kuang

informative inspiring reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

The use of language-derived magic as a way to explore colonialism is cool AF. I also appreciated the lack of uniformity in how characters deal with its ramifications and think that rings true. There is a lot that runs cold hard and factual throughout the book in ways that can be challenging. But I feel like the back chunk of the book starts to feel a little heavy handed and preachy at times. And Chekov's gun here is not at all subtle. But there were still some "Oh shit!" fallout moments. 

I also in general just really like the way the footnotes and general use of language was fun. Sometimes it was critical to the plot, but most often I felt like it was just getting to be in the wavelength of a buddy who thinks something is cool to share with you, which helped tie me as a reader in.
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