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A review by julieyael
Babel: An Arcane History by R.F. Kuang
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I hesitated to give a full 4 stars or a 3.75.
What made me rate 4 is the world building around silverwork and the translations.
I am naturally in love with languages, ethymology and linguistics. So to have them at the center of a fiction book was a dream come true.
What I liked about this novel:
- the general theme
- the reasearch done by the author to give a good foundation and credibility to the world and story
- the academic settings, with lots of details
-the footnotes, which may seem too much explanation but actually give the reader a nice idea of the background and the events on the side, without adding to the actual text of the story.
- the general writing (it was my first book by this author)
What I thought could have been improved:
- the characters are a bit shallow to my taste. It’s hard to relate and find a coherent personnality in any of them. I love a good character, but these all seem more like quick steches rather than full illustrations, if you understand what I mean.
Some of them are just names thrown at you, and some important characters don’t seem to have a clear purpose.
- the redundance of making the point that « white men are evil, colonization is bad, all people have rights ». Yes, it’s important and it’s a main theme of the novel.
But once the author had explained that once, she could have been more subtle in the 500 other following pages. The point is made clear, but it’s the way she does it that feels redundant and sometimes a bit condescending.
- there were some lengths in the middle of the book, but I am happy that the ending turned better. (Even if some things feel a bit too easy)
To conclude this rather long review: I am glad that I read this book, but not sure if I would read it again (it was more than 500 pages, and with some flaws)
I may have been slightly generous on the rate, so I might reconsider in a few days when the dust is settled😁
Anyway, I strongly recommend the reading, it’s worth the read, even with the imperfections😊
What made me rate 4 is the world building around silverwork and the translations.
I am naturally in love with languages, ethymology and linguistics. So to have them at the center of a fiction book was a dream come true.
What I liked about this novel:
- the general theme
- the reasearch done by the author to give a good foundation and credibility to the world and story
- the academic settings, with lots of details
-the footnotes, which may seem too much explanation but actually give the reader a nice idea of the background and the events on the side, without adding to the actual text of the story.
- the general writing (it was my first book by this author)
What I thought could have been improved:
- the characters are a bit shallow to my taste. It’s hard to relate and find a coherent personnality in any of them. I love a good character, but these all seem more like quick steches rather than full illustrations, if you understand what I mean.
Some of them are just names thrown at you, and some important characters don’t seem to have a clear purpose.
- the redundance of making the point that « white men are evil, colonization is bad, all people have rights ». Yes, it’s important and it’s a main theme of the novel.
But once the author had explained that once, she could have been more subtle in the 500 other following pages. The point is made clear, but it’s the way she does it that feels redundant and sometimes a bit condescending.
- there were some lengths in the middle of the book, but I am happy that the ending turned better. (Even if some things feel a bit too easy)
To conclude this rather long review: I am glad that I read this book, but not sure if I would read it again (it was more than 500 pages, and with some flaws)
I may have been slightly generous on the rate, so I might reconsider in a few days when the dust is settled😁
Anyway, I strongly recommend the reading, it’s worth the read, even with the imperfections😊
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Police brutality, Grief, and Toxic friendship