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A review by amyvl93
Babel: An Arcane History by R.F. Kuang
adventurous
challenging
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
4.0
Babel and RF Kuang as an author generally has been all over social media for the past year, and I finally had to jump on the bandwagon - and I'm really glad I did. Babel follows Robin, a young man pulled from his home in Canton by a professor at a speculative 1800s Oxford to study at the famed Babel Translation Institute. There he meets his fellow students Ramy, Victoire and Letty and they become swept up in Babel and it's famed silver-making. However, when Robin is contacted by the mysterious Hermes Society, he begins to understand that Babel stands for more than just language for its own sake.
Knowing a bit about colonialism but nothing about linguistics, I found a lot of the content of this novel to be very interesting. I know some have critiqued Kuang for not adding anything 'new' to the conversation, but just shining a light on the way languages are connected was of great interest to me - and by extension I could understand how the Babel scholars could be sucked into this world of language and the power that it holds.
I did find the world building overall to be a mixed picture - Oxford, Babel as an institution and Canton as a location all felt incredibly drawn. It almost feels strange to know that the Babel tower is not a fixture at Oxford; and the descriptions had me picturing the mini-series adaptation in my head. That being said, I found the fantasy or speculative elements to be a little less well developed. I couldn't always quite get a grip on how silver had truly created a difference between the British Empire depicted in the novel, and the British Empire as it is existed in reality. It also felt like we got an awful lot of exposition as if Kuang occasionally forgot herself about the fantasy elements and had to remind us all that they existed. The fantasy of it all comes to the fore more in the final parts of the novel, but I almost feel like the translation element could have been enough in itself. The comparison to Philip Pullman in some reviews had me expecting a little more in world building, especially as this is marketed as an Adult fantasy (which I also think is somewhat unnecessary, and that younger readers could definitely enjoy this too).
Character-wise, the central quartet felt fully realised. Robin, Ramy, Victoire and Letty were all characters I cared about, was frustrated by and their individual journeys all felt authentic (if at times rather heavily signposted). The side characters did at times feel a little more one-dimensional, and there to serve representative points; but that didn't make them any less impactful on the narrative as it unfolded.
So depsite that wobbly word-building, I really enjoyed Babel and look forward to reading more of Kuang's writing in the future.
Knowing a bit about colonialism but nothing about linguistics, I found a lot of the content of this novel to be very interesting. I know some have critiqued Kuang for not adding anything 'new' to the conversation, but just shining a light on the way languages are connected was of great interest to me - and by extension I could understand how the Babel scholars could be sucked into this world of language and the power that it holds.
I did find the world building overall to be a mixed picture - Oxford, Babel as an institution and Canton as a location all felt incredibly drawn. It almost feels strange to know that the Babel tower is not a fixture at Oxford; and the descriptions had me picturing the mini-series adaptation in my head. That being said, I found the fantasy or speculative elements to be a little less well developed. I couldn't always quite get a grip on how silver had truly created a difference between the British Empire depicted in the novel, and the British Empire as it is existed in reality. It also felt like we got an awful lot of exposition as if Kuang occasionally forgot herself about the fantasy elements and had to remind us all that they existed. The fantasy of it all comes to the fore more in the final parts of the novel, but I almost feel like the translation element could have been enough in itself. The comparison to Philip Pullman in some reviews had me expecting a little more in world building, especially as this is marketed as an Adult fantasy (which I also think is somewhat unnecessary, and that younger readers could definitely enjoy this too).
Character-wise, the central quartet felt fully realised. Robin, Ramy, Victoire and Letty were all characters I cared about, was frustrated by and their individual journeys all felt authentic (if at times rather heavily signposted). The side characters did at times feel a little more one-dimensional, and there to serve representative points; but that didn't make them any less impactful on the narrative as it unfolded.
So depsite that wobbly word-building, I really enjoyed Babel and look forward to reading more of Kuang's writing in the future.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation and Racism
Moderate: Violence, Islamophobia, Murder, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Death of parent