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A review by samharnold
Babel by R.F. Kuang
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
This book has taken some real thinking about, especially what grade to give it. The first 20% of the novel I flew through, I am a bit obsessed with Victorian England so this section was right up my street.
There was plenty to think about with this book. Initially, you see Robin's attachment issues, from how he is desperate for the Professor's attention to how he is drawn to groups that give him a sense of family. That was the only part of the book that the readers had to summarise themselves; everything else was spelt out. More on that later.
This book was a slow read in parts, but that is not always bad. Some aspects of it reminded me of The Secret History by Donna Tartt. The book deals with the issue of the English Empire and is well-researched, but there were times when the point felt too forced. Every other page was working through this issue at the expense of any character development or plot.
Here, though, is my biggest fault with the book, and that is the footnotes. Forgive me if I rant. On virtually every page are many footnotes for the story, most of them are irrelevant. Many people may have ignored them, but I am not that person, and reading them took away from the flow of the story.
They were almost like the author was trying to prove how clever she was, either that or this book was much longer when submitted, and to cut the word count down, she needed to add the footnotes so we had a clue what was going on. Either that or the author included some of her writing notes in the story.
Sometimes, they offered a little extra, but not enough for them to be so extensive. Some filled plot holes, but in my mind, these would have been better written into the actual story.
Even when I got to the end of the book, I could not tell you whether I enjoyed it, which is why the star rating was so hard for this book.
If this were a non-fiction book, it would be five stars on research and thought-provoking content. But it isn't. I know reading is subjective, so many of you might love this, but with a mix of the footnotes, awful characters you couldn't relate to and a slow plot, all things considered, I can only give it three stars.
There was plenty to think about with this book. Initially, you see Robin's attachment issues, from how he is desperate for the Professor's attention to how he is drawn to groups that give him a sense of family. That was the only part of the book that the readers had to summarise themselves; everything else was spelt out. More on that later.
This book was a slow read in parts, but that is not always bad. Some aspects of it reminded me of The Secret History by Donna Tartt. The book deals with the issue of the English Empire and is well-researched, but there were times when the point felt too forced. Every other page was working through this issue at the expense of any character development or plot.
Here, though, is my biggest fault with the book, and that is the footnotes. Forgive me if I rant. On virtually every page are many footnotes for the story, most of them are irrelevant. Many people may have ignored them, but I am not that person, and reading them took away from the flow of the story.
They were almost like the author was trying to prove how clever she was, either that or this book was much longer when submitted, and to cut the word count down, she needed to add the footnotes so we had a clue what was going on. Either that or the author included some of her writing notes in the story.
Sometimes, they offered a little extra, but not enough for them to be so extensive. Some filled plot holes, but in my mind, these would have been better written into the actual story.
Even when I got to the end of the book, I could not tell you whether I enjoyed it, which is why the star rating was so hard for this book.
If this were a non-fiction book, it would be five stars on research and thought-provoking content. But it isn't. I know reading is subjective, so many of you might love this, but with a mix of the footnotes, awful characters you couldn't relate to and a slow plot, all things considered, I can only give it three stars.