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dark
reflective
slow-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
As a word nerd, the idea that words are literally powerful here is so lovely. Some parts dragged on a bit, but I forgive much given how spectacular the final section of the book was in regards to emotion, characterization, and the exploration of themes of violence, solidarity, colonization. Those last few pages were just beautiful to read.
I would like to chat with someone about "The Necessity of Violence" in the title. Because it's so clear that a shock to the system is required, but it's also so clear that Robin is willing to embrace violence at the end to the extent that he is because he's so deeply hurt and grieving. Like, if Ramy had survived (I'm not even entertaining the idea that Letty wouldn't suck lol), would Robin have been so determined to burn it down, even with his new convictions after seeing the empire in Canton? Or is this kind of determination and radicalization only possibly when you reach Robin's point of despair, because not even Griffin seemed to entertain the idea of tearing down the tower and causing as much damage as Robin is willing to do at the end. Kuang so deftly introduces nuance into that final bit where Victoire keeps pointing out that Robin is primarily doing this revenge, he's not trying to build anything afterwards, but his violence and the destruction he causes will perhaps give other colonized people a chance to fight back. I admire Kuang's willingness to show her protagonists doing damage to what are ostensibly innocent people, and to ask us to sit with the discomfort and ask if these actions are justified in the fight against empire (also, when the bridge fell down? That was a lovely use of formatting that I think would have been so cool to see in other parts of the book. If you've got the footnotes, you might as well be as creative as possible). It's an interesting dichotomy to hold in mind. I also would love to read how these actions would stand up when there are other colonial powers just waiting in the wing (America, for one. Japan, presumably) who could over as England's powerhouse role. Or are we to read Victoire and her decision to win and survive as part of a hope and continuation of the rebellion and a hope that Robin just couldn't see after the death of Ramy? I think it's a book that lends itself to deep thinking about these ideas, and if some of them aren't particularly subtly done, I think that's fine given that I've been thinking about this book almost continuously since I finished it yesterday afternoon.
My biggest critique is the friend group sometimes felt a bit underdeveloped. There's a paragraph in the first part of the book that goes "Why had refused to see the myriad ways they could hurt each other? Why had they not paused to interrogate their differences of birth, in raising, that meant they were not and could never be on the same size." And this is a beautiful bit of writing, and is one of many passages that sort of lodged its way into my brain due to how beautiful it is. But I do think it's kind of... misleading? The only one of the group that truly hurts them and isn't on their side is Letty, who is so consistently awful and so frequently disliked by Robin, Ramy and Victoire that I truly did not believe they would continue to love her as a friend or give her the benefit of the doubt. There aren't any passages that really make you understand their continued inclusion of her as a friend. Like, for instance, Robin and Ramy have this beautiful moment after they meet where they're having a picnic and it feels so lovely and real. There's not really a moment like that with the girls and their friend group just continually feels a little underdeveloped. Letty is consistently awful, with only a few sentences stating that she is sometimes good to them off page and we never really see it. I also felt it took so, so long for Victoire to get moved to center stage, to get that friendship moment with Robin that Ramy got almost instantly. It's not really until the final act that she gets to shine or that I saw them truly care about each other as friends. Until the last act, Victoire is so frequently overshadowed by Letty and Letty's awfulness (a commentary on how much white women tend to take up space that isn't for them??). I also felt that because Letty sucked so much, it wasn't particularly shocking or as impactful as it could have been that she betrayed the group. Kuang seems to be a bit aware that the friend group needed a bit more depth, so we get the interludes that go a bit deeper into their perspectives, but I just wanted more with all of them.
.
I would like to chat with someone about "The Necessity of Violence" in the title. Because it's so clear that a shock to the system is required, but it's also so clear that Robin is willing to embrace violence at the end to the extent that he is because he's so deeply hurt and grieving. Like, if Ramy had survived (I'm not even entertaining the idea that Letty wouldn't suck lol), would Robin have been so determined to burn it down, even with his new convictions after seeing the empire in Canton? Or is this kind of determination and radicalization only possibly when you reach Robin's point of despair, because not even Griffin seemed to entertain the idea of tearing down the tower and causing as much damage as Robin is willing to do at the end. Kuang so deftly introduces nuance into that final bit where Victoire keeps pointing out that Robin is primarily doing this revenge, he's not trying to build anything afterwards, but his violence and the destruction he causes will perhaps give other colonized people a chance to fight back. I admire Kuang's willingness to show her protagonists doing damage to what are ostensibly innocent people, and to ask us to sit with the discomfort and ask if these actions are justified in the fight against empire (also, when the bridge fell down? That was a lovely use of formatting that I think would have been so cool to see in other parts of the book. If you've got the footnotes, you might as well be as creative as possible). It's an interesting dichotomy to hold in mind. I also would love to read how these actions would stand up when there are other colonial powers just waiting in the wing (America, for one. Japan, presumably) who could over as England's powerhouse role. Or are we to read Victoire and her decision to win and survive as part of a hope and continuation of the rebellion and a hope that Robin just couldn't see after the death of Ramy? I think it's a book that lends itself to deep thinking about these ideas, and if some of them aren't particularly subtly done, I think that's fine given that I've been thinking about this book almost continuously since I finished it yesterday afternoon.
My biggest critique is the friend group sometimes felt a bit underdeveloped. There's a paragraph in the first part of the book that goes "Why had refused to see the myriad ways they could hurt each other? Why had they not paused to interrogate their differences of birth, in raising, that meant they were not and could never be on the same size." And this is a beautiful bit of writing, and is one of many passages that sort of lodged its way into my brain due to how beautiful it is. But I do think it's kind of... misleading? The only one of the group that truly hurts them and isn't on their side is Letty, who is so consistently awful and so frequently disliked by Robin, Ramy and Victoire that I truly did not believe they would continue to love her as a friend or give her the benefit of the doubt. There aren't any passages that really make you understand their continued inclusion of her as a friend. Like, for instance, Robin and Ramy have this beautiful moment after they meet where they're having a picnic and it feels so lovely and real. There's not really a moment like that with the girls and their friend group just continually feels a little underdeveloped. Letty is consistently awful, with only a few sentences stating that she is sometimes good to them off page and we never really see it. I also felt it took so, so long for Victoire to get moved to center stage, to get that friendship moment with Robin that Ramy got almost instantly. It's not really until the final act that she gets to shine or that I saw them truly care about each other as friends. Until the last act, Victoire is so frequently overshadowed by Letty and Letty's awfulness (a commentary on how much white women tend to take up space that isn't for them??). I also felt that because Letty sucked so much, it wasn't particularly shocking or as impactful as it could have been that she betrayed the group. Kuang seems to be a bit aware that the friend group needed a bit more depth, so we get the interludes that go a bit deeper into their perspectives, but I just wanted more with all of them.
.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry
Minor: Slavery, War