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A review by hedsek
Babel by R.F. Kuang
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
I found this book really gripping, amazingly well written and super insightful. The whole idea of the silver working and the role language plays in it is really interesting and also appeals to me personally as a linguist, and it was clearly very well researched. The overall treatment of how people respond to oppression was also well thought out and I thought it was gripping to read about the different ways in which the main characters dealt with it. However, one thing I really disliked about this book were the footnotes. They served many different goals and it was very unclear from what perspective they were meant. I feel like they also implied that the author didn't really trust readers to understand the difference between fiction and reality and sometimes even that certain racist views expressed by characters are indeed racist and not factually true. This was mostly in the beginning of the book, though, and it did not take away from my enjoyment of the rest of the book.
Graphic: Colonisation, Death, Suicide, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Torture, Violence, Grief, Racism, and Child abuse
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Toxic friendship, Drug use, Classism, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Gaslighting, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Blood, Slavery, and War
Minor: Bullying, Confinement, Panic attacks/disorders, Deportation, Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, Medical content, and Islamophobia