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bibliobrittish 's review for:
Katabasis
by R.F. Kuang
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It's RF Kuang - prepare for TRAUMA (but like in a good - though violent and messy and terrifying - healing way)! This book was in no way what I expected, and it was better for it.
Katabasis follows Kuang's prior writing in that it utterly lambasts the world of academia, but through the eyes of an unreliable narrator who has yet to accept how much they've been hurt. Alice is a delightfully analytic and single-minded narrator, and her sojourn into hell so beautifully mirrors her own journey in understanding the human condition and what it means to really live. Peter is the ultimate absent-minded cinnamon roll, and I adored the Crohn's rep later on in his story. Also, there's a cat named Archimedes who may have stolen the entire show.
Though I am not overly familiar with some of the source content (ie Dante & Virgil), it's clear how much research went into crafting this tale of the circles of hell, how many versions and cultures were referenced with utmost respect. Cambridge, too, was rendered in such a way as to be specific, while also able to represent a slew of similar environments. Each character has a back story that is not only thoroughly plotted, but also incredibly relevant to Alice's self-discovery in a way that never feels like pandering.
Though I got a bit bogged down by the constant back and forth between flashback and present moment (without much forward plot movement) in the center of the book, the propulsive ending more than made up for the slippery pacing.
I will note that this tome grapples HEAVILY with suicide and emotional abuse as the characters come to grips with what has been done to them by their professor. There are whole chapters in which the narrator simply contemplates her own ending and the way others have approached theirs.
Ultimately though, Katabasis transforms into a story of human kindness and deftly balances the dark and light of what life has to offer.
Katabasis follows Kuang's prior writing in that it utterly lambasts the world of academia, but through the eyes of an unreliable narrator who has yet to accept how much they've been hurt. Alice is a delightfully analytic and single-minded narrator, and her sojourn into hell so beautifully mirrors her own journey in understanding the human condition and what it means to really live. Peter is the ultimate absent-minded cinnamon roll, and I adored the Crohn's rep later on in his story. Also, there's a cat named Archimedes who may have stolen the entire show.
Though I am not overly familiar with some of the source content (ie Dante & Virgil), it's clear how much research went into crafting this tale of the circles of hell, how many versions and cultures were referenced with utmost respect. Cambridge, too, was rendered in such a way as to be specific, while also able to represent a slew of similar environments. Each character has a back story that is not only thoroughly plotted, but also incredibly relevant to Alice's self-discovery in a way that never feels like pandering.
Though I got a bit bogged down by the constant back and forth between flashback and present moment (without much forward plot movement) in the center of the book, the propulsive ending more than made up for the slippery pacing.
I will note that this tome grapples HEAVILY with suicide and emotional abuse as the characters come to grips with what has been done to them by their professor. There are whole chapters in which the narrator simply contemplates her own ending and the way others have approached theirs.
Ultimately though, Katabasis transforms into a story of human kindness and deftly balances the dark and light of what life has to offer.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical trauma, Murder, Injury/Injury detail