A review by chalkletters
Babel by R.F. Kuang

challenging tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

Babel has been an extremely hot topic at book club since it came out, and we've just been waiting for the paperback before we put it on our reading lists. I knew the main conceit going in: that Babel's magic system relies on the difference between similar words in different languages; whatever meaning of the word is left untranslated, manifests as physical reality. As a speaker of only one language, the magic system felt about as distant to me as any other magic system I can't participate in (which is to say, all of them!) but the themes of moving country at a young age are definitely ones I'm appreciative of.

R F Kuang's world building is amazing: not only is there a whole magic system grafted onto historic Oxford, there's detailed interplay between real-world history & empire and the fictionalised versions based on acquisition of silver. Even more impressive, the world is explained clearly enough for readers to follow without getting bogged down in masses of extraneous detail. While parts of the novel are necessarily exposition-heavy, it never seems to slow things down.

Despite the vastness of the world, Babel is peopled with relatively few characters: a class size of only four students in a year at Babel seems to be perfectly normal. This allows R F Kuang to focus tightly on the interpersonal relationships between the four main characters, though there's a lot going on under the surface that there's never quite time to bring to light and explore fully. R F Kuang trusts the reader to connect the dots and make their own inferences, but readers who prefer character-driven novels over plot-driven novels may wish there wasn't quite so much left unsaid.

Fortunately, the plot driving Babel is a gripping one, especially once the four students travel to Canton. It's not too much of a spoiler to say that the latter half of the story had intense The Secret History vibes, albeit with a more overt political and class struggle undermining the main action. R F Kuang's descriptions of Oxford also rival Donna Tartt's for atmosphere, though the mood captured is very different in each. 

It's a treat to kick off the year with a book that's firing on all cylinders. The only thing I can find to criticise is very much based in personal preference: early on, Babel seems like it will be a book about found family and friendship, which I love, and it does contain those things, but not in an uncomplicatedly positive way. The ending absolutely fits the novel, but perhaps doesn't entirely fit me as a reader.
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