Review by paduckling - Babel

paduckling 's review for:

Babel by R.F. Kuang

4.75

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Thematically, this is one of the best books I’ve ever read. The use of language as fuel for colonialism is just so brilliant. Kuang is truly brilliant. However, I feel like this book could have been virtually perfect if it had just had some more editing. The pace felt off a lot, particularly in the third act. I absolutely know that Kuang can write compelling scenes and characters but a good amount felt lackluster. The misuse of a few words throughout the book also felt especially glaring considering the novel’s premise. I also felt that trying to write it as an academic book was 1) inconsistent and 2) got in the way of good characterization. The four main characters had such good bones to them but in the end I didn’t find them as compelling as I wanted to. It’s just ultimately disappointing how stunning this book is for many aspects but falls flat in others for me personally.

Content Warnings