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A review by aksmith92
Babel by R.F. Kuang
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
medium-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
4.5
I've never read a book like Babel - a story of Robin, who left was abducted from his childhood home in China and assimilated into late 19th century Britain to study language at the prestigious Babel at Oxford University. I loved how Kuang blended fiction and nonfiction, all while incorporating a bit of fantasy. It was so intriguing and thought-provoking. I LOVED learning about language and seeing the students of the Babel cohort work through incredibly challenging translations. It was clear Kuang researched and strategically planned those words throughout this novel. It was such an interesting take on academia and, of course, the problematic socioeconomic and demographic biases that spread throughout Britain (and other parts of the world) during this time.
I've seen a lot of reviews, particularly those of the 1-2 range, where folks were upset that this seemed to be a book about "hating white people." Where, if Kuang wrote the characters out of hatred, you were essentially "supposed to" hate the characters too - they all had some insidious story arc, and they were likely white. I didn't feel this way and understood where Kuang came from. This novel was set in the 1830s folks; slavery had barely been abolished (in the UK). If anything, it was actually more unrealistic to me that Babel would let in students of color to begin with, even when they knew those from other countries could speak their language better. I genuinely think that Kuang packed in real aggression and micro-aggression around race into this novel, which made sense. While I did feel her main characters outside of Robin were made somewhat one-dimensional, fitting the purpose of a mold she wanted to convey, I will say that I think part of the purpose of this novel was to highlight the white fragility some of the reviewers are feeling right now. In reality, we are supposed to be uncomfortable. There were indeed no white saviors here, and I think that was the dang point.
I paused at giving this a 5/5, instead giving it a 4.5/5 - why? (1) As a VERY non-academic person, I struggled with the footnotes. It might not be a problem for you, but it was sometimes challenging for me, and (2) like some others, I did feel like the fantasy element of this novel fell a bit flat. I get it; there were other priorities, and the more important tie of the fantasy element was to the actual output - how it relates to racism and discrimination.
This book is NOT a pick-me-up, either, but that didn't generally sway my review. Babel was incredibly memorable and brilliant. I loved it a ton.
I've seen a lot of reviews, particularly those of the 1-2 range, where folks were upset that this seemed to be a book about "hating white people." Where, if Kuang wrote the characters out of hatred, you were essentially "supposed to" hate the characters too - they all had some insidious story arc, and they were likely white. I didn't feel this way and understood where Kuang came from. This novel was set in the 1830s folks; slavery had barely been abolished (in the UK). If anything, it was actually more unrealistic to me that Babel would let in students of color to begin with, even when they knew those from other countries could speak their language better. I genuinely think that Kuang packed in real aggression and micro-aggression around race into this novel, which made sense. While I did feel her main characters outside of Robin were made somewhat one-dimensional, fitting the purpose of a mold she wanted to convey, I will say that I think part of the purpose of this novel was to highlight the white fragility some of the reviewers are feeling right now. In reality, we are supposed to be uncomfortable. There were indeed no white saviors here, and I think that was the dang point.
I paused at giving this a 5/5, instead giving it a 4.5/5 - why? (1) As a VERY non-academic person, I struggled with the footnotes. It might not be a problem for you, but it was sometimes challenging for me, and (2) like some others, I did feel like the fantasy element of this novel fell a bit flat. I get it; there were other priorities, and the more important tie of the fantasy element was to the actual output - how it relates to racism and discrimination.
This book is NOT a pick-me-up, either, but that didn't generally sway my review. Babel was incredibly memorable and brilliant. I loved it a ton.