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A review by sunnys_library
Babel: An Arcane History by R.F. Kuang
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
5.0
This book left me speechless! It was so complex but easy to read at the same time (which i think it is a huhe plus). I love that Kuang made this an accessible read. Think about academic papers and how difficult they are (they are MADE difficult to read), so making this book with such important themes and topics accessible and easy to read just puts this book on a higher rating.
Of course we are all going to talk about the history and politics that this book touches upon but I also want to bring up the literary aspects of it. The pacing, for instance, was great. It traps the reader as our main character matures and goes through different stages of his education. We learn with him, so we don't feel alone in the academia side (i think a lot of dark academia books are hard to read because they are so heavy on the academia without a clear purpose). Here, there is purpose, there is motive for all that the characters are doing.
The friendship, wow. This was an amazing literary aspect of the book. You fall in live with the characters, you empathize, you see their struggles and you cry for them. There is a lot to unpack about each character and what makes them so special for this narrative.
Of course we are all going to talk about the history and politics that this book touches upon but I also want to bring up the literary aspects of it. The pacing, for instance, was great. It traps the reader as our main character matures and goes through different stages of his education. We learn with him, so we don't feel alone in the academia side (i think a lot of dark academia books are hard to read because they are so heavy on the academia without a clear purpose). Here, there is purpose, there is motive for all that the characters are doing.
The friendship, wow. This was an amazing literary aspect of the book. You fall in live with the characters, you empathize, you see their struggles and you cry for them. There is a lot to unpack about each character and what makes them so special for this narrative.