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gigireadswithkiki 's review for:
Katabasis
by R.F. Kuang
challenging
dark
informative
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
One of the book community's most anticipated read this year, it's rare to find someone who hasn't heard of all the buzz surrounding "Katabasis". The literary world's darling, R. F. Kuang, back in her academia element after the titular success of Babel, and as someone who has immortalized Babel into their skin, I was curious how "Katabasis" would land for me. I had heard mixed review ranging from those who found the story insightful & astute, to those who found the main character annoying and grating. In a way, this story is something new for Kuang, a character arc that explores romance, a topic that Kuang has usually strayed from in her other stories, choosing to merely hint at touches of romance here and there. And though I do appreciate when authors make attempts to try new things, "Katabasis" felt like too close to Kuang simply dipping their toes in as opposed to committing wholeheartedly into romance, and while I found other aspects of the story enjoyable, there are many ways in which this book misses it's mark entirely for me.
Chiefly, I argue against the idea that "Katabasis" is NOT Kuang's attempt at a romance story. A large majority of obstacles within the story serve to further the relationship between Alice and Peter or to uncover more of the secrets of their past relationship. The miscommunication, or lack of communication, from both characters both in their past and in their hellish present is the main propelling force for the tension between these characters, and the resolution of this communication is wholeheartedly one of the main theses in this book.
With that said, is it a good romance? Absolutely not, and the reason why is three fold. First, the angst & yearning felt by Alice is incredibly dry, displayed through moments of the dialogue stating her feelings toward Peter, without any actionable items that show her feelings.
Second, it is transparently clear that Kuang looks upon the romance genre with a level of pretentious derision. This is seen both from her attempt to force a handful of lazy, slap-dash romance tropes into the plot (just one bed, enemies to lovers, second chance romance, he falls first, to name a few) and also from the way in which she condescendingly talks about romance stories through Elspeth. It almost feels as if the writing is making a mockery of the romance genre in the way it flaunts a half-baked trope scene as a means of showing how "easy" it is to write romance, when in reality the art of romance writing is insurmountably difficult, for how do you put into words full breadth of what it means to love?
And third, the miscommunication in romance is a high-stakes tool to create conflict that furthers the relationship growth; in Katabasis, the miscommunication certainly leads to high-stakes situations for Alice & Peter, but Kuang offers the resolution to these events far too easily, in a way that utter deflates all tension and suspense. For a book that centers around a journey into the depths of Hell, it never feels like the stakes are actually life-and-death, removing any sense of urgency or danger from the protagonist's quest, which in turn leads to a story that tends to drag along without purpose.
And third, the miscommunication in romance is a high-stakes tool to create conflict that furthers the relationship growth; in Katabasis, the miscommunication certainly leads to high-stakes situations for Alice & Peter, but Kuang offers the resolution to these events far too easily, in a way that utter deflates all tension and suspense. For a book that centers around a journey into the depths of Hell, it never feels like the stakes are actually life-and-death, removing any sense of urgency or danger from the protagonist's quest, which in turn leads to a story that tends to drag along without purpose.
Now having said that, I will say that I wholeheartedly enjoyed Alice as the main character. I dispute the idea that her personality is "annoying"; she is a character that has been, and still is, traumatized through the hands of Professor Grimes, her unrelenting drive/sacrifice for academic validation is a mirror of Kuang's past fantasy protagonists, her character was an blatant and authentic depiction of being on the ace spectrum, shown through moments of her casual derision toward the idea of sex and romantic relationships as a whole, and her dry personality is the direct result of all of these foundational characteristics. If anything, her flaws allow a level of humanization that is glaringly absent in Peter, who's defining characteristic is a secret sob story told in a manner that feels almost ableist in it's attempts to draw empathy toward his pathetic existence, and it's incredibly difficult to understand this appeal.
Further, while I feel that Kuang's usual "wandering prose" style of topic diversions is interesting, I don't think it works for a story like Katabasis, especially with the character relationships she attempts to establish. The story refuses to engage with backstory through dialogue, instead choosing to divert entire conversations midway to forcefully shove a tangent on the context of the subject. Alice never organically discuss matters in the past, which became increasingly more obvious as the story persisted. As a result, Alice FEELS like a very passive and sullen and moody character, but the root of the issue is in the way that Kuang writes her character. The way a person talks to their love interest about obstacles in their journey is a helpful tool in building connection and establishing feelings, but it feels Kuang sees herself as above that in Katabasis.
I did enjoy the vividly horrific details that Kuang has chosen to include in the more gory environments and scenes inside her version of hell, but Alice is the main reason I enjoyed this book in any capacity. Kuang's pattern of mistrusting readers to understand the point of her stories has never been more blatant, and I feel like this story was also a sorely missed opportunity to discuss the intersection of gender and race in white academic spaces. Finally, it's almost embarrassing how this story references Greek mythos and yet substitutes a persimmon for Persephone's pomegranate, and conflates Hades with Thanatos! Truly, every person who is recommending a read of Virgil or Ovid or some other pretentious, dry book prior to reading Katabasis is simply wrong, even Kuang cites incorrectly, so it truly does not matter. All in all, I would rate Katabasis above Yellowface in my scale of all of Kuang's books, but I fear nothing will hit the mark quite like The Poppy War trilogy did.