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A review by 16daviseli
Babel by R.F. Kuang

dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Gorgeous writing. The characters feel alive. Diverse and broad as they are. The setting is, of course, magical- it's Oxford! And the ending is heartbreaking. I feel so much but, as with translation, what I feel lies in-between words and experience. If only I had a silver bar...
 This book does delve into many hard topics, slavery, colonisation, grief/death and suicide to name a few. All of these graphic and raw. I personally found the flowing writing made it easier for me to read these parts, but a warning remains all the same.
 For myself, as well, I woulf have liked, despite all five hundred pages, more! But I think its one of those books which hands the ending to you, the reader to imagine. There's something beautiful in that, no? 

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