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A review by slinkmalink
Babel by R.F. Kuang
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-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? It's complicated
5.0
I seem to be reading a lot of books inspired by the British empire at the moment but it's a very interesting subject and this one was really excellent.
In terms of world-building I love magical realism and the magic of the silver was just so well integrated with the setting and the history, especially incorporating British industrial history with the imperial history bc as it says it's all connected, workers of the world unite and all that jazz. I thought oxf*rd was really well described too in terms of creating that atmosphere of the simultaneous disbelief at everything around you when you stop to actually look at it and the getting used to it being part of your life, and I could really feel Robin's whole dilemma.
I thought the characters were really fleshed out, I felt like I understood all their motivations and got a lot of insight into experiences I have not experienced anything like, and platonic love being the most important relationship is <3. in hindsight I felt like I should've but I did not see Letty's betrayal coming or her just shooting Ramy and I was very sad about it
The concept of magic in words is always good but I just loved the way it's described every time and the idea of power in those slight differences of translation and also made me want to learn a language bc it's so interesting.
Overall my fave book of the year tho (and the year is nearly done so it's probably gonna remain so)
In terms of world-building I love magical realism and the magic of the silver was just so well integrated with the setting and the history, especially incorporating British industrial history with the imperial history bc as it says it's all connected, workers of the world unite and all that jazz. I thought oxf*rd was really well described too in terms of creating that atmosphere of the simultaneous disbelief at everything around you when you stop to actually look at it and the getting used to it being part of your life, and I could really feel Robin's whole dilemma.
I thought the characters were really fleshed out, I felt like I understood all their motivations and got a lot of insight into experiences I have not experienced anything like, and platonic love being the most important relationship is <3.
The concept of magic in words is always good but I just loved the way it's described every time and the idea of power in those slight differences of translation and also made me want to learn a language bc it's so interesting.
Overall my fave book of the year tho (and the year is nearly done so it's probably gonna remain so)
Content Warnings
Moderate: Colonisation and Death
Minor: Racism, Racial slurs, and Addiction