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madeleinen 's review for:
Katabasis
by R.F. Kuang
Finally, R.F. Kuang and I met in the middle. I really, really enjoyed this book. Kuang's writing is just fantastic. Here it's all easy reading, gorgeous and evocative descriptions, effortless timeline hopping, engaging and interesting info-dumping, simple yet profound character moments, etc. etc. Definitely more Ninth House + Babel than Piranesi, and you definitely don't have to do any homework to understand the many references scattered throughout. For those who enjoy a slower pace, medium to heavy trauma, a simple romance, and a steady stream of oh? really?? moments in your journey through hell.
Intellectualism is not inherently bad, nor do I think that's the point Kuang is trying to make through her criticisms of (elite, Western, British) academia. An author referencing (and explaining!) texts like Dante's Inferno or philosophers like Nietzsche and Freud is not trying to pull the rug out from under you. Intertextuality is stimulating and exciting when you let it be, and this book is all the better for it!
And let it be known I gasped out loud in relief when peter was saved.
Intellectualism is not inherently bad, nor do I think that's the point Kuang is trying to make through her criticisms of (elite, Western, British) academia. An author referencing (and explaining!) texts like Dante's Inferno or philosophers like Nietzsche and Freud is not trying to pull the rug out from under you. Intertextuality is stimulating and exciting when you let it be, and this book is all the better for it!