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A review by songmingi
Babel by R.F. Kuang
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
5.0
I avoided reading this book for so long because I wanted to savour it. In a way, it felt like a book written specifically for me. A fantasy book full of history and knowledge on languages and the British Empire written by one of my favourite authors. I can understand how some readers may find all the historical and technical information about languages included tiring but that is exactly where my heart lies. I LOVED IT. Kuang's writing was as I expected a pleasure to read, easy to comprehend yet impactful.
There are so many important discussions in this book about colonialism and violence, about how colonialism devasted many nations and bonded its victims together in a sorrowful link. How Britain's own citizens ultimately did not benefit from its empire if they were not part of the elite or wealthy. These concepts are all discussed through a cohort you grow to love and root for. The writing was so soft and vivid, it felt like I spent days with them at Oxford. Robin, Ramy and Victoire are my darlings. I connected with them in their pursuit of following their passions in a world that values only their skills but not them as individuals. As a South Asian person, I saw so much of myself in Ramy, even his Muslim faith was so beautifully represented.
In terms of the fantasy I loved the silver bar system, it was interesting and unique. However, I think for other fantasy readers the amount of fantasy throughout the book itself may be disappointing as I think the story is more about Robin and the cohort navigating their identity and position in the empire rather than being about pure magic.
Nonetheless I just really enjoyed my time reading this book, it was well worth the wait.
There are so many important discussions in this book about colonialism and violence, about how colonialism devasted many nations and bonded its victims together in a sorrowful link. How Britain's own citizens ultimately did not benefit from its empire if they were not part of the elite or wealthy. These concepts are all discussed through a cohort you grow to love and root for. The writing was so soft and vivid, it felt like I spent days with them at Oxford. Robin, Ramy and Victoire are my darlings. I connected with them in their pursuit of following their passions in a world that values only their skills but not them as individuals. As a South Asian person, I saw so much of myself in Ramy, even his Muslim faith was so beautifully represented.
In terms of the fantasy I loved the silver bar system, it was interesting and unique. However, I think for other fantasy readers the amount of fantasy throughout the book itself may be disappointing as I think the story is more about Robin and the cohort navigating their identity and position in the empire rather than being about pure magic.
Nonetheless I just really enjoyed my time reading this book, it was well worth the wait.