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A review by kingofthehillxl
Babel by R.F. Kuang
tense
medium-paced
5.0
The very late Babel review no one was waiting for!
I am the target audience for this book. I think my favorite part of this book is the subtext. As soon as I found out what year it was I knew a key component of the narrative that added a weight to all of R. F. Kuang’s decisions that broke me to my core by the end. I find the things Kuang doesn’t say in relation to history to be profoundly effective. As researched as the novel is I can only imagine those certain omissions to be intentional. There’s a point in the novel when you realize there are only so many ways a novel like this with no sequel can end.
Babel is extremely transparent in it’s unflinching look at colonialism. I find that I personally appreciate a lot of the things I’ve heard other people dislike about this novel. I think the characters felt real to me. I sometimes feel characters can come across over internalized, but in Babel like I find in my real life, a lot of the nuisance lives in silence. Is Babel a perfect novel? I’m sure in time some of the criticisms might ring true to me, but for now, I think I’m comfortable saying that nothing in the book overtly bothered me. I’ve read so many books recently, that you’d think criticism to come easily, but I cannot venture one substantial. Even as I think on something like, “should there have been more magic,” to me Babel’s use its own magic system is a vehicle for the colonial crimes, so in a sense I think it uses its magic system more as a way to lift the text above what is otherwise historical fiction.
I cannot underscore how masterful I think historical background is used here. There are so many notes written throughout, yet nothing that alludes to the very real looming war that is happening in our parallel reality. It almost punctuates the ending of the novel in a way that adds an immense meaning to every conversation. This along with the way all of these contradictions come together in our main character created at times a powerful allegory for me.
Against the backdrop of recent literary rollercoaster I have to admit Babel stands out for me amongst the pack.
I am the target audience for this book. I think my favorite part of this book is the subtext. As soon as I found out what year it was I knew a key component of the narrative that added a weight to all of R. F. Kuang’s decisions that broke me to my core by the end. I find the things Kuang doesn’t say in relation to history to be profoundly effective. As researched as the novel is I can only imagine those certain omissions to be intentional. There’s a point in the novel when you realize there are only so many ways a novel like this with no sequel can end.
Babel is extremely transparent in it’s unflinching look at colonialism. I find that I personally appreciate a lot of the things I’ve heard other people dislike about this novel. I think the characters felt real to me. I sometimes feel characters can come across over internalized, but in Babel like I find in my real life, a lot of the nuisance lives in silence. Is Babel a perfect novel? I’m sure in time some of the criticisms might ring true to me, but for now, I think I’m comfortable saying that nothing in the book overtly bothered me. I’ve read so many books recently, that you’d think criticism to come easily, but I cannot venture one substantial. Even as I think on something like, “should there have been more magic,” to me Babel’s use its own magic system is a vehicle for the colonial crimes, so in a sense I think it uses its magic system more as a way to lift the text above what is otherwise historical fiction.
I cannot underscore how masterful I think historical background is used here. There are so many notes written throughout, yet nothing that alludes to the very real looming war that is happening in our parallel reality. It almost punctuates the ending of the novel in a way that adds an immense meaning to every conversation. This along with the way all of these contradictions come together in our main character created at times a powerful allegory for me.
Against the backdrop of recent literary rollercoaster I have to admit Babel stands out for me amongst the pack.