dianapiskor 's review for:

Babylonia by Costanza Casati
5.0
adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated
BABYLONIA is an incredible read. Filled with meticulous research, incredibly written prose, and complex, dynamic characters, this story is one that is compelling and hard to put down once you start it.

The story follows Semiramis, the only recorded female ruler of Assyria. This novel is one that is inherently character driven, following Semiramis and alternating between other characters as she navigates her way through the Assyrian political world. It shows the best and worst of human nature through this lens, making the reader contemplate the ideas of legacy, its role in shaping and honing immortality, loyalty, ambition, and power. 

And, Semiramis as a character is interesting and compelling. Fighting to make it out of her simple life, a life she has never wanted, she is one that goes against society to achieve what she wants. And she does so in her own way, playing the game of politics until is she a master herself. Such a strong female character is one of the things I like most about the novel. She makes her opportunities. She does not wait and hope they appear. 

And the story and prose is gorgeous, if not a bit slow at the beginning. It does take a few chapters to get into. The story itself is gruesome a bit and devastating in its depictions (be careful if war and gore aren’t your thing), but it is told in such a beautiful way that it’s the writing itself creates the atmosphere that needs to accompany this book. 

Overall, this story is one that encapsulates what it means to be human in a world that might be stacked against you from the start and is one that makes you think. You should read this if you like beautifully written, political, feminist novels.
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