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A review by jessicamusch
Babel by R.F. Kuang
adventurous
challenging
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I wanted to love this so much... But it just wasn't great.
The premise is so excellent - a retelling of the Opium Wars set in dark academia, with many footnotes blending fact and fiction.
However, Kuang forgets who her audience is and perhaps doesn't trust us to draw our own inferences. The fact that British = bad is so overstated that it gets a little tiring - hello?! I have decided to read this book. I agree that colonialism was(is) terrible. But I don't need it repeated in almost every footnote. I think it would have been more effective to have footnotes contain only facts, and let the audience (or even the main narrative) work out that what happened was unjust/racist/self-serving ect.
What I liked - overall premise, use of footnotes, setting, relationships between main characters
What I didn't like - over-explaining, quick movement between plot points
I won't let this make me give up on Kuang, as I adored Yellowface, but I guess I'm just disappointed as I was so keen for this
The premise is so excellent - a retelling of the Opium Wars set in dark academia, with many footnotes blending fact and fiction.
However, Kuang forgets who her audience is and perhaps doesn't trust us to draw our own inferences. The fact that British = bad is so overstated that it gets a little tiring - hello?! I have decided to read this book. I agree that colonialism was(is) terrible. But I don't need it repeated in almost every footnote. I think it would have been more effective to have footnotes contain only facts, and let the audience (or even the main narrative) work out that what happened was unjust/racist/self-serving ect.
What I liked - overall premise, use of footnotes, setting, relationships between main characters
What I didn't like - over-explaining, quick movement between plot points
I won't let this make me give up on Kuang, as I adored Yellowface, but I guess I'm just disappointed as I was so keen for this