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A review by faeriepouts
Babel by R.F. Kuang
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
i feel like it's impossible to give babel below 5 stars. it was not perfect, but the experience of reading babel was a full-filled delight i couldn't find anywhere else. i think unconsciously, i've been craving for this kind of book. where language mattered more than just for daily communication. but for some people babel would feel boring, or some sorts. most of the story talks about languages like you're in a class. we learned as the characters learned too.
the magic system was perfect, bc it served the main point of the book. language was not something you see and think it has much power, at surface level, you couldn't see, unless to people who make it matter. but the magic system was a way for people who couldn't see, to see. now we could see it at surface level that it holds power.
robin as the main character and as a narrator was.. strangely endearing. he was indecisive, esp for half of the book? i think? where he contemplated between oxford or his hometown, found ways where he could walk between two beliefs, his lovers-to-enemies relationship with oxford / babel to then until the realization of reality hits him. it was as if he was making up his mind as he went with us [at least, me]. the found family trope! yes! though since it's kuang and i'm still traumatized after tpw, i built a wall as i read so that when the characters meet an unfortunate ending, i'd not be destroyed.. which i think i didn't do a good job bc i AM destroyed. war was hell. we knew from the very beginning that it would not end well. kuang is really good at telling us that it'd doom us all.
and for GOD'S sake, it did. and i HATED it.the ending reminding me so much of the burning god's ending??? i felt like.. wait, i have felt this kind of feeling. for sometime i wondered why i hated the ending? i think.. now i sort of know why. this ending was a reality. it was so close to the now-reality that it hurts to think of it. i didn't hate it bc i think it'd have a better ending, i hated it because it was the truth. it was like, see. this was it. they will never bend. they were too proud of themselves to do it. because even if they lost everything, pride remained intact was all they care. it was exactly just like what letty said. robin didn't sacrificed himself solely for his kind, it was almost a selfish act. because he didn't see any other way out. not just bc ramy died. he simply didn't see a world where he would not be judged and determined by race and color, or class. bc there'll always be some damned people, as long as the world remains, who will not see what people like robin see. it was a simple truth. that nothing will change.
i may come back when i remember something but for now this will do.
the magic system was perfect, bc it served the main point of the book. language was not something you see and think it has much power, at surface level, you couldn't see, unless to people who make it matter. but the magic system was a way for people who couldn't see, to see. now we could see it at surface level that it holds power.
robin as the main character and as a narrator was.. strangely endearing. he was indecisive, esp for half of the book? i think? where he contemplated between oxford or his hometown, found ways where he could walk between two beliefs, his lovers-to-enemies relationship with oxford / babel to then until the realization of reality hits him. it was as if he was making up his mind as he went with us [at least, me]. the found family trope! yes! though since it's kuang and i'm still traumatized after tpw, i built a wall as i read so that when the characters meet an unfortunate ending, i'd not be destroyed.. which i think i didn't do a good job bc i AM destroyed. war was hell. we knew from the very beginning that it would not end well. kuang is really good at telling us that it'd doom us all.
and for GOD'S sake, it did. and i HATED it.
i may come back when i remember something but for now this will do.