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deedubb's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
griffin_7's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Deportation
lil_bokchoy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Xenophobia, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Colonisation
giulianalb99's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
El mensaje que quiere transmitir la autora con este libro sí que me ha parecido súper bueno, además que en el libro ves cómo los personajes son tratados y estereotipados por sus razas/colores de piel, así como una misoginia tremenda hacia las mujeres que, por desgracia, aún sigue pasando. Los personajes me han encantado, sobretodo Victoire y Ramy, y me encanta cómo la autora ha plasmado a Letty para representar lo que una persona blanca nunca podría llegar a entender (la razón por la cual llevaron a cabo el desmantelamiento de los planes que tenían entre manos los profesores de Babel con respecto a China) básicamente porque nunca ha tenido que pasar por racismo.
Aunque yo tenía otras expectativas, no es un libro para nada malo, pero ha habido veces que se me ha hecho insufrible, y no es hasta más de la mitad del libro que empiezan a pasar cosas interesantes. Lo del tema de la traducción me ha parecido bastante interesante, eso sí. A eso me refiero a lo de mi relación toxica, porque me parece un libro súper pesado pero que está increíblemente escrito.
Por supuesto, leeré más libros de R. F. Kuang. La verdad sea dicha: ella es increíble.
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The toxic relationship I have with this book is inexplicable. I bought it because of all the hype it had and from the synopsis it seemed like a pretty interesting book. It took me a while to get to it because I had other books on my tbr, but after a few months, I was finally able to read it. The truth is that the author writes incredibly well, her pen is amazing. I know perfectly well that it is a historical fiction book but I had been told that it was a a dark academia with a lot of magic (Harry Potter-ish vibes) but it wasn’t like that at all. On some occasions it even seemed like I was reading my high school history book and the truth is that that disappointed me a bit, since magic appears much less than I thought and honestly, there’s information that could have been omitted from the book (because, in my opinion, it had more pages than needed) and it could’ve been much shorter.
The message that the author wants to transmit with this book is incredible, in addition to the fact that in the book you see how the characters are treated and stereotyped because of their race/skin color, as well as a tremendous misogyny towards women which unfortunately it's still happening. I loved almost all the characters, especially Victoire and Ramy, and I love how the author wrote Letty to represent what a white person could never understand (the reason why they carried out the dismantling of the plans of the Babel professors regarding China) basically because they’ve never had to go through racism.
Although I had other expectations, it's not a bad book at all, but there were times when I found it insufferable, and it's not until more than halfway through the book that interesting things start to happen. However, all the translation stuff was quite interesting to me. That's what I mean about my toxic relationship with it, because it’s such a dense book but it's incredibly written.
Of course, I will read more books by R. F. Kuang. Truth be told: she is amazing.
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Islamophobia, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, War, and Classism
Moderate: Suicide attempt and Alcohol
Minor: Drug use
kayfab's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and Classism
evanmcomer's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
To be sure, this is not a happy story. Babel is not Hogwarts. And while the book is beautifully written, it is tragic, historically accurate, and unfair to the characters that I grew to love while reading it. But that’s precisely what makes Kuang’s work so compelling. It interrogates and problematizes the tropes, settings, and characters that we take for granted as readers of fantasy.
Graphic: Mental illness, Racism, and Suicide
edgaranjapoe's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Death, Racism, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, and Classism
Moderate: Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Sexism, Slavery, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Deportation
Minor: Addiction, Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Trafficking, Mass/school shootings, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Dysphoria
winterwoodbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
One of my favorite books of all time, this feels like my soul.
For everyone who loves Addie LaRue!
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Classism, and Deportation
peonydancer's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
As for what I didn't like; I think due to other reviews, I expected to cry and feel super emotional about the ending of the book. But honestly, besides
The one thing I TRULY didn't like was how stereotypical the final embodiment of villainy ended up being. As in, having
I would suggest an air of caution in taking the message of this book and applying it to the real world now.
That's my review - highly recommend this book.
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Xenophobia, Gaslighting, Colonisation, and Classism
Moderate: Child abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, and War
lokes's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Transphobia, Forced institutionalization, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, War, Classism, and Deportation
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail