Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

Babel: Una historia arcana by R.F. Kuang

697 reviews

laffi's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• 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

4.5

Great work, but I saw about every plot twist coming miles ago

I predicted that

Ramy would die

at the start of the book, I saw the

Griffin/Anthony/Evie/Sterling history

,

Lovell being Robins father

,

Babel being destroyed by the translate-silver-work

, and many more.

Great book nevertheless

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Blood, Grief, Murder, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Bullying, Gun violence, Misogyny, Slavery, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Vomit, Antisemitism, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Death of parent, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Deportation

teawitchontravel's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Deportation

Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Slavery, Death of parent, and Deportation

Minor: Vomit, Antisemitism, Car accident, and Alcohol

bedtimesnack's review against another edition

inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

• 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

4.25

If you were a fan of Harry Potter as a kid, reading Babel might scratch the itch for some magic/dark academia vibes. I was engaged with the plot the whole time, and the magic system was unique and well thought through. I would say the book's biggest fault is that it serves answers and interpretation a bit too readily. Themes of colonialism and racism are handled more openly as part of the plot and dialogue, so there's not a whole lot of poetic subtly going on. If you like to decipher meaning and plot yourself, you might not find what you're looking for with this book. 

That being said, R.F. Kuang does handle the themes well, and portrays several viewpoints on assimilation, resistance, microaggressions, and class consciousness from multiple characters of color. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Death of parent, Murder, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Toxic friendship, War, and Classism

sangsmiles's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Torture, Xenophobia, Murder, and Colonisation

Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Cultural appropriation, and Sexual harassment

pirola's review against another edition

challenging dark informative inspiring mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Colonisation, and War

Moderate: Racial slurs, Sexism, Slavery, Islamophobia, Death of parent, Murder, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Child abuse

cglauser's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Racism, and Colonisation

Moderate: Child abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

mo_bookshelves's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense

• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, and Slavery

sabrinazj's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• 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

"The problem is we're always living like we've lost."

Once again, R. F. Kuang writes a handbook full of retorts and counterarguments for the reader to use against those in denial of the realities of colonialism and racism. This is one for the academics, the students, and the multilinguals. Smart, witty, beyond creative, and utterly enjoyable!! Her books read fast. 

Huge character development. And one of the most DEVASTATING deaths I've ever read

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Hate crime, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Death of parent, and Murder

Minor: Death, Racial slurs, Sexism, and Sexual harassment

sunshinemoth's review against another edition

dark reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicide, Xenophobia, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Hate crime, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Addiction, Islamophobia, and Sexual harassment

forestfloor's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

An absolute triumph.

I had high expectations after reading Yellowface, and still, I was totally blown away. Babel is an exquisite read. 

I don't even know where to start, every detail was executed brilliantly. Even the layout - the way the footnotes were used, the quotes at the beginning of chapters - it all added so much to the richness of the story. 

The characters were so real and fleshed out, their emotions so tangible, and they inspired and challenged me in turn. 

And the world building! I felt I could have stepped into the pages and known exactly how to find my way around. The concept of silver-working was so delightfully natural in world, and so incredibly well researched. I kept feeling the need to pause and appreciate the amount of work this must've taken. And yet it didn't feel like hard work to read. I was entranced. 

It was tragic - devastating, and so, so beautiful. And somehow, all this detail, this richness, the people I met on the pages, they all crystallised, and I had something hard and important in my palms.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Racism, Xenophobia, and Colonisation

Moderate: Sexism, War, and Classism