chiwirite'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
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, Suicide, Racism, Classism, Death, and Drug use
Moderate: Alcoholism, Racial slurs, War, Pandemic/Epidemic, Blood, Bullying, Xenophobia, Violence, Drug abuse, Child abuse, Murder, Gun violence, Grief, Deportation, Addiction, Slavery, and Sexism
slinders'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
5.0
Graphic: War, Classism, Colonisation, Murder, Xenophobia, Death, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, Racism, Racial slurs, and Violence
Moderate: Bullying, Cursing, Deportation, Hate crime, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Genocide, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Bullying, Child abuse, Torture, and Abandonment
elenaluisa'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
5.0
Graphic: Murder, Blood, Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, Colonisation, Classism, Deportation, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Gaslighting, Violence, Racism, Misogyny, Bullying, Classism, Death, Death of parent, War, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Cultural appropriation, Emotional abuse, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, and Xenophobia
spineofthesaurus's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Child abuse, Blood, Colonisation, Violence, Xenophobia, Classism, Death of parent, Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Medical trauma, War, Body horror, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Sexual harassment, Suicide, Torture, Emotional abuse, Murder, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Cultural appropriation, Genocide, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, Homophobia, Mass/school shootings, Misogyny, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Abandonment, Deportation, Islamophobia, Medical content, Slavery, Terminal illness, Ableism, Child death, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Drug use, Kidnapping, Sexism, and Trafficking
Minor: Excrement, Infidelity, Car accident, Alcoholism, and Addiction
gen_wolfhailstorm'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
5.0
Where do I begin. This was perfection in a novel... Bold words, I know.
This straight away reminded me of a recent read, being Jonathan strange and Mr norrel in tone, but I would say more accessible, which is funny because one of the main things I loved about this novel was how academic this was. I've always liked the idea of dark academia but always thought I'd struggle to understand the information, (probably why I leaned away from this for so long), but it was so reader friendly in its prose and so fascinating that I couldn't help pour over every word. It was so surprisingly easy to read that I barely minded the lack of consistent short chapters.
As well as being visceral in the vibe of the genre, it wasn't shy on having substance.
The plot was thick and intricate, with threads of conspiracies and beautiful detailing on the science behind silver-working (the magic system in this world). The conversations on interpretation, colonialism, building into a corrupt Empire was just so powerful to read about.
The victorian setting was lush, filled with jaw dropping descriptions of an imagined Oxford in what you could call this alternate history, and the early tour of the Institue of Language itself was fascinating.
Speaking of language, the etymology was so thorough, fascinating and deep. I loved seeing how different languages connected, and in this case, paired together to create something quite magical, yet equally dangerous in the wrong (and of course, powerful) hands.
Our characters..Oh what can I say that hasn'y been said before?
I Ioved the friendship demonstrated here, especially between Robin and Ramy. Seeing our main four characters explore Babel from their varying and diverse perspectives and as novice scholars of language was such a delight.
I appreciated getting interludes of the other threes upbringing and history, because the story is mainly told from Robin's perspective, so it was nice to change it up a bit and appreciate a bit more of the other characters. Even if we didn't have that, I could never accuse Robin, Ramy, Victoire and Letty of being flat characters. They felt real.
The whole time, pacing was brilliant. This was especially noticed at times when I was listening to the audio.
I feel like I learned so much during my time in this world. I'm left heartbroken and in awe at the sheer aduacity of excellence R.F. Kuang had in crafting this whole piece together. Coming into this as the first novel I've read from this author, I now understand that all the praise is well deserved and I look forward to trying out her other novels.
A note on the audio - the voices and accents the narrator could flit between was so impressive. He sounded like a BBC news reporter for the first time, but this was quite endearing as time went on.
I loved blended reading this one (physical and audio). It felt like my own little match-pair.
Graphic: Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Racism, Gaslighting, Xenophobia, Hate crime, Suicide attempt, Trafficking, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Torture, War, Colonisation, Misogyny, Toxic friendship, Child abuse, Classism, Death of parent, Deportation, Religious bigotry, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief, Death, Slavery, Blood, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Racial slurs, Bullying, Cultural appropriation, and Cursing
Minor: Alcohol, Car accident, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, and Addiction
black_cat_iiix'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: Racial slurs, Racism, and Colonisation
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Slavery, Abandonment, Sexism, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, and Torture
Minor: War, Physical abuse, Police brutality, and Deportation
cardboard'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
4.0
Graphic: Racism, Sexism, Misogyny, Grief, Gaslighting, Colonisation, Xenophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Physical abuse, Suicide, Classism, Death of parent, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Slavery, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Violence, Torture, Bullying, Deportation, Murder, Gun violence, and Blood
Minor: Cursing, Addiction, Death, Alcohol, and Cultural appropriation
cheye13'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
3.0
Reading this felt more like historical fiction than anything else. Events and timelines too closely mirrored real history to leave any true hope throughout the story, but it was still heartening to watch the characters try.
Given the synopsis, I had actually hoped for more focus on the language element, more linguistic theory, whether true or invented. Compelling and important novel nonetheless.
Graphic: Xenophobia, Child abuse, Suicide, Torture, Death, Death of parent, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Colonisation, Racism, and Violence
Moderate: Cultural appropriation, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Car accident, Gore, Racial slurs, Grief, and War
Minor: Deportation, Confinement, Panic attacks/disorders, and Toxic friendship
leila_reads_too_much's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Antisemitism, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Gun violence, Grief, Racism, Sexism, Suicide, War, Colonisation, Domestic abuse, Blood, Deportation, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Xenophobia, Classism, Death of parent, Racial slurs, and Violence
Minor: Slavery, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, and Torture
soph22'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? No
4.75
Graphic: Classism, Deportation, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Gun violence, Grief, Islamophobia, Slavery, Bullying, Child abuse, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Death, Death of parent, Misogyny, Violence, War, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Gore, Hate crime, and Racism