Reviews tagging 'Confinement'

Babel: An Arcane History by R.F. Kuang

62 reviews

aisclaradm's review

dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring 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

I don’t say this lightly, but this is the best book I have ever read. A fascinating ode to languages, that  both discusses its exploitation by colonisers and uses it as a metaphor of sorts for the cruelty, evil and injustice of imperialism and capitalism. Beautiful story and a painfully relevant tale. Incredible. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Murder, Toxic friendship, Racism, Violence, Child abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Torture

Moderate: Drug abuse, Confinement, Cultural appropriation, Injury/Injury detail, Islamophobia, Police brutality, Sexual harassment, Slavery, Trafficking, War, Drug use, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Cultural appropriation and Alcohol

rnbhargava's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing sad fast-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

This book is amazing. It feels classic, riffing on so many known qualities of well known books yet it still does its own thing. The history and ideas are implemented so intelligently that this fantasy feels more historic fiction than anything. The fantasy is really more for quickly explaining action and technology. The magic is in the language, the languages help define the characters and their dynamics with each other, it’s thrilling and heartbreaking at the same time.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Slavery, Xenophobia, Car accident, Cursing, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Alcoholism, Blood, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Islamophobia, Medical trauma, Trafficking, Violence, Body shaming, Cultural appropriation, Stalking, War, Classism, Death of parent, Drug use, Confinement, Death, Colonisation, Gaslighting, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Murder, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Rape, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic friendship

All the themes said to be triggers are present, particularly the race and religion ones. There’s a scene where it appears that female characters could hypothetically be assaulted. The racism and discrimination on religion angles are throughout the book. The major theme of the book is reconciling existing within educational institutions in the west while the same people you’re learning from are harming your original homelands, whether you remember them or not, and the moral plus political repercussions of that.

smalljoys's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Violence, Suicide, Slavery, Colonisation, Classism, Death, Toxic friendship, Murder, Torture, and War

Moderate: Confinement, Death, Blood, Alcohol, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Gore, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, and Abandonment

schausjk's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Violence, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, and Colonisation

Moderate: Toxic friendship, Emotional abuse, Islamophobia, War, Religious bigotry, Cultural appropriation, Confinement, Alcohol, Car accident, Addiction, Police brutality, Sexual harassment, Blood, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Suicide, Misogyny, Infidelity, and Gun violence

rinku's review against another edition

challenging dark informative reflective slow-paced

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

3.5

It’s honestly kinda hard for me to rate and write a review for Babel. I gave it 3.5 stars now and my critiques are kinda similar to the ones others already have written about: The way the central themes are talked about feels a bit shallow, and the pacing is just not so good. 

Babel follows Robin Swift, a Chinese boy that is taken to the UK by an Oxford professor. There, he gets prepared for studying at the language institute in Oxford which uses a kind of word magic that is used throughout the whole UK and thus also to control the British colonies. Robin needs to navigate this new life while also figuring out what he wants to stand for. 

The general setting and magic system were interesting, but I think the magic could’ve been utilized more. I still liked to see how the UK looked at that time and how the magic has changed it. Another topic I enjoyed was etymology and it was so great to see the love for words and books in this novel. Classism, racism, and colonialism are all discussed, but especially the discussion of the former felt a bit shallow and too simple for me. At the same time, I had the feeling that losing your (mental) health for your work/studies was romanticized which always gives me some neoliberal vibes, if I’m honest. Still, there were some parts of the first two-thirds I liked, like when

Spoiler

Robin killed his father and they had to hide his body, this whole section stressed me so much

. The part about the opium was interesting as well and I guess I’ll read The Poppy War one day to delve deeper into this topic. 

In the last third, the book got much more interesting and made give 3.5 stars instead of 3 stars. We get our classical

Spoiler

low point with Ramy getting shot, Hermes destroyed, and Robin and Victoire locked up. It was such a great moment when Griffin saved them but of course, he had to die as well. This part of the story was so dark, and I loved it

. My favorite moment of the novel happened towards the end when

Spoiler

Robin and Victorie took over the tower. It showed that non-violence can’t be the answer if you want to change something and deals with the moral questions around political violence. After it, it was so interesting to see how the city started to fall apart and how the revolution started. Sadly, the worker revolution wasn’t talked about in depth as I wished it was

. Furthermore, I really enjoyed the ending itself with

Spoiler

the tower getting destroyed and Robin having to prepare for his death, I always love moments like these in novels lmao

. 

I also don’t know what to think about Kuang’s writing. She definitely has talent, but the writing was a bit too pretentious for my taste? Additionally, I wasn’t the biggest fan of some of the foreshadowing in the novel that just felt cheap, and the predominance of telling. I was so annoyed how often it was mentioned how intelligent the characters are, but we honestly didn’t see too much of it lol. 

Looking at the characters, I have similar problems with them like I had with the other elements of the book. Robin was an okay-ish protagonist. I found his struggle between the two worlds he’s part of interesting, but I couldn’t always understand his behaviour, like when he

Spoiler

helped Ramy and Victorie flee and got punished instead of them. Before, I hadn’t the feeling that he was the kind of guy to do something like this

. 

The side characters though were a bit flat. The other three Babel students are just as pretentious as Robin which annoyed me. He also calls them way too fast his family, we barely see the development of their relationship. Another topic I want to talk about is Letty’s character. <a href=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUdFkRdgPDU>Cindy recently said in her review of Yellowface</a> that the racist white female main character seemed to her like a low-hanging fruit, and I see a similar problem with Letty in this book. To no surprise,

Spoiler

she turns out to be a traitor as well in the end

. This feels to me like a too black and white worldview, to be honest. 

All in all, there were some aspects of Babel that I really liked, like the etymologic lessons or the emotional last third of the novel. But there were many aspects that felt just mediocre to me because they weren’t discussed in much detail/nuances as I hoped they would. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Child abuse, Colonisation, Gun violence, Murder, Racial slurs, Torture, Violence, Addiction, Blood, Sexism, Alcohol, Misogyny, Classism, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, and Drug abuse

Moderate: Medical content, War, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, Pandemic/Epidemic, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic friendship

nialiversuch's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Alcoholism, Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, Suicide, Violence, Bullying, Confinement, Misogyny, Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Classism, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, War, and Xenophobia

bookedandbusy's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• 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? No

4.5

I really enjoyed this one! It felt a bit wordy and tedious at times, which is why I gave it the raiting  I did. But overall I really liked it! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Drug abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic friendship, Alcoholism, Fire/Fire injury, Hate crime, Addiction, Classism, Alcohol, Blood, Bullying, Pandemic/Epidemic, Gun violence, Torture, Violence, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, and Excrement

spineofthesaurus's review

challenging dark informative sad tense

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

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

anastashamarie's review

challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

5.0

⭐ 5/5

📙 This review is going to be a doozy. I have a lot of thoughts after this one. As literary fiction exploring the ugly sides of British colonialism and academia, this work is a masterpiece; it's a well-done character study of the pressures and pain of marginalized populations trying to fit into a world that doesn't feel like it wants them. As a work of speculative fantasy (or as a fantasy novel in general), from a storytelling perspective, I have some complaints. But, the method isn't the point and never was, so I've decided that a 5-star review is probably most accurate when I consider this work for what it was meant to be, rather than what I wanted it to be.

📗 I feel like I should start by saying: This is not the story to read if you are trying to escape from the harsh realities of our world. It throws them at you repeatedly, in both subtle and undeniable ways. As a white woman in academia, I'm going to be honest and say this was at times profoundly uncomfortable to read...which is exactly what it was meant to be. To again go with honesty, there were times that the thought crossed my mind that I didn't need to finish this, that I didn't have to spend my weekend feeling angry on behalf of fictional people living these real life injustices. And that's a privilege that needs acknowledged, for there are so many people who can't just "turn off the audiobook" so to speak, not when these stories so closely mirror their daily experience.

📕 R.F. Kuang does an excellent job of keeping the reader engaged despite this discomfort, which is a feat of its own, but is also a terrible contradiction when considering that the overarching moral of this story is to encourage listening to understand, not to respond. Much the same as even writing a review to try to convey my experience also feels antithetical, as this is not a book designed to entertain, but a book to convey emotion and an experience. Yet I still found myself oscillating between being disappointed in the story structure while being blown away by the rhetoric throughout most of the book. So take where's hereafter for what you will; it's far less important than the rest that I've already said.

📘 Do I think this book was unnecessarily long and at times heavy handed? Yes. Do I wish it had a more satisfying conclusion that actually answered the titles promise to explore the necessity of violence? Also yes. But I also feel like it delivers incredibly well in the way that it conveys its broader themes and morals. Let me explain.

For a book about the power of words, this delivers in it's precise use of them to convey it's point and I think, for the most part, does so most successfully at the micro level. I understood fully why the characters did or did not find necessity in violence themselves, how their tragedies unfolded, and why hope may have still remained despite it all. But I think where we're left to struggle is to see if violence was actually something that made a difference on the macro level. For writing that hammered points over the reader's head at times, there is no actual discussion of whether the broad end justifies the means, because we don't actually see a macro level end in the books, just a micro level end for the characters. Maybe that's the point; maybe the purpose is just that we're if we truly listen to characters who never felt heard and that the story HAS to end with them. The existentialist part of me loves the idea that individual meaning trumps the universal experience. The collectivist part kind of hates the idea that only we alone matter in the end. Regardless, especially as a fantasy reader, the loose ends are tough for me. 

Now, I don't mind ambiguity in a book in general. In fact, I think particularly in books that dive into social issues, nuance is crucial for understanding. This book approaches that nuance incredibly holistically in that it is very precisely, clearly delivered. I think this in part comes from the author's academic career and in part to convey the underlying need to be precise and clear in an attempt to be understood. I just wish the author would have either backed off this directness throughout OR carried it through all the way to the end. Make the point, however unpalatable, or leave it up to the reader to infer entirely. (But I again feel like I should acknowledge that may be easier said than done.)

📚 In the end, I can only truly speak to my experience of this work, as it exists through my own biases and experiences. I hope that honors Kuang's intentions with this story, and I hope that others take the time to read her words. There are so many layers here that I'm sure I'll be unfurling for a while to come.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Racism, Religious bigotry, Slavery, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, War, Xenophobia, Child abuse, Violence, Islamophobia, Colonisation, Racial slurs, Suicide, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Murder, Toxic friendship, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Torture, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Misogyny

Moderate: Addiction, Drug use, Genocide, Alcohol, Trafficking, Cultural appropriation, Fire/Fire injury, Hate crime, Drug abuse, and Kidnapping

talonsontypewriters's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Gun violence, Murder, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Sexism, Xenophobia, Torture, Physical abuse, Colonisation, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Fire/Fire injury, Suicide, Misogyny, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Police brutality, Violence, and Racism

Moderate: Gore, Confinement, War, Cultural appropriation, Islamophobia, Sexual harassment, Drug use, Slavery, Religious bigotry, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Vomit, Child death, Alcohol, and Addiction