Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Babel: An Arcane History by R.F. Kuang

341 reviews

kimberlystone's review

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

This book to me represents the core of dark academia. Nowhere else have I found something so academically and emotionally ambitious in nature. 

It also saw something in me that needed to be seen. It was simply so incredible, in the way it handled the personal and structural ways colonialism, racism, and misogyny affected those in the 1800s. Beautiful and terrible, I think everyone needs to read this book. Every sentence felt like it was meant to be there, and these difficult topics were spoken into existence with such nuance I was left awe-struck. Required reading.

P.S. I’ve noticed many readers felt they didn’t connect with the characters, and with that I can honestly understand, but still respectfully disagree. I understand where someone might be coming from by saying we didn’t get enough personal interactions between the characters, but I personally felt that these “montage” scenes were meant to convey how easily one could become part of the system, enjoy its benefits while forgetting where all their riches and pleasures came from…all while under the illusion that their academic pursuits were the backbone of their infrastructure. 

SPOILERS BELOW:

Spoiler

Letty’s character was exceptional. I’ve never seen a better characterization of a self-victimized white woman. She simultaneously struggles with the horribly misogynist nature of her culture, and the fact that she cannot see beyond her whiteness. She cannot accept that Victoire is black, cannot accept the shame of Ramy rejecting her. And therefore she ultimately decided to protect what power she had in her whiteness and deny the humanity in her friends. Fantastic.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Classism, Death, Grief, Xenophobia, Colonisation, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Classism and Forced institutionalization

Minor: Gore, Toxic friendship, and Torture

Read trigger warnings before reading of course, but know that nothing here is included for simple shock factor like other books I’ve read.

chiwirite's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

---

Content Warnings

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

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. 

---

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.

---

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.

arayo's review against another edition

adventurous challenging inspiring 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

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Torture, Murder, Xenophobia, Colonisation, and Violence

Moderate: Misogyny, Suicide, Grief, Classism, Gun violence, and Slavery

Minor: Death of parent, Drug use, Child abuse, Sexual harassment, Islamophobia, and Injury/Injury detail

raquel_rqlh's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark informative reflective sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Slavery, Blood, Classism, Death of parent, Murder, Misogyny, Colonisation, Death, Racism, War, Xenophobia, and Violence

Moderate: Grief, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Physical abuse, and Addiction

Minor: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Sexual harassment

vennas's review

dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious reflective 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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Xenophobia, Murder, Colonisation, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Classism, and Racism

Moderate: Sexism

Minor: Racial slurs, Child abuse, Sexual harassment, and Drug use

maryjames's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring sad tense slow-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? Yes

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, War, Toxic friendship, Death, Gun violence, Grief, Physical abuse, Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Classism, Racial slurs, and Racism

Moderate: Drug use, Violence, Slavery, Child abuse, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual harassment, Sexism, and Blood

Minor: Sexual violence, Misogyny, and Slavery

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

---

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

daniela_09's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

This is the fantasy and dark academia I wanted The Secret History by Donna Tartt to be. 

Babel is immersive, passionate and critical as expected of R. F. Kuang's incredible writing. 
I felt like I was transported to Oxford in the past with sprinkles of magic. You could tell how much research goes into this book and it was so heart-warming reading about the friendship and found family of Robin, Rami, Victoire and Letty. 

This is my 3rd book of Rebecca Kuang and I can’t wait to read Yellowface soon 💛

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Grief, Hate crime, Misogyny, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Violence, War, Xenophobia, Suicide, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, and Death of parent