spineofthesaurus's review
- 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
notthatcosta's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
However, the middle section loses a lot of steam for me and ended up spending far too long hovering over tired literary tropes before kicking back into gear for the ending, which was saved by an excellent epilogue. What took me out of the book was how it sometimes directly placed itself within the 1800s in every sense and other times featured dialogue that felt like contemporary Twitter discourse about colonialism.
Tonally the book was confusing, the motivations for the characters were sometimes unclear, but it is the masterful use of the discipline of translation that keeps the book grounded in intricacy and care.
Graphic: Abandonment, Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Mass/school shootings, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Gun violence, Hate crime, Suicide, Sexual assault, Murder, Death, Death of parent, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Torture, and Violence
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
lauragarabedian's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
Moderate: War, Violence, Slavery, Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, Cursing, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Toxic friendship, Suicide, Islamophobia, Infidelity, Forced institutionalization, Gun violence, Colonisation, Addiction, Abandonment, Racism, Trafficking, Suicidal thoughts, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, Grief, Drug abuse, Classism, Misogyny, Hate crime, Drug use, Death, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Police brutality, Murder, Mass/school shootings, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, Deportation, Cultural appropriation, Bullying, Blood, and Alcohol
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: Violence, Murder, Gaslighting, Racism, Colonisation, Xenophobia, Death, Classism, Torture, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Kidnapping, Alcohol, Gore, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Racial slurs, Slavery, Physical abuse, Suicide, Child abuse, Grief, War, Misogyny, Gun violence, Fire/Fire injury, Deportation, Emotional abuse, Police brutality, Blood, Hate crime, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Islamophobia, Body horror, and Cultural appropriation
Minor: Child death, Drug use, Bullying, Mental illness, Trafficking, Sexual harassment, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide attempt, Dysphoria, Car accident, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Infidelity, Mass/school shootings, Genocide, Drug abuse, Abandonment, Vomit, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Addiction, Rape, and Sexual violence
amelianotthepilot's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
A dark academia fantasy set in Oxford. It's quite long and a bit dense and heavy but so worth it. The author has done a lot of intense research for this so it's quite scholarly and even has footnotes. (which i thought was fun and nerdy) I also felt like I learned a lot about language and etymology. It also has this beautiful way of addressing issues of class and racism in really subtle ways and varied characters. I love the really nuanced ways she had her diverse cast of characters experience racism and micro aggressions in every day life from different ways. It was really comprehensive and I feel like everyone should read this book. But also honestly just a downright fun dark academia adventure fantasy.
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Xenophobia, Toxic friendship, Cultural appropriation, Misogyny, Alcohol, Blood, Gaslighting, Sexism, Bullying, Child abuse, Colonisation, Classism, Death of parent, Grief, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Torture, Racial slurs, Sexual harassment, Slavery, Racism, Trafficking, Violence, and War
siannn's review
- 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
Graphic: Mass/school shootings, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Torture, Toxic friendship, War, Cultural appropriation, Death, Drug use, Classism, Misogyny, Murder, Sexism, Genocide, Grief, Gun violence, Gaslighting, Gore, Abandonment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual harassment, Slavery, Xenophobia, Hate crime, Violence, Addiction, Blood, Physical abuse, Racism, Suicide, Alcohol, Child abuse, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, and Kidnapping
hnagarne'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: Blood, Child abuse, Death of parent, Grief, Classism, Torture, Suicide, Violence, Death, Misogyny, Addiction, Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexism, Racism, Slavery, and War
jo_brekker'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: Racism, Sexism, Alcohol, Xenophobia, Physical abuse, War, Violence, Classism, Murder, Grief, Gore, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Death, Colonisation, and Blood
Moderate: Torture, Mass/school shootings, Kidnapping, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Misogyny, Racial slurs, and Islamophobia
Minor: Fire/Fire injury and Police brutality
jenmcreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I am so glad I read this. I think Kuang has masterfully woven in her critiques of colonialism, academia, and academia's service to Empire. The messaging is not subtle, but these are some of the major wrongs of our society, so in terms of scale that did not bother me. I was very impressed by the pacing of this book, which managed to sweep through time when it needed to, but lingered sufficiently to build depth and attachment to the characters. The exploration of intersectionality was nuanced, and I felt Kuang was very honest and rigorous in her exploration of the different experiences these four characters would go through facing the same events. Kuang's ability to distill the essence of complex global challenges into a view concise and moving paragraphs is astonishing at times. I am not typically an annotator but found myself on more than one occasion reaching for a pen.
The messaging is important, of course, but this is a 500+ page tome, and the message wouldn't get to nearly as many people if the story weren't compelling. The plot is well structured, tense, and exciting throughout (arguable the first half is a bit slow at times, but to me you can always feel the build).
And then for me, there is the translation based magic system. I loved this, I loved the etymologies (that take is not for everyone I know, but it delighted me). Kuang is clearly a remarkable mind and the level of research here is awe-inspiring.
I don't feel I am able to do justice to my thoughts on this book, but in three words, it is a masterpiece.
Graphic: Racism, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Toxic friendship, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Child abuse, Cultural appropriation, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Genocide, Hate crime, Mental illness, Sexual harassment, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Classism, Death, Grief, Gun violence, Islamophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Slavery