Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

Babel. Una storia arcana by R.F. Kuang

51 reviews

laguerrelewis's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny informative inspiring 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

5.0

R. F. Kuang, you have such a way with words. Ba Dum Tss.

But in all honesty, this is a masterpiece. It is absurd that it works so well on so many levels—but in 2024, it’s anti-colonial call to arms rings the most topical. I was utterly enthralled by this book, and I am glad it is as popular as it is—though I won’t rest until there’s a copy on every shelf!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Alcoholism and Self harm

eefjeee's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful 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? No

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Colonisation, and War

Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Hate crime, Misogyny, Sexism, Torture, Islamophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Minor: Car accident

soniajoy98's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative inspiring 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Body horror, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Slavery, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Bullying, Confinement, Drug abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual violence, Vomit, Trafficking, Religious bigotry, Cultural appropriation, and Deportation

theasi's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful informative 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Toxic friendship, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Rape, Slavery, Religious bigotry, Alcohol, and Colonisation

Minor: Drug use and Deportation

razmatazt's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective tense 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Body horror, Child abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, and Grief

shesreadingagain_'s review against another edition

challenging dark tense fast-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, Colonisation, War, and Classism

Moderate: Body horror, Death, Murder, Cultural appropriation, and Gaslighting

mereas's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? It's complicated

5.0

A contemporary classic in literature. By the end, I felt simultaneously ruined and astonished by Rebecca F. Kuang's work. She covers the most existential questions in the frame of language and translation. The foundation of etymology and epistemology in the scene of colonialism and systematic oppression are narrated under one boy, Robin Swift, who is half-Chinese and half-English. I found the saddest aspect to this novel being that we never truly know his native name, of which was chosen by his late (Chinese) mother, and I cannot fathom the weight immigrants hold when they are told their names are too hard, complicated, or otherwise foreign for the English man. This also includes the erasure that colonial structures translate upon the foreign body, for they are left with no name nor grave. Rebecca F. Kuang leaves us to question whether protest and resistance should be violent or nonviolent to produce systematic change, in similar vein to the Civil Rights Movement.

Besides the foundation to this historical fantasy, the found-family trope touched my soul. I am a sucker for the most of unlikely friends to become a group of four. Between the lines, there are undertones of queer sentiments that also resonated with me, though they do not go further than just that. This, I did not mind because the characters are constantly in survival mode whether physically or emotionally. The reality underneath Rebecca F. Kuang's words is like a goldfish peaking above the water's surface--the social arguments always felt natural and fluid, which hurt the most.

Language holds so much power, yet it can just as easily be lost.
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On a side note, I love to find authors' favorite diction. Rebecca F. Kuang is biased to: teeter, tranquility, translation.
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"'What you don't understand,' said Ramy, 'is how much people like you will excuse if it just means they can get tea and coffee on their breakfast tables. They don't care, Letty. They just don't care'" (356).

"'Because you're a good translator.' Ramy leaned back on his elbows. 'That's just what translation is, I think. That's all speaking is. Listening to the other and trying to see past your own biases to glimpse what they're trying to say. Showing yourself to the world, and hoping someone else understands'" (535).

"Oxford relied on silver, how without the constant labour of its translation corps, of the talent it attracted from abroad, it immediately fell apart. It revealed more than the power of translation. It revealed the sheer dependence of the British, who, astonishingly, could not manage to do basic things like bake bread or get safely from one place to another without words stolen from other countries" (471). This, made me question what else can stand in for silver. Oil. Petroleum. Fast fashion. And, at what cost?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Suicide, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Addiction, Body horror, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Colonisation, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

lucakocsis's review against another edition

dark informative inspiring mysterious reflective slow-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? No

4.5

I loved reading this book from the first page. The setting and the theme is amazing and the characters are real and lovable. The magic system is interesting, at some points the logic is a bit clunky but overall it's a refreshing take on it. 

I only wish that the second half of the book had dealt with the deaths of some characters a bit better. It felt rushed at times and even though they were the driving force behind Robin's actions after, they somehow still felt a bit inconsequential. I also feel the character change in Robin was too drastic after their deaths but grief can take many forms so I'm not too hung up on it .

Overall I would highly recommend this book but only to those who are really interested in linguistics.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Xenophobia, Murder, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Suicide and Toxic friendship

Minor: Body horror, Gun violence, and Blood

annamary54's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring 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? Yes

5.0

I am at a loss for words right now. This is one of the best books I’ve ever read. It also doubled my vocabulary. I have been contemplating going back to school for linguistics, and this book made me want to go even more, until it didnt. And at the same time this book had everything and nothing to do with linguistics. Incredible topical time for me to be reading the this (although I’m sure you could stay that about any time). I’m just thinking of the protests happening at colleges around the US calling for a ceasefire. Very much resembles the back half of this book. I will say, it was a slow start for me, only because I started reading this when I was in a reading slump and the world building was just a lot of translation. Once I got about 40% of the way though, things started picking up. I really was going to give this 4.75 just because it was so hard for me to get into it, even with my love of language, but book five was so good I had no choice but to give this 5 stars. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, and Classism

justmys's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

…ok. So. Let me just say, the concept, themes and the way the fantastical elements of the world were woven in amongst real world history and colonialism were masterful. Truly. The love, care and passion that went into the building of those portions of the book were truly jaw dropping. 

Kuang’s level of intelligence and brilliance surrounding etymology and translation and her immense skill at bringing issues that are still horrifyingly prevalent in the world to the forefront of the story through a powerful lens were a true gift to read and will be staying with me for a long time to come. 

And that’s where my 2.75 stars go. That side of this novel was an astounding piece of work. Unfortunately, the rest of the book had to be consumed alongside it. 

I was told that the beginning of this book is slow. For me, the beginning ended up being the first 328 pages. And this is a heavy read to begin with.

I found all of the characters within the book shallow and underdeveloped. So much of their lives and interactions were glossed over. Flashbacks or explanations for their behaviour and decisions were often sewn into the book through footnotes giving them the feeling of an afterthought.  I spent the entire time wishing this book would have been at least a duology so as to have given room for us to actually get to know the characters as people, and not just awkward stunted players in a black box theatre production. 

The main female characters, Victoire and Letty, were often left T-posing in the corner of scenes, utterly forgotten in place of their male counterparts. When they were used (which was woefully little) they either felt like the author didn’t know their character (as with Victoire) or were an absurd cartoonish creation (as with Letty). 

Despite the overall themes being interesting I did feel like I was being smacked over the head with the book at times whilst being asked, “Do you get it? Do you understand? Do you even comprehend yet?” which got exhausting because I don’t think I’m as stupid as this book thinks I am. 

This book would have been so much more interesting if the lectures had been edited down somewhat in order to give room for character exploration. I’m certain the characters could have been truly loveable if they had been allowed to exist outside of a 2D space. I said to friends that this book had scope to be up there with Six of Crows or Lies of Locke Lamora if only the characters that inhabited the world were given the same love and detail as the world was. 

I do want to give this author another chance so will likely read more of her work in the future. There were so many moments where I was sure I could have fallen in love with her writing if only given more to work with. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Slavery, Torture, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Deportation