beccaaa'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
4.75
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Grief, Classism, Suicide attempt, Slavery, Death, Racial slurs, Colonisation, War, Suicide, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Mental illness, Xenophobia, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Racism, Toxic friendship, Torture, Physical abuse, Murder, Genocide, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Child abuse, Drug abuse, and Cultural appropriation
deedubb'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
Spoiler
I genuinely could not have predicted the ending. I didn’t burst into tears until robin and victoire separatedGraphic: Death of parent, Racial slurs, Police brutality, Suicide, War, Xenophobia, Hate crime, Violence, Slavery, Mental illness, Racism, Murder, Colonisation, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Grief, Emotional abuse, Death, Cultural appropriation, Confinement, Abandonment, Blood, and Alcohol
griffin_7's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Racial slurs, Sexual harassment, Violence, Xenophobia, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cultural appropriation, Death, Misogyny, Murder, Toxic friendship, War, Abandonment, Classism, Confinement, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Vomit, Hate crime, Racism, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Colonisation, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Deportation, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Genocide, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Suicide attempt, and Forced institutionalization
lil_bokchoy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Abandonment, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, Violence, Xenophobia, Emotional abuse, Slavery, Racism, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Homophobia, Child abuse, and Colonisation
giulianalb99'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
3.5
El mensaje que quiere transmitir la autora con este libro sí que me ha parecido súper bueno, además que en el libro ves cómo los personajes son tratados y estereotipados por sus razas/colores de piel, así como una misoginia tremenda hacia las mujeres que, por desgracia, aún sigue pasando. Los personajes me han encantado, sobretodo Victoire y Ramy, y me encanta cómo la autora ha plasmado a Letty para representar lo que una persona blanca nunca podría llegar a entender (la razón por la cual llevaron a cabo el desmantelamiento de los planes que tenían entre manos los profesores de Babel con respecto a China) básicamente porque nunca ha tenido que pasar por racismo.
Aunque yo tenía otras expectativas, no es un libro para nada malo, pero ha habido veces que se me ha hecho insufrible, y no es hasta más de la mitad del libro que empiezan a pasar cosas interesantes. Lo del tema de la traducción me ha parecido bastante interesante, eso sí. A eso me refiero a lo de mi relación toxica, porque me parece un libro súper pesado pero que está increíblemente escrito.
Por supuesto, leeré más libros de R. F. Kuang. La verdad sea dicha: ella es increíble.
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The toxic relationship I have with this book is inexplicable. I bought it because of all the hype it had and from the synopsis it seemed like a pretty interesting book. It took me a while to get to it because I had other books on my tbr, but after a few months, I was finally able to read it. The truth is that the author writes incredibly well, her pen is amazing. I know perfectly well that it is a historical fiction book but I had been told that it was a a dark academia with a lot of magic (Harry Potter-ish vibes) but it wasn’t like that at all. On some occasions it even seemed like I was reading my high school history book and the truth is that that disappointed me a bit, since magic appears much less than I thought and honestly, there’s information that could have been omitted from the book (because, in my opinion, it had more pages than needed) and it could’ve been much shorter.
The message that the author wants to transmit with this book is incredible, in addition to the fact that in the book you see how the characters are treated and stereotyped because of their race/skin color, as well as a tremendous misogyny towards women which unfortunately it's still happening. I loved almost all the characters, especially Victoire and Ramy, and I love how the author wrote Letty to represent what a white person could never understand (the reason why they carried out the dismantling of the plans of the Babel professors regarding China) basically because they’ve never had to go through racism.
Although I had other expectations, it's not a bad book at all, but there were times when I found it insufferable, and it's not until more than halfway through the book that interesting things start to happen. However, all the translation stuff was quite interesting to me. That's what I mean about my toxic relationship with it, because it’s such a dense book but it's incredibly written.
Of course, I will read more books by R. F. Kuang. Truth be told: she is amazing.
Graphic: Grief, Hate crime, Misogyny, Murder, Racism, Blood, Classism, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Slavery, Torture, War, Xenophobia, Gun violence, Cultural appropriation, Death, Forced institutionalization, Racial slurs, Suicide, Violence, Colonisation, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Sexism, Toxic friendship, Physical abuse, and Islamophobia
Moderate: Alcohol and Suicide attempt
Minor: Drug use
kayfab's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Classism, Death, Gaslighting, Islamophobia, Misogyny, Mental illness, Bullying, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual harassment, Toxic friendship, Violence, and Xenophobia
evanmcomer'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
To be sure, this is not a happy story. Babel is not Hogwarts. And while the book is beautifully written, it is tragic, historically accurate, and unfair to the characters that I grew to love while reading it. But that’s precisely what makes Kuang’s work so compelling. It interrogates and problematizes the tropes, settings, and characters that we take for granted as readers of fantasy.
Spoiler
The one complaint I have with Babel is how it deals with mental illness, depression, and suicide. The main character clearly (and understandably) suffers from depression. Unfortunately, I found that the resolution of the book glorifies suicide and furthers the myth of noble self-sacrifice in a way that was troubling. The book is a tragedy and never tries to convince you otherwise, so I didn’t dock any stars for this. And the author does present compelling contrary points of view on the subject.Graphic: Suicide, Racism, and Mental illness
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
winterwoodbooks'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
One of my favorite books of all time, this feels like my soul.
For everyone who loves Addie LaRue!
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Classism, Colonisation, Deportation, Domestic abuse, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Grief, Hate crime, Islamophobia, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Murder, Racism, Suicide attempt, Antisemitism, Drug abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Ableism, Death, Drug use, Mental illness, Self harm, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Torture, War, Addiction, Alcohol, Cultural appropriation, Cursing, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Trafficking, Toxic friendship, Death of parent, Medical content, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Blood, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gun violence, and Body horror
peonydancer's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.75
Spoiler
Ramy and Robin don't live happily ever after together alongside their girl besties because WHY LETTY, WHYAs for what I didn't like; I think due to other reviews, I expected to cry and feel super emotional about the ending of the book. But honestly, besides
Spoiler
Ramy's death and all that jazzThe one thing I TRULY didn't like was how stereotypical the final embodiment of villainy ended up being. As in, having
Spoiler
Letty more or less embody the complacency of white England, and end up making an enemy of the cohort. Honestly, I might've found it more interesting to see a non-white baddie here, to demonstrate how long-time conditioning can make one unable to see past their own nose; kind of like how Robin was struggling at the start of the book, but by the end, realised 'the truth'. It would've been cool to see a foreign-born translator never truly reach that conclusion and aide the 'other side' in their efforts.I would suggest an air of caution in taking the message of this book and applying it to the real world now.
Spoiler
I find it impressive that Kuang managed to portray quite a realistic view of 19th-century England, but remember the novel is set 200 years ago. Sure, you'll have plenty of people who are racist, irrespective of colour, that exist in the 21st century. But the CURRENT world is not all white people viewing us non-whites as sub-human, nor are non-white people being oppressed (At least, not where I'm from; I speak from a Non-USA P.O.V btw)That's my review - highly recommend this book.
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Colonisation, Classism, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Child abuse, Drug use, Islamophobia, Death of parent, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, Slavery, Toxic friendship, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, War, Gun violence, and Suicide