lilmor'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: Death of parent, Gore, Murder, Abandonment, Grief, Racism, Physical abuse, Violence, Classism, Colonisation, Death, and Racial slurs
Moderate: Police brutality, Slavery, Toxic friendship, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, War, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Sexism, Torture, Addiction, and Violence
nialiversuch'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: 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
erynelle's review
- 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
Moderate: Alcohol, Blood, Colonisation, Death, Misogyny, Suicide, Xenophobia, Child abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Classism, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Torture, and Violence
slinders'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
Graphic: War, Classism, Colonisation, Murder, Xenophobia, Death, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, Racism, Racial slurs, and Violence
Moderate: Bullying, Cursing, Deportation, Hate crime, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Genocide, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Bullying, Child abuse, Torture, and Abandonment
spineofthesaurus's review against another edition
- 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 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
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
marthadude'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: Drug use, Gore, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, Sexism, Slavery, Suicide, Grief, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, War, Colonisation, Xenophobia, Child death, Cultural appropriation, Genocide, Abandonment, Gun violence, Toxic friendship, Child abuse, Alcohol, Blood, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Racism, Body horror, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, and Gaslighting
shaipanda'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
It got a lot darker in the last 200 pages which I didn’t fully expect so definitely be aware of that but this is just a masterpiece of a book.
R F Kuang is ridiculously skilled at writing about things that she has done incredible amounts of research and study on and this is a great example of that
Just an amazing and incredibly impactful read that I will be thinking about for the foreseeable future
Graphic: Colonisation, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Torture, Xenophobia, Child abuse, Grief, Violence, Domestic abuse, Racism, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, and Racial slurs
Moderate: War, Classism, Confinement, Suicide, Sexism, Kidnapping, Slavery, and Abandonment
Minor: Vomit, Alcohol, Drug use, Police brutality, Drug abuse, and Addiction
cepbreed'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? No
5.0
“Anger was a chokehold. Anger did not empower you. It sat on your chest; it squeezed your ribs until you felt trapped, suffocated, out of options. Anger simmered, then exploded. Anger was constriction, and the consequent rage a desperate attempt to breathe.”
I AM INCONSOLABLE BECAUSE OF THE ENDING. This is my favorite book of the year thus far.
Spoiler
I knew it was coming. I knew the name Babel was a prophecy of the end, but I am still inconsolable. They were pure, intelligent and gentle kids and they were forced to live through one injustice after another. I can’t believe anyone would read this and not understand it. Sweet Ramy, Robin, and Victoire. I know you as well as I know any friend and love you the same. Even Letty I feel for despite thinking I was going to hate her in the middle of the book. It’s irrational because of what she’s done, but just like them she was just a child. I am scarred by Victoires epilogue and tortured by not knowing what will become of her, not knowing what was in Griffin’s letter to Robin. I am happy knowing that in his last moments Robin heard his real name. However I am filled with hope to know that Victoire stayed true to her self, stealing some silver and keeping the list of contacts. She’s my hope and I love her. I just wish we saw more of Victoire sooner.Songs:
- Alleyways - The Neighbourhood
- Family Line - Conan Gray
Graphic: Death, Grief, Gun violence, Misogyny, Racism, Bullying, Colonisation, Murder, Sexism, War, Classism, Hate crime, Xenophobia, Injury/Injury detail, and Racial slurs
Moderate: Blood, Gaslighting, Religious bigotry, Abandonment, Torture, and Slavery
Minor: Alcohol
louisegraveyard'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: Body horror, Child abuse, Violence, Abandonment, Cultural appropriation, Death of parent, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Islamophobia, Sexism, Slavery, Chronic illness, Colonisation, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Addiction, Blood, Classism, Grief, Murder, Racism, Torture, Toxic friendship, Drug use, Physical abuse, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Misogyny, and Pandemic/Epidemic