A review by mwaltos
Babel by R.F. Kuang

adventurous challenging dark 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? No

5.0

The heart of this book is linguistics, translation, magic, and the ethics of violence. Babel covered so many of my interests that it was never a question of whether or not I would love this book. One of the most engaging elements of Babel is how the characters explore their thoughts and feelings through etymology. To me, etymology is a pure distillation of the desire to express oneself with all the nuance possible within such a small unit of language. Our protagonists seem to share that belief, constantly diving into etymological tangents whenever they feel the history of a word can help them process their thoughts and express their precise emotions. 

In addition to a focus on the introspective power of language, this novel adds a literal magical capacity to translation and linguistics. Kuang’s magic system would be fascinating and well-thought out in any context, but placing this system within the context of real historical colonization gives it beautiful metaphorical resonance. Using the meaning lost between translation as a source of magic was an inspired choice, and I really enjoyed how
Kuang developed the resonance rods to make the system even more complex.
Making part of the magic system a material commodity—silver— helps the magic feel more grounded and connects it  well to the theme of colonialism. 

I found Robin’s evolving relationship with the necessity of violence to be a compelling exploration of the way colonization puts its subjects into impossible moral quandaries when trying to effectively resist imperial forces. <spolier>His final choices at the end of the book reflect his complicated worldview and the suffering he has faced in a manner that stays true to his character arc, even if it’s incredibly painful to watch happen.

While the middle part of the book has some pacing issues, I think the entire narrative works well together and is brought to a beautifully climatic end that feels both grand and earned. 

The book truly is a treatise on the necessity of violence, but it does not purport to have all the right answers for when to choose to be violent, or hide the way revolutionary violence harms innocents and eats away at the humanity of the perpetrators. At its core, this discussion of violence is an affirmation that the survival and thriving of oppressed communities is worth fighting for, despite the pain and sacrifice of struggle. Rather than destruction for the sake of revenge, Babel argues for the necessity of a creative destruction that is ultimately based on a genuine hope of a more equitable and loving tomorrow, built with the ruins of a more hateful past.