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A review by bdstrunk
The Memory of Babel by Christelle Dabos
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
of the three english translations of The Mirror Visitor Quartet (as of august 2021), this is the only one with quite a few words/phrases that didn’t sit quite right with me…
i’m not gonna jump and say “cancel this author!!!” yet though, because it IS a translation, and i’m not fluent in french or french terms that are highly offensive. i have seen a few other people say that the original and different translations were perfectly fine, but i intend to research it more myself.
other than that, this book felt a little… forced? kinda? because of my fixation on the series, i would give this book 4.75 simply because it is an extension of such a wonderful story and for its rereadability (in fact, i can say for-almost-certain that i will reread all three of these books before the october 5th release date of the fourth). however, to be honest, it wasn’t exactly up to my expectations.
anyway, i am very much looking forward to the next book, and i do not want this story to end.
edit: the more i think about this book, in hindsight, the better i like the plot. +0.5 stars.
i’m not gonna jump and say “cancel this author!!!” yet though, because it IS a translation, and i’m not fluent in french or french terms that are highly offensive. i have seen a few other people say that the original and different translations were perfectly fine, but i intend to research it more myself.
other than that, this book felt a little… forced? kinda? because of my fixation on the series, i would give this book 4.75 simply because it is an extension of such a wonderful story and for its rereadability (in fact, i can say for-almost-certain that i will reread all three of these books before the october 5th release date of the fourth). however, to be honest, it wasn’t exactly up to my expectations.
anyway, i am very much looking forward to the next book, and i do not want this story to end.
edit: the more i think about this book, in hindsight, the better i like the plot. +0.5 stars.
Content Warnings
Minor: Ableism, Homophobia, and Racism
on ableism: the r-word was mentioned twice, if i recall correctly.
on racism: as someone who is not bipoc, i’m not sure if i have a place to comment on this. one character was described as an “oriental doll” a few times, not in a derogatory way, but it just… didn’t sound quite right.
on homophobia: the term “queer-fish” was used once or twice. i am queer, and though i didn’t find it terribly offensive in full context, it still stung just a little.