Babel, or The Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution
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- Create Date：2022-08-24 02:21:54
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：R.F. Kuang
- ISBN：0063021420
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Summary
Traduttore， traditore: An act of translation is always an act of betrayal。
1828。 Robin Swift， orphaned by cholera in Canton， is brought to London by the mysterious Professor Lovell。 There， he trains for years in Latin， Ancient Greek， and Chinese， all in preparation for the day he'll enroll in Oxford University's prestigious Royal Institute of Translation — also known as Babel。
Babel is the world's center of translation and， more importantly， of silver-working: the art of manifesting the meaning lost in translation through enchanted silver bars， to magical effect。 Silver-working has made the British Empire unparalleled in power， and Babel's research in foreign languages serves the Empire's quest to colonize everything it encounters。
Oxford， the city of dreaming spires， is a fairytale for Robin; a utopia dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge。 But knowledge serves power， and for Robin， a Chinese boy raised in Britain， serving Babel inevitably means betraying his motherland。 As his studies progress Robin finds himself caught between Babel and the shadowy Hermes Society， an organization dedicated to sabotaging the silver-working that supports imperial expansion。 When Britain pursues an unjust war with China over silver and opium， Robin must decide: Can powerful institutions be changed from within， or does revolution always require violence？ What is he willing to sacrifice to bring Babel down？
Babel — a thematic response to The Secret History and a tonal response to Jonathan Strange & Mr。 Norrell — grapples with student revolutions， colonial resistance， and the use of translation as a tool of empire。
1828。 Robin Swift， orphaned by cholera in Canton， is brought to London by the mysterious Professor Lovell。 There， he trains for years in Latin， Ancient Greek， and Chinese， all in preparation for the day he'll enroll in Oxford University's prestigious Royal Institute of Translation — also known as Babel。
Babel is the world's center of translation and， more importantly， of silver-working: the art of manifesting the meaning lost in translation through enchanted silver bars， to magical effect。 Silver-working has made the British Empire unparalleled in power， and Babel's research in foreign languages serves the Empire's quest to colonize everything it encounters。
Oxford， the city of dreaming spires， is a fairytale for Robin; a utopia dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge。 But knowledge serves power， and for Robin， a Chinese boy raised in Britain， serving Babel inevitably means betraying his motherland。 As his studies progress Robin finds himself caught between Babel and the shadowy Hermes Society， an organization dedicated to sabotaging the silver-working that supports imperial expansion。 When Britain pursues an unjust war with China over silver and opium， Robin must decide: Can powerful institutions be changed from within， or does revolution always require violence？ What is he willing to sacrifice to bring Babel down？
Babel — a thematic response to The Secret History and a tonal response to Jonathan Strange & Mr。 Norrell — grapples with student revolutions， colonial resistance， and the use of translation as a tool of empire。
Reviews
Nyanasoundari Lourdsamy
，
I… have no words。 Nobody could have reimagined dark academia like this。 R。F Kuang， you are a mastermind。*Full Review to come*
Becs
，
They say do not judge a book by its cover but this one is stunning！！！
Ada Robinson
，
i think i last felt like this when i read les miserables for the first time
Amanda
，
I have never been so grateful that I got an arc and that I bought 3 special editions。 RF Kuang blew this out of the water。 Mark my words。。 this is going to be a literature classic
priyanka
，
the subtlety of an anvil
Siobhan
，
Babel is a historical fantasy novel exploring the importance of translation in colonialism and the ways in which power manifests both in academia and in the world。 Robin Swift was taken from his home in Canton to England by a mysterious guardian after his mother's death， learning Latin and Greek in preparation for the future his guardian has planned for him at Oxford's Royal Institution of Translation， Babel。 It seems a haven， a place where Robin makes a group of close friends and despite the hu Babel is a historical fantasy novel exploring the importance of translation in colonialism and the ways in which power manifests both in academia and in the world。 Robin Swift was taken from his home in Canton to England by a mysterious guardian after his mother's death， learning Latin and Greek in preparation for the future his guardian has planned for him at Oxford's Royal Institution of Translation， Babel。 It seems a haven， a place where Robin makes a group of close friends and despite the huge workload， finds happiness。 However， it starts to become clear that Babel may not be such a haven after all， and the implications of the translation work and the silver-working magic that translation allows have dark and far-reaching consequences。The concept of this novel is fantastic， centred around ideas of translation and how they could both evoke magic （by having translations that have slightly different meanings， bringing in something extra） and be used as tools of power and colonisation。 The dark academia type setting （being set in the nineteenth century makes it different to most of the popular dark academia books， but it definitely tries to expose the dark side of academia） will bring it a lot of appeal， and the narrative centres around four main characters， with Robin the protagonist but his friends Ramy， Victoire and Letty being crucial to the story， which makes it engaging despite the huge amount of heavy academic linguistic content。Reading the book on Kindle I wasn't quite aware how long it is， and I will say that you really feel the length。 For me， it did drag at times， and though the length is partly due to the writing style and use of footnotes to elaborate， maybe the pacing didn't quite work for me。 In terms of the style， I really liked the third person removed narrative style， which matched the academic nature and allowed for a lot of context （it's clearly a heavily researched novel）。 The footnotes I was less keen on， as a lot of them served to make obvious points and took you away from the story。 It was clever， though， that they were used to explain the racist attitudes of people cited/mentioned as a sharp commentary on the people in the novel who believed in translation， but still saw the languages they needed for silver-working or trade as lesser and the people who spoke them very much so。The language used to discuss race， class， and gender was at times strangely modern for a novel that was so placed in a historical setting， which occasionally felt too notable to be ignored， but in general the book engaged interestingly with the historical setting。 It's quite different to something like Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell， which integrates magic fully into its historical setting， as in Babel the silver-working element， which is the only fantasy part， is more of a structure that impacts the workings of the country， but not in ways that make it particularly different than in real life。 Personally， as someone who isn't really a fantasy fan， I enjoyed this， and I was pleasantly surprised that the book was much more about translation and academia than magic。The depiction of Oxford is an interesting one， with some brilliant commentary and satirical jibes atthe attitudes of different kinds of people within the University and an accurate depiction through the Babel institute of the kinds of workloads and the ways in which people end up cocooned from the outside world。 Even though Babel is fictional， and Kuang's opening author's note explains a range of inaccuracies with the Oxford depiction specifically， it did feel pretty true to life。 Occasionally there was too much day to day university stuff which slowed the pace down， but at the same time that is what people are probably looking for from something marketed as dark academia。 What was perhaps strangest was that the changes to the realities of Oxford （like having a somewhat anachronistic commemoration ball with oysters served at it） were only explained in the author's note， and not made a feature based on being an alternative history with the silver-working magic integrated into it。There's a lot to say about Babel， as it has a lot to say both in terms of length and content。 Generally， it's an engaging and insightful read that， as a fan of dark academia and not so much fantasy， I enjoyed。 There's plenty of other things I've not even gone into in this review in the book （like arguments about models of resistance and protest， violence and non-violence） and it combines the academic and conceptual concepts like ideas of translation， languages， and power with a good story about a group of friends finding their way at Oxford。 。。。more
omi
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just pre-ordered the hardcover ive heard nothing but praise about this book
Georgi
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Just a quick one for this。 This has so much hype surrounding this I think it's made it more difficult to get into。 I'm finding it really slow but for now it's just not for me but will give it another go in future！ Just a quick one for this。 This has so much hype surrounding this I think it's made it more difficult to get into。 I'm finding it really slow but for now it's just not for me but will give it another go in future！ 。。。more
Sam
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This book captures the true malleability of the student mind， demonstrating how those who stand for nothing fall for everything。 Yes， this does fit the dark academia genre but in a different way than how it was marketed。 Truly this is two stories: one of attempting to find a sense of home， and then one of rejecting that naivety of false hope。 Intelligent， violent and wordy in the best way， I wanted more plot out of this brick but enjoyed the ride。
Ms。 Woc Reader
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I feel bamboozled！See full review belonghttps://womenofcolorreadtoo。blogspot。。。。 I feel bamboozled！See full review belonghttps://womenofcolorreadtoo。blogspot。。。。 。。。more
Rafaela Camilo
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I'd like to thank the publisher for providing an advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest review。4。5I love this。 Like really love this。 The magic system was great， and I went absolutely feral with happiness during all the etymology， linguistics， and translation classes because I WANTED TO BE THERE。 So why 4。5？ Maybe it's because I had a sense of déjà vu while reading it because I read The Poppy War just a couple of months ago。 It followed the same structure in the beginning， literall I'd like to thank the publisher for providing an advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest review。4。5I love this。 Like really love this。 The magic system was great， and I went absolutely feral with happiness during all the etymology， linguistics， and translation classes because I WANTED TO BE THERE。 So why 4。5？ Maybe it's because I had a sense of déjà vu while reading it because I read The Poppy War just a couple of months ago。 It followed the same structure in the beginning， literally the same thing: an orphan （despite Robin's case being a bit different， he's still deemed an orphan） studying their butt off to get into a very prestigious institution。 This orphan is also ethnically different from everyone around them （speerly/half-chinese）。 They get into said institution and have to study even more， which they do accompanied by a best friend with a photographic memory。 There's also this older/former student who shares the same ethnic background as the protagonist who is important for their development throughout the story。 I mean I could go on but I'm sure you get the gist by now。But even so， one of my best reads of the year so far！ 。。。more
Robin
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LITERALLY WTF i have no other words
gab
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muito bom caras！！ poderia escrever uma dissertação de 100 páginas sobre babel agora mesmo。 inacreditável。
Ellie
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All I can say is: if you’re on the fence about reading Babel， just do it。 Pick it up。
Val （pagespoursandpups）
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RTC 3。5 stars rounded up
Donna Bull
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"A dream; this was an impossible dream， this fragile， this lovely world in which， for the price of his convictions， he had been allowed to remain。"I wish I had the ability to write a review that could even come close to the wonder and achievement of this novel。 There are so many brilliant layers to this story。 It is a dark fantasy with a magic system based on silver， a love letter to language and etymology， and a poignant exploration of British colonialism and the use of translation to support t "A dream; this was an impossible dream， this fragile， this lovely world in which， for the price of his convictions， he had been allowed to remain。"I wish I had the ability to write a review that could even come close to the wonder and achievement of this novel。 There are so many brilliant layers to this story。 It is a dark fantasy with a magic system based on silver， a love letter to language and etymology， and a poignant exploration of British colonialism and the use of translation to support the empire's exploitation of other cultures。 I not only thoroughly enjoyed the story， but I learned about language and the historical events that are the backbone of the story。 Robin， Ramy， Victoire， and Letty are wonderful characters to experience the story through。 They are complex， flawed people who learn， grow， change and realize they cannot escape the pull of world events。 It is a marvelous story and that ending。。。。。。oh my。 Thanks so much to Harper Voyager and Netgalley for the ARC。 。。。more
dan
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thank you to HarperCollins for the ARC， even after finishing it i'm still in shock i was lucky enough to receive one。 i'm just left speechless once again by the genius of r。f。 kuang。 this book was genuinely so beautifully written， so well researched， and so brilliantly crafted。 i cannot give it high enough praise。 thank you to HarperCollins for the ARC， even after finishing it i'm still in shock i was lucky enough to receive one。 i'm just left speechless once again by the genius of r。f。 kuang。 this book was genuinely so beautifully written， so well researched， and so brilliantly crafted。 i cannot give it high enough praise。 。。。more
trishla ⚡ | YourLocalBookReader
，
“We have to die to get their pity。 We have to die for them to find us noble。” I've been putting off writing this review because I feared that nothing I wrote would ever give it justice。 Nothing I write will ever convey the sheer faith and emotional impact that this book had on me。 There are only so many words in the world （and I know even less of them）， and none will ever be enough。That being said， here's my attempt。 Babel is not a fantasy novel in the sense of dragons and swords and some romanc “We have to die to get their pity。 We have to die for them to find us noble。” I've been putting off writing this review because I feared that nothing I wrote would ever give it justice。 Nothing I write will ever convey the sheer faith and emotional impact that this book had on me。 There are only so many words in the world （and I know even less of them）， and none will ever be enough。That being said， here's my attempt。 Babel is not a fantasy novel in the sense of dragons and swords and some romance tropes。 It's an honest look and reflection at the world built around us。 A fantasy set in such a realistic setting that the reader begins to believe that this is truly how the past was。 This book filled me with a rage， slowly building but oh so steady。 I could go as far as to say that if you're not angry after reading this book， you didn't really read it。Babel follows the dark academia to its true roots。 To the intellectual racism that's at the core of all of these institutions。 To the core of the fact that you're only useful for your skill， but never as a person。 To see how much the institutions need you but never accept you as one of them， always separate， always an other， lesser person。 There are so many injustices that our MC's face that they swallow with a quiet acceptance。 Babel does a brilliant job at showing the struggle of being a "chosen POC" and accepting the benefits that come with it along with all the cruelty。 Is personal gain worth it at the detriment of those who look like you？Not just that， but Babel does an INCREDIBLE job at showing how academic institutions are blind to those they hurt。 During the MC's time at Babel， they created inventions that put thousands out of work。 But they don't deal with the ramifications of it up high on their ivory tower。 In fact when the labor movement does come to Oxford， they're quickly taken away without even a fuss。 Academia and its pupils are sheltered from the impact of what they do and their role in capitalism。 There are some not so subtle parallels to the current state of US politics and I am living for it。Babel is a fantasy book， but it is really nothing more than a history book with a few tweaks。 The introduction of magic as a resource， to be exploited and conquered over is nothing new。 When the lands of the powerful run dry， they go abroad to steal （both in terms of magic and minds）。 The powerful are never full， their hunger for more is never ending， even to their own downfall。 But， you cannot build an empire on the backs of others， it will always tip。Babel is a fantasy book like no other。 There is no magic twist to save the hero's （if they can be called that） in the end。 There is just the slow march towards the inevitable。 The tipping point in a life full of injustices。 Prepare yourself for rage， for tears and for Babel。cw// racism， sexism， death， torture， suicide， murderrep// chinese mc， black mc， muslim mc， indian mc 。。。more
Thebookthief
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 There is no possible way to describe this book in a satisfactory way。 It's big - and I don't mean the page count。 It's a large story， encompassing colonialism， intellectual elitism， ivory towers， racism， sexism， economics， activism， revolution， language， etymology， and so much more。 But that makes it sound dry or boring， which this story is not。 It's about friends and family and found family and discovering who you are and what you believe and what you will do for your beliefs and your ideals。 B There is no possible way to describe this book in a satisfactory way。 It's big - and I don't mean the page count。 It's a large story， encompassing colonialism， intellectual elitism， ivory towers， racism， sexism， economics， activism， revolution， language， etymology， and so much more。 But that makes it sound dry or boring， which this story is not。 It's about friends and family and found family and discovering who you are and what you believe and what you will do for your beliefs and your ideals。 But that sounds bland， which isn't true of this story。 At its core， it's about Robin Swift （original Chinese name not disclosed - unless I missed something）。 It's about a boy from Canton， China taken from his home and transplanted to England and taught to grow into a certain kind of scholar。 It's about someone adapting to their colonizers' world and attitudes and being afraid to look too closely at them。 It's about Robin making friends and finding a place to belong within what he's been permitted and then being confronted with everything he's been trying so hard not to see。 It's about choices and loyalties and privilege and taking a stand。 And it's the best book I've read in the last 100 I've read。 It will linger and give you the longest book hangover。 。。。more
Kash Dass
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My best read for 2022。Go on， what are you waiting for？ Get this and let yourself be taken surprise。This genre bending tour de force will surprise and delight you but also drive home some hard tonswallow history。 She used the vehicle of magic to draw you into the abhorrent colonialism。The Poppy War series introduced you to Kuang's curious mind， Babel will introduce you to her craft。I am giving this a 10 ⭐️ rating。 It deserves it。 My best read for 2022。Go on， what are you waiting for？ Get this and let yourself be taken surprise。This genre bending tour de force will surprise and delight you but also drive home some hard tonswallow history。 She used the vehicle of magic to draw you into the abhorrent colonialism。The Poppy War series introduced you to Kuang's curious mind， Babel will introduce you to her craft。I am giving this a 10 ⭐️ rating。 It deserves it。 。。。more
Kara
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4。5 starsDark academia。 Historical fantasy。 A critique of western colonialism and racism。 If any of these things appeal to you， I highly suggest giving Babel a try。 This is a very intelligent， ambitious， and well-researched novel that slowly builds steam to a second act that pulls no punches。In an alternate 1800s Britain， a Chinese boy， swept away from his cholera-ridden home and dead mother， studies languages under the direction of an Oxford professor。 Robin Swift—his new， English name—is train 4。5 starsDark academia。 Historical fantasy。 A critique of western colonialism and racism。 If any of these things appeal to you， I highly suggest giving Babel a try。 This is a very intelligent， ambitious， and well-researched novel that slowly builds steam to a second act that pulls no punches。In an alternate 1800s Britain， a Chinese boy， swept away from his cholera-ridden home and dead mother， studies languages under the direction of an Oxford professor。 Robin Swift—his new， English name—is training for admittance into Oxford’s prestigious institute of translation， known as Babel， which specializes in the magic of silver working。 The magic system here is clever and unique。 By engraving words on silver bars， scholars who have accumulated a great knowledge of languages can harness the power of translation。 Whatever meaning is lost in the translation between two words becomes physically manifest。Thanks to silver work， Britain is the most powerful empire in the world。 But as Robin makes new friends and builds a life at Oxford， he begins to realize that this empire is built on the backs of other peoples and countries， including his homeland。 Eventually Robin will have to decide: can he remain in the new life he has created， or must he tear it all down in defense of his own people and all those who are exploited and marginalized？I enjoyed the writing， the characters， the concept—it was all well done。 I did feel the first half of this book was a little slow （though I feel this was necessary for building up to later events） while the second half was sometimes a touch heavy-handed in its message。 But overall this was an excellent book， well worth the read。Also， I loved the footnotes。This book comes out next week！ Thanks so much to NetGalley and Harper Voyager for the advanced reader copy。 。。。more
Ashleigh
，
I was fortunate enough to receive an advanced copy of Babel， or The Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution by R。F。 Kuang from NetGalley， so thank you to Harper Voyager for the opportunity to read it and write this review！ Babel is about Robin Swift， a young man who travels to London from China as a child after being orphaned by cholera。 His new guardian， Professor Lovell， trains Robin in various languages in anticipation of sending him to Oxford， where he I was fortunate enough to receive an advanced copy of Babel， or The Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution by R。F。 Kuang from NetGalley， so thank you to Harper Voyager for the opportunity to read it and write this review！ Babel is about Robin Swift， a young man who travels to London from China as a child after being orphaned by cholera。 His new guardian， Professor Lovell， trains Robin in various languages in anticipation of sending him to Oxford， where he teaches。 There， Robin will join Oxford's Royal Institute of Translation—Babel。Babel specializes in helping the Empire thrive via silver-working， a form of magic using language and translation。 However， silver-working caters to the rich and very rarely helps the needy。 As much as Robin enjoys learning at Oxford， when a stranger introduces him to the mysterious Hermes Society， he has second thoughts about serving Babel。When Britain threatens war against China， Robin realizes how much he is helping his country to hurt his motherland and must decide whether he's willing to sacrifice the comforts of Oxford or his homeland。I want to start off by saying that I highly anticipated this book's release。 One of my favorite bookish YouTubers， A Frolic Through Fiction， raved about this book， which made me even more excited。 When I requested Babel on NetGalley， I thought I'd never get my hands on an advanced copy since it's pretty hyped right now; I know many people are very excited about this book！ It made my whole week when I got an email that I'd received an advanced copy。But。。。This book wasn't for me。Of course， there are many things I enjoyed about Babel！ First off， the vibes are impeccable。 This book is set at Oxford and has the dark academia vibes everyone loves right now。 It's a great read for the fall for that reason， and reading it put me into the autumn mood！ The whole atmosphere of the book is quite dark and centered on language。 It was consistent throughout， and I loved that part of the book。Babel revolves around four main characters: Robin， Ramy， Victoire， and Letty。 Each character kind of has one defining trait that makes them easy to remember。 I think with dense books like this， it's helpful to have characters with one trait or feature which makes them easy to remember。 However， at some point， I realized they never grew beyond their one trait。 Consequently， they just seemed flat。Furthermore， when characters acted in opposition to their one defining trait， their actions seemed。。。 out of nowhere and really， really confusing。 Two characters， in particular， seemed to do a complete 180 toward the end of the book， destroying everything I had learned about them already。 It took me out of the book a bit， because they seemed so unlike the characters I'd been with for the majority of the story。 Overall， I enjoyed how Kuang wrote this book。 I felt as though I was reading a textbook at times， but I enjoyed the footnotes。 The author included so many little details via footnotes that added a lot to the world and the story。 These footnotes provided a rich backstory。But occasionally， the events of the book came to a standstill。 The plot suffered a lot for this reason; actually， the plot was quite unclear。 At times， several pages in a row described only the political atmosphere and nothing happened。 While that contributed to the story， it felt like an information dump。 I skimmed through them， hoping to get back to the action。 I loved the political and racial commentary （which I’ll get to in a bit）， but。。。 It appeared the book was about that， and the actual plot was irrelevant。 Very little happened， and I occasionally forgot this was a fantasy novel and not a historical fiction discussing the politics of the time。I wanted more of the fantasy element of the book。 The idea of silver-working and the way language played a part in this magic system fascinated me。 Kuang came up with this amazing magic system that's so unique （which is hard to do these days！） and didn't allow the reader to see enough of it。 I'll admit the book focused on silver-working a great deal， but I wanted more。The ending confused me。 I'm not sure if this will be a series， but the ending felt incomplete。 I don't understand what happened toward the end or what is going to happen next。 Again， I feel like this needs a sequel， because it did not wrap up in a satisfying way。My last critique is not with R。F。 Kuang， her publishers， or her publicity team， but other readers who have received advanced copies of this。 I've seen so， so many glowing reviews of this book on websites like TikTok and Goodreads， and I even found some mood boards based on Babel on Pinterest， which is wonderful！ However， many of these market this book as having a queer romance。 This book focuses very little on romance and sexuality， so I think calling Babel a queer dark academia/fantasy novel takes away from books that do focus on LGBTQIA+ issues。 I am not saying that Babel does not include hints of non-heterosexual relationships， because it does; yet this is not the focus of the novel and is never discussed in-depth。My absolute favorite part of this book was the political commentary and the discussion of racism and privilege。 The book pointed out how people use minorities for their differences while also shaming them for those same differences。 Robin is a perfect example of this; the same people who throw racist， stereotypical insults at him are the ones using him for his grasp of Chinese dialects。There was a fascinating discussion of privilege within the group of the four main characters。 All four of them are minorities within Oxford， but only one of them is white。 It was interesting to see how her inability to grasp racial differences impacted the overall group dynamic。I am so happy to see that so many people loved this book， because the discussion of racism， privilege， and politics is so captivating。 However， I think I just wanted to see so much more of this fascinating magic system。 I was very excited about the possibility of a dark academia and fantasy novel， as that sounds right up my alley！ This just was not it for me， but I'm so pleased to see that I'm in the minority and other people are loving it。 。。。more
Faith
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4/5 starsrtc
Kat
，
（Thanks to Eidelweiss+ for the e-arc！ All opinions are my own。）"And that's how they win， brother。 They pit us against each other。 They tear us apart。"I have been eagerly anticipating this book for quite some time now， and I savoured it， taking my time。Kuang's writing perfectly marries a fascinating magic system revolving around language and translation with an intellectually rigorous depiction of British Imperialism and those who resisted it in the 19th century。 Kuang does not need to do much mo （Thanks to Eidelweiss+ for the e-arc！ All opinions are my own。）"And that's how they win， brother。 They pit us against each other。 They tear us apart。"I have been eagerly anticipating this book for quite some time now， and I savoured it， taking my time。Kuang's writing perfectly marries a fascinating magic system revolving around language and translation with an intellectually rigorous depiction of British Imperialism and those who resisted it in the 19th century。 Kuang does not need to do much more than draw the picture of the British Empire at this period so vividly to draw the reader's mind to parallels with the present， with American Imperialism/exceptionalism and late-stage capitalism。That alone makes this work incredible， but then there is the plot and characters， so perfectly paced （a deliciously slow first two-thirds and explosive finale） and richly drawn that I slowed down my reading， wanting to savor every page， and every footnote。 （On that note， dear readers， read the footnotes）。 While Kuang wrote this （in part） as a response to The Secret History and Jonathan Strange and Mr。 Norrell， I also see Victor Hugo here， see references to Les Miserables from the revolutionary themes but also to some of the writing style choices， the meandering， the meaningful footnotes。 And I hope to reread both Babel and Les Miserables （perhaps with some more texts as well！） side-by-side sometime。I worry that some will find the protagonist Robin Swift， unlikeable。 Sometimes， he is， but I found him the perfectly crafted protagonist for this story。 He is not typically the hero we imagine in fantasy， especially not fantasy that has to do with revolution， and I can't say more without spoiling the plot， but I would say that if you are curious about the plot （even if you don't like Robin）， you should keep reading。 It's worth it。There is so much I want to analyze， to discuss， and unpack， but， honestly， try to avoid spoilers for this one。 It's worth it。An absolute favorite of the year。 I am already excited to reread it。 。。。more
McCutsinger
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Just finished my ARC of this work， and holy shit。This book is a fantasy fiction that dives unflinchingly into the violence of colonialism and racism on the individual， national， and international scale。 It is also a masterwork of character， setting， and plot。 On top of that， it is a fascinating examination of language， the fantasy element bringing to the fore the extractive nature of empire， and language as a necessary but not sufficient aspect of "acceptable" assimilation of non-citizens。 It pu Just finished my ARC of this work， and holy shit。This book is a fantasy fiction that dives unflinchingly into the violence of colonialism and racism on the individual， national， and international scale。 It is also a masterwork of character， setting， and plot。 On top of that， it is a fascinating examination of language， the fantasy element bringing to the fore the extractive nature of empire， and language as a necessary but not sufficient aspect of "acceptable" assimilation of non-citizens。 It pulls no punches for white comfort， which is refreshing， and would ultimately undermine its message。I should say more about the quality of the narrative itself， which is superb， and upholds the morals of the story without being contrived。 In reading， you come to know the characters and Oxford， and have deep and evolving feelings about them which are sometimes contradictory。 Truly among the best books I have ever read - I would make it required reading for college freshman if I could。 。。。more
megan
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this book hit everything i've been looking for and wanting in the dark academia genre。 i love the way the alternate history was written and it's evident how much dedication， time， and research RFK has put into this。 her passion for academia definitely shines through in the research done in linguistics and history。i love how RFK was able to address complex ideas such as colonialism， economics， revolution， linguistics/translation， and racism without being overly dense。 this book has truly made me this book hit everything i've been looking for and wanting in the dark academia genre。 i love the way the alternate history was written and it's evident how much dedication， time， and research RFK has put into this。 her passion for academia definitely shines through in the research done in linguistics and history。i love how RFK was able to address complex ideas such as colonialism， economics， revolution， linguistics/translation， and racism without being overly dense。 this book has truly made me think and i found myself thinking of concepts introduced throughout the book long after i'd read it （which is saying a lot since i can never remember the MC's name half the time）。while the plot in her previous trilogy felt somewhat spliced together， i have no complaints in regards to the plot and pacing in this book。 the plot was not entirely predictable given the somewhat repeated structure in dark academia novels which impressed me so much。i'm a slut for a magic school setting and found that alternate history oxford/london and babel was portrayed in a way that i could picture the setting with ease。 the magic system was entirely unique and i loved how it addresesses the intricacies of translation。my favorite part was the characterization of every character and the development of their relationships through their interactions。 the way their upbringings influenced their belief systems， identities， and thoughts were so intricately mapped out。 the way their relationships developed as the story progressed was satisfying。i honestly don't have enough good things to say about this book。 it's amazing how something so academic in nature can also be so emotional。 。。。more
Hanna Fogel
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This book is incredible。 I'm always hungry for more magic system explanation and I got that in spades， but written in a way I can only describe as propulsive。 The "rose-colored glasses" part of me perhaps didn't want the plot of the book to turn out the way it did， but it couldn't have gone any other way。 This book is incredible。 I'm always hungry for more magic system explanation and I got that in spades， but written in a way I can only describe as propulsive。 The "rose-colored glasses" part of me perhaps didn't want the plot of the book to turn out the way it did， but it couldn't have gone any other way。 。。。more
Jenna Rideout
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I was granted complimentary eARC access to Babel by R。 F。 Kuang through participation in the HarperCollins Canada Influencer program following attendance of the #FrenzyPresents summer catalogue preview。 Thank you to the team at HCC for arranging these ARC opportunities for us！ My thoughts are my own and my review is honest。 Babel is a brilliant， unique dark academia novel of magical realism and historical fantasy flavouring。 19th Century Oxford， and England around it， runs on silver magic unlock I was granted complimentary eARC access to Babel by R。 F。 Kuang through participation in the HarperCollins Canada Influencer program following attendance of the #FrenzyPresents summer catalogue preview。 Thank you to the team at HCC for arranging these ARC opportunities for us！ My thoughts are my own and my review is honest。 Babel is a brilliant， unique dark academia novel of magical realism and historical fantasy flavouring。 19th Century Oxford， and England around it， runs on silver magic unlocked by the work of translators。 Who are these translators？ Students plucked from their homelands around the world at a young age， re-educated in English society with their British caretakers or owners， and sent to college to learn their trade。 The magic works best when connections are made by native speakers of the various languages， you see。 All of that is fine and dandy， but as many such students studying in the tower soon come to realize and unpack， they're working to produce magic that only benefits the wealthy White gentry who stole them and refuse to help their family and neighbours in their homelands。 Can you say revolution？ It's not going to be pretty！I love pretty much everything about this book。 The idea of magic that can only be wielded by multilingual masters of both living and historic languages is fascinating！ If I were a young scholar in this version of the 19th century， I would have been doing everything in my power to get into that program！ Fortunately for me， and also something I absolutely loved in this book， was the "open secret" of female attendance at the college。 There is a surprising number of female characters for a book set at a British school in the 19th century， and that's just plain awesome。 More importantly than those things that are simply cool， this book has a lot to say， to speculate on， and to dismantle about racism， colonialism， slavery， and sexism。 This is the story of abducted， enslaved， and abused students of ethnic minorities， mixed race， and the female persuasion rising up to burn everything down around them because there's nothing worth saving about the system that oppresses them and uses their work to benefit only those who have held them in this state of oppression。 One little "nit-pick" of sorts surrounds an off-hand remark between two of the students while they're figuring out what to do next after the cogs of revolution start turning。 One suggests fleeing to Canada and the other notes that "none of us speak French。" This book starts off in 1828 as young Robin is whisked off to England， and the bulk of the book is no more than a decade later。 "Canada" is still a collection of colonies with the semi-autonomous rule at this point and only the portion known as Lower Canada （now today's Quebec） was officially Francophone。 Had they gone with this plan they could have gone to Upper Canada （Ontario） or any of the Atlantic colonies that were in talks to join "Canada" at this point and got along just fine speaking English。 Source: I'm Canadian and I spent the late 2000s studying for a BA in History， Canadian & British focus。I'll admit that while it's been on my TBR for quite some time， I haven't read The Poppy War series yet。 I was so excited to hear that Kuang was releasing a new stand-alone because that meant I could finally jump in on this popular author without needing the time to commit to an entire series。 Having read Babel， I'll definitely be bumping The Poppy War much higher up the TBR list！ 。。。more
Meghan Lew
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Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an arc copy of this book。I’m going to need at least 2 to 3 months to recover from this book， if not more。 This book evoked so many emotions about historical events that I didn’t realize I had。 From the first page， I was drawn into the story and world。 I loved getting to know all the characters， and in a way， I understood them all。 The writing was absolutely spectacular。 I mean， even in the longer sentences and passages， I was fully paying at Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an arc copy of this book。I’m going to need at least 2 to 3 months to recover from this book， if not more。 This book evoked so many emotions about historical events that I didn’t realize I had。 From the first page， I was drawn into the story and world。 I loved getting to know all the characters， and in a way， I understood them all。 The writing was absolutely spectacular。 I mean， even in the longer sentences and passages， I was fully paying attention。 There was just something about the way everything was strange together that kept me fully invested at all times。 For the most part， this book is told through the lens of Robin， but sprinkled throughout were perspectives from other characters， and it provided the understanding that I craved from each character。 Also， everywhere this book took me， I felt like I was really there and experiencing it all myself。 As a history major， there were a lot of actual historical events that happened or were referenced throughout the book。 And while I have studied most of them， I didn’t realize just how emotionally invested I was in them。 At times I had to set the book down because I was reminded of how much my ancestors were affected by colonialism and how we often still feel its effects in academia today。 Throughout a lot of this book， I saw glimpses of my own experience that was sometimes hard to come to terms with。The story itself was also beautifully crafted， and I enjoyed watching all of the characters' journeys even though I was utterly heartbroken by the end。 This is defiantly a character-driven book， but through his self-discovery， we see the political upheaval that was the British Empire and at what cost that all came at。Each character had their own very unique and exciting identity。 While I did not always like every character， I grew to understand their motivations。 It was a weird feeling despising a character yet understanding why they did what they did。Overall I think this is one of the best reads of the year。 It is a dark academia that sweeps you into a world of politics， colonialism， and capitalism and forces you to confront not only the past but the present as well。 。。。more
Andi Bazaroff （bazaroffreads）
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