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lisashelves 's review for:
Babel
by R.F. Kuang
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 4 stars
Babel is a historical fantasy fiction book about Robin, an orphan from Canton, who is brought to London by professor Lovell to study languages to enroll in the Royal Institute of Translation; Babel.
“Who doesn’t dream of living in a library.”
At first, reading the title, I had a very different idea of what this book was about haha. But having read the book, I do understand the title and its meaning and have to say it if very cleverly chosen!
This whole book was very, very intense to read. So much information was constantly given and it was a lot to process for me personally, so it made it a harder book for me to read. It also was a very slow read for me. I felt like I couldn’t read for too long, since it would’ve become too much and I wouldn’t be able to follow along anymore.
The whole story is very much character driven, as it felt very slow and dragged a bit sometimes. You really follow along Robin and the others in their studies and life at the Institute.
The characters, because it was character driven, are excellently written and very layered. All have different characters but they fitted really well together. Robin, of course, we know best since he is the main character. But we really learn about the other three through his eyes. Rami especially really stole my heart.
The friendship theme is really strongly present in this book, and I really liked that. Seeing the dynamics between the four together but also in pairs was really interesting. It also really tackles topics like racism, sexism and white supremacy.
The plot itself seemed really slow at the start, but at a certain point it picks up and I became a lot more invested in all that was happening. While I hadn’t expected the book to end as it did, it did feel like the perfect ending to the story.
Overall, it is an interesting book that you can really learn something from (all the information about languages, words etc.) and really makes you think about the topics and discussions mentioned in the book.
Babel is a historical fantasy fiction book about Robin, an orphan from Canton, who is brought to London by professor Lovell to study languages to enroll in the Royal Institute of Translation; Babel.
“Who doesn’t dream of living in a library.”
At first, reading the title, I had a very different idea of what this book was about haha. But having read the book, I do understand the title and its meaning and have to say it if very cleverly chosen!
This whole book was very, very intense to read. So much information was constantly given and it was a lot to process for me personally, so it made it a harder book for me to read. It also was a very slow read for me. I felt like I couldn’t read for too long, since it would’ve become too much and I wouldn’t be able to follow along anymore.
The whole story is very much character driven, as it felt very slow and dragged a bit sometimes. You really follow along Robin and the others in their studies and life at the Institute.
The characters, because it was character driven, are excellently written and very layered. All have different characters but they fitted really well together. Robin, of course, we know best since he is the main character. But we really learn about the other three through his eyes. Rami especially really stole my heart.
The friendship theme is really strongly present in this book, and I really liked that. Seeing the dynamics between the four together but also in pairs was really interesting. It also really tackles topics like racism, sexism and white supremacy.
The plot itself seemed really slow at the start, but at a certain point it picks up
Spoiler
when they come back from Canton and Robin kills LovellOverall, it is an interesting book that you can really learn something from (all the information about languages, words etc.) and really makes you think about the topics and discussions mentioned in the book.