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| Babel by R.F. Kuang |
Book title:
Babel
Author:
R.F. Kuang
Genre:
Historical fantasy
Published: August
23, 2022
544 pages
My rating:
4.5/5
“That’s
just what translation is, I think. That’s all speaking is. Listening to the
other and trying to see past your own biases to glimpse what they’re trying to
say. Showing yourself to the world, and hoping someone else understands.”
Robin
Swift, an orphaned Chinese boy, is brought to London by his new mysterious ward
Professor Lovell. After training years in Latin, ancient Greek, and Chinese, he
enrolls in Oxford University’s prestigious Royal Institute of Translation, also
known as Babel. Besides being the world’s center for translation, it is also
the center for silver-working, a magical way of manifesting the meanings lost
in translation. This makes Babel the principal assistant in the British
Empire’s quest for colonization. As a Chinese man raised in Britain, Robin soon
realizes that serving Babel means betraying his motherland. But can a student
stand against an empire?
Babel is a dark academia historical
fantasy about colonialism, oppression, and colonial resistance. The themes
this book tackles are hugely important, and Kuang does a great job exploring
the complex intersecting identities of her main characters. Unfortunately,
this is one of those books where I feel the literary merit of the book was
higher than my enjoyment of it.