Book Review: Babel by R. F. Kuang

Pros: thought provoking, great characters, fascinating discussions

Cons: ending gets brutal, tension drags on

When Robin is saved from cholera in Canton and brought to England his life becomes one of study and languages. He’s sent to Oxford’s translation department, where silver bars are inscribed with words that - like magic - power much of Britain’s modernization. The others in his program have also suffered to be a part of it. But they realize their successes are designed to only benefit the British Empire, not the homelands they were torn from and whose languages the silverworking magic is based on.

This is a brilliant book. I found the frequent etymological breakdown of words and the discussions on translation fascinating. The author did an excellent job of showing the fallacies of colonialist thought. It was such a thought provoking story.

The characters were all well fleshed out. Robin is such a conflicted character, not fitting into white society but also no longer Chinese. Told to feel grateful for the opportunities he’s been given but aware that he’s been given no choice regarding his future. I loved Ramy and Victoire and their perspectives on things. I wasn’t as keen on Letty, but she was still an interesting character. I appreciated that we get to see interludes from their perspectives, giving more information about their backgrounds and allowing us to see what led to their convictions.

Towards the end of the book the tension ramps up. It stays high so long though that I found myself needing a break from the book. There is a section of the book towards the end that gets quite brutal, with a lot of people dying in quick succession. It’s not overly graphic, though there is a torture scene. The book also contains period accurate slurs which may be distressing to read.

The book has footnotes, which is great as they give some authorial asides and additional information that’s not essential for the story but fun nonetheless. They also make the book feel more scholarly. They are marked by as star (*) after the text. Clicking the mark is supposed to hyperlink you to the explanatory note at the back of the book. Unfortunately, the first time I tried this is just turned the page, so I didn’t realize it worked (I guess you have to be very careful to hit the star). I ended up using bookmarks to flip between them, but the footnotes aren’t numbered, so I had to be careful to check each one and move my bookmarks so I didn’t lose my place in the 100+ pages of footnotes.

If you like languages and alternate history, though brutal at times, this is a brilliant read you’ll be thinking of for some time after you close the book.