Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of The Oxford Translators' Revolution | 
pickAn incredible story about white fragility dressed up in gothic dark academia. I loved it. The MC, a young Cantonese boy, seemingly rescued from death and poverty, is groomed by an Oxford professor to join the illustrious and elite translators. Kuang is a masterful storyteller weaving together class, race, socioeconomics, and sexism centering around language—the only real barrier dividing humans and complicating true understanding. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
pick“The word loss was inadequate. Loss just meant a lack, meant something was missing, but it did not encompass the totality of this severance, this terrifying un-anchoring from all that he‘d ever known.”
I enjoyed the book and special shoutout to the number and references to Bangla and Bengalis in the book.
Too much jargon however!
pickBabel puts a magical spin on 19th-century British colonialism. In this world, silver bars engraved with words from two languages that don‘t perfectly translate can create powerful magic. But at its core, the novel makes it clear that racism is the driving force behind England‘s colonization efforts. This was a heavy and thought-provoking read that should come with a trigger warning for racism, sexism, violence, and suicide.
LOVED Kuang‘s Poppy Wars Trilogy. Finally starting this!
so-soOkay, I finished Babel and I have some mixed feelings. I loved the dark academia vibes of 1830s Oxford and I felt like the topics of anticolonialism, racism, sexism, and classism were handled well. I just don't think this book needed to be a fantasy. The magic elements are cool, but they feel forced in some respects. I almost wish it had just been a dark historical thriller.
I'm going to add some more thoughts in comments with the spoiler tag.
I just got the news that I have another snow day tomorrow! Friday will *likely* be my only work day this week. I'm very much so appreciating the extra time to read and get stuff done around the house and work the shop.
P.s. notice the Corgi ears?
pickA historical fiction fantasy about the importance and dangers of translating language. How does culture and racism play a role in how words are translated? Is translation always an act of violence?
A story of survival, self-discovery, education, power, and betrayal.
It's an incredible read. 5 stars 🌟⭐️🌟⭐️🌟
Have you read this one?
My sweet little reading buddy 🥺
Started this one & so far, I love it! I'm realizing that fantasy *has* to be told in the 3rd person for me to enjoy it. I was happy to see that this one is.
An overview of some of my favorite books from 2024 :)
Yes, I'm behind on this, but I'm back to Litsy. That's what matters. 🥰😅
so-so⭐️⭐️⭐️
“Babel” is not an easy read. Racism, slavery, and colonialism are major themes in this book, and Robin‘s journey is both empowering yet heartbreaking. I am in awe of Kuang‘s world building and attention to numerous languages. All of the above confirm “Babel” being worth the hype, it just wasn‘t for me personally.
“Because you‘re a good translator.‘ Ramy leaned back on his elbows. ‘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.”
Thank you so much, Barbara, for these lovely books and for your kind words. I love the little Christmas Tree band too🥰 Although I hadn‘t stacked Blue Sisters I have been thinking that I would like to read it, so you must have read my mind😆 Thank you again, my friend.
My 2024 favorites:
Fiction: Babel by R.F. Kuang
Non-Fiction: A Libertarian Walks Into a Bear
Poetry: The Wild Iris by Louise Glück
In 2025, I'm going to set my reading goal low and increase it as I meet it. It worked well for me in 2024. I'm also not putting time limits on my reading challenges. (Except the Les Mis buddy read.) They will take as long as they take. 🥰 I hope we all have a fabulous year of reading!
#2024wrapup #2025goals
bailedIdk, why I thought I would actively want to read this. I really have not found many historical books that I truly enjoy and can get invested in. Even with the fantastical subplot, I just didn‘t care. Honestly, I think this was more a peer pressure thing where I saw so many people loving the book and I gave into the hype. #dnf
#12daysofchristmas @Andrew65
Dark academia, meticulous etymology, bildungsroman, speculative fiction that reads like fiction and NF at the same time ... I was completely gobsmacked.
pickWord-nerds are rarely depicted as fervent rebels, or at least not the kind who might believe the sword is mightier…
But it makes sense here, as a multi-national cohort at a fictional Institute of Translation reckon with the ways they (and the global population at large) are manipulated and exploited by the seekers of empire. But their refusal to participate in the status quo (as always) has consequences.
bailedYea I just couldn‘t stay awake long enough for this.
Robin confronts Lovell about his Chinese mother.
pickI have a lot of feelings about this book, and at one point, I was sure it would be a 5-star book for me, but I struggled with the ending, and I felt the footnotes detracted from the reading experience. Overall, though, it was a great read! July #AuthorAMonth. @Soubhiville
#AboutABook
#NewToYouAuthor
@Eggs
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
I would never have heard of RF Kuang without last year's #CampLitsy and YELLOWFACE. I read BABEL for this year's #AuthorAMonth, and I loved it even more! She's already a prolific author, and she's only in her 20s!
pickI did not fall in love with this book like many did, but I did like it. I highly enjoyed learning the etymology of languages and I really wanted to know how the book ended. However, I think I would have had a better experience reading the physical format because I found myself losing focus a few times with the audio.
3.5⭐️
#PopupReadathon @AmandaBlaze #authoramonth @Soubhiville
#BookspinBingo #8 @TheAromaofBooks
#wondrousWednesday
1) I picked a rather obvious name 😃
2) Drive, crafting, laundry, clean house, play solitaire, or cook (for easy but time-consuming meal).
3) Tagged.
bailedBailed after 1/3 of the book: huge disappointment. There is an amazing world where words have power and translators are doing magic. But there is no action at all, the characters lack substance and the anti-colonial agenda is being pushed down the reader's throat with much force, but little understanding of nuances
#told_by_a_woman
#bookclub
I loved Yellowface so not sure why I‘m surprised that I‘m enjoying this so much but, I‘m really enjoying this dark academia novel. The footnote reading in the audio version though, not so much.
#AuthorAMonth
@Soubhiville
pickTbh this was a bit of a slog but I very much appreciated all of the linguistics involved. The author clearly did so much research.
#AuthorAMonth @Soubhiville
#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks
pickUltimately enjoyable, though the pacing in the first half leaves a lot to be desired. Would round up to 4 out of 5 stars. If you can push through to when the real story starts in the back half, I‘d say it‘s worth it. #AuthorAMonth
Final 100 pages left! The back half was/is much more exciting. Wish this pacing was more prevalent throughout. #AuthorAMonth
pickPhew! Took me half the month but I finished! At the beginning, I really thought this book wasn‘t going to be for me. I don‘t care how words were created. 🤷🏻♀️. However, once it got going, it got pretty interesting. Especially towards the end!
It‘s been a while since I‘ve listened to such a long audiobook!
#authoramonth
pickA treatise on translations; that‘s what this book feels like and I especially enjoyed the story positing itself as an intellectual history. Translations drive this alternative historical world about the English empire, literally giving power to silver, which gives power to the empire—at the expense of the empire‘s colonies. Oxford, where the translators and silver form the Tower of Babel, foreign-born students realize their calling is to the ⬇️
As I approach halfway thru this tome, I keep asking, where is this actually going? Feels like a long walk. #AuthorAMonth
so-soI liked parts of this #AuthorAMonth book a lot, but it dragged quite a bit.
The good: the friendship between the 4 scholars, the idea of magic coming from the deep meaning of words across languages, the worldbuilding and imagery.
What didn‘t work for me: too much deep dive into academic ideas of history, science, etymology. How long it took to get through many plot points.
The ideas/themes here were really interesting, mostly it felt too long.
Checking in! I‘m about a third into Babel for #AuthorAMonth - it‘s admittedly slow going especially compared to Yellowface which I sped through. I am enjoying it but I get the criticism too. 🤷🏻♀️🥈
I‘m going to bail on this one for now. It‘s not bad. It just feels like more of a fall book and I can‘t face 7 more hours of it. Until we meet again Babel! I‘m going to try and hunt down something else for #AuthorAMonth and put this on hold for October.
pickWhat a lovely read “Babel” is! It is a fantastic vehicle for discussing colonialism, racism, misogyny, and inequality. Kuang is so thoughtful about her characters and the story. Couldn‘t recommend it enough 😊
pickI was intrigued by the idea of a dark academia story revolving around a group of friends studying translation. I wasn't so sure about the fantasy element because, well, I'm not a fantasy person.
It all worked beautifully, and I LOVED this book about friendship, where we place our loyalty and what we stand for.
I thought this was brilliant 👏🏻
pickI know im late to the party with this one but i finally got here. Ive rated it 5 stars because its completely unique, its masterfully done, and i feel like the last third took my head off! Its as if with Yellowface someone said to Kuang “write a 5 star contemporary novel about publishing that perfectly demonstrates appropriation” and on Babel “write a 5 star historical dark academia novel that demonstrates colonialism and capitalism” ⬇️
Downloaded this on a whim before my big travel day and am really enjoying it ☺️ ✈️
pickBabel by R.F Kuang. 9,6/10 rating.
pickI‘ll just join the chorus of millions singing the praises of this brilliant, brilliant book. What an absolute genius and true gift. R.F. Kuang is a marvel.
