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REVIEW: BABEL — R F Kuang
Themes: colonialism, empire, fantasy, dark academia, friendship
Where to even begin with this one. An absolute behemoth of a book. Finishing this book as a new mum was definitely quite the achievement I must say.
Babel is made up of an interesting concoction of topics, from colonialism, empire, the question of 'belonging' and of friendship and betrayal. In the world Babel is set in, it is Silver that has magical properties and it is this precious metal that is the object of Britain’s colonial exploits.
The story follows a young boy named Robin, who is taken from his home in China by an English Oxford professor. We then follow Robins life, in his new home in England, as his childhood and adolescent years are spent being trained in languages, preparing him for his place at Oxford, specifically Babel, where language experts are used as a tool for the British empire in thier pursuit of silver.
My Thoughts:
The fantasy element of the book is what I found particularly unique and fascinating, exploring the way words and language come to be. How humans have come to communicate truly is quite astounding.
I appreciated the amount of time and effort Kuang put into building her characters and the world they reside in. Whilst the pacing was a little slow for me, I guess the slower pace allowed for…
