I read this book expecting something along the lines of Yellowface. I mean, of course, the plots are completely different, but so is the writing style. If I didn’t know better, I would have thought these books were written by two completely different authors. Anyway, I liked Babel even more than Yellowface. I wouldn’t say love, though; her books are a lot more thought-provoking than heart-touching, but I really appreciate the uniqueness of the plots in both these books.
About Babel
Traduttore, traditore: An act of translation is always an act of betrayal.
1828. Robin Swift, orphaned by cholera in Canton, is brought to London by the mysterious Professor Lovell. There, he trains for years in Latin, Ancient Greek, and Chinese, all in preparation for the day he’ll enroll in Oxford University’s prestigious Royal Institute of Translation—also known as Babel. The tower and its students are the world’s center for translation and, more importantly, magic. Silver-working—the art of manifesting the meaning lost in translation using enchanted silver bars—has made the British unparalleled in power, as the arcane craft serves the Empire’s quest for colonization.
For Robin, Oxford is a utopia dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge. But knowledge obeys power, and as a Chinese boy raised in Britain, Robin realizes serving Babel means betraying his motherland. As his studies progress, Robin finds himself caught between Babel and the shadowy Hermes Society, an organization dedicated to stopping imperial expansion.
~ Synopsis from goodreads
My Review
I enjoyed Babel thoroughly and found it to be a page-turner (especially the latter half).
Kuang obviously did a lot of research for this book. There is so much detail about the time period and the explanations for words, and the history of languages (many, many languages). I can’t even imagine how much time she spent going through old texts, books, and archives to get all this information. Her ties to Oxford obviously meant it was quite a passion project for her, and it’s clear that she has a very emotional connection to the setting of Oxford as well as the history of English colonization. It is a lot to take on, and making a cohesive book from all her research and passion is not the easiest thing to do. Especially when this particular slice of history is so messy.
I also thought her creation of a magic system based on language and languages being lost or tarnished due to colonization was absolutely fascinating.
If there is an area where the book falls slightly flat, it’s in the characters. Most of the characters fall flat for me, especially Robin (which is quite unforgivable, as his is the hero’s journey). All of them existed just to serve the story and not in their own right. They felt like mouthpieces for the author’s beliefs, and for a book to really win my heart, I need fully rounded characters. Especially when there is so much time and space (this book is chunky), it feels like a missed opportunity.
Another area where the book fell flat is the ending. I think it’s one of the most poorly thought-out sequences in fiction that I have ever read. I just wasn’t convinced of the tactics that Robin and his friends use to bring down the empire. It seems silly and childish, and even more unbelievable, their plan actually works to a great extent.
Despite these issues, though, this book worked for me. Primarily because of the setting, the world-building, and the ideas, and the fact that she doesn’t back down from her viewpoints. At times, it does feel a bit much, like white people = bad, which is probably why she’s generally seen as a polarizing writer (just get on the internet, there’s so much criticism of her books).
Overall, I really like this book for the great concepts, good writing, and the way she builds the story. I would have liked a little less of the black and white moralizing, over-explaining, and the stock characters. However, her passion, uniqueness, and vivid worldbuilding more than made up for the book’s flaws.
This is not a book for everyone, for sure. But if you are in a forgiving mood, and want to read some interesting concepts, and nerd out over history and etymology, I think you will like this one.
