Babel by R. F. Kuang

By R.F. Kuang

Book Overview

Instant #1 New York Times Bestseller from the author of The Poppy War "Absolutely phenomenal. One of the most brilliant, razor-sharp books I've had the pleasure of reading that isn't just an... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0063294184
• ISBN13: 9780063294189
• Release Date: January 2022
• Publisher: HC Publishing
• Length: 546 Pages
• Weight: 1.67 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.8" x 6.3" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Such a good read.

I read it entirely in a week. It’s such a well written story and very well researched. The emphasis in the power of language and culture in relation to politics and academia (and vice versa) was moving and not written in a way that was difficult to understand or misinterpret. I may have to reread this at a later point in life! So good!

Fantasy but with a purposeful message/history

Kind of reminds me of Animal Farm, but so much more. It is a fantasy plot, but with obvious parallels to real history. For someone like me who doesn't know the history much, I will be rereading it as I learn more about the history of the time period it takes place. It builds upon this history and the perspective of minorities, especially those of colonized people, to argue that an oppressor can only be faced through some violence. While the message seems a bit pessimistic, I found the characters to be rather balanced and potentially accurate, but fitting for the argument. It's a book that can just be enjoyed as a fantasy novel or that can be looked at deeper to see if you agree with author or not and can discuss this with other readers. It also has more than one message/argument to think about, so even if you don't like the overarching argument, you can still think about the smaller ones more relevant to colonialism rather than protesting.