Babel

Title: Babel, or The Necessity of Violence

By: R.F Kuang

Length: 545 pgs 

Age Rating: I believe this book is alot like Coraline, in the sense that a younger audience would perceive this book far differently than an older audience who perhaps has been through the academic institutions already. Both audiences stand to gain from their perceptions of this book. That being said, there are alot of themes running through this book that while I don’t think children should be shielded from them, they may require additional explanation.  

Rating: 45/50 (Big numbers for a Big Book)

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The Non-Spoilers Version 

  This book honestly feels bigger than it is, and not in the bad way. Looking at the page count I was shocked because it feels like such a large story, and it should, taking you through Robbins life and his philosophies. The philosophy and etymology in this book alone feels like it could take up a whole other book, and at times I was so enthralled in the minute details of their schoolwork and how the magic of their world worked that I almost didnt want the overarching plot to progress. I liked the ending. I found it realistic. I did not love how it was written, but I feel like thats a personal taste thing rather than a genuine critique of the book. This book asks alot of deep questions, and may have you really thinking about the impact magic would have had on colonization, imperialism, racism, and frankly our world at large. I would highly recommend this book, but only if you really have the time to dissect the themes and cruxes of the plot and conflicts running through the book. There is a lot to philosophically dissect. This book would make a great book club book, simply for the questions it begins to ask. If you were ever a social sciences major in secondary education, you may get a bit extra out of this book on that alone. 

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The Spoilers Version

I may be a little more specific with my critiques here in this section, but before I dive into that, let me re-iterate, I loved this book. This book has important vibes. It asks philosophical questions and dives into political science conundrums while tying in an element of fantasy that made a fascinating read. I found the magic to work logically, and follow the rules that had been established. It felt realistic. I may be pessimistic, but I have very little doubt that if our world had the capacity for magic, it simply would have expedited the negatives of our world along with the positives, such as colonization, war, and every other cruelty that comes with nations scrabbling over a new power source. The intersectionality that played out across this book as well as the different nuances of racism and race perception is something that I feel is noteworthy to mention because of how heavy of a theme it played in the book. As mentioned, there are so many themes and philosophies running through this book, one could almost write a second dissecting them all. 

All of that being said, I do have some small critiques. Firstly, Babel mentions real authors multiple times, Mary Wollstonecraft and a few others if memory serves. This may feel a bit nitpicky, and I agree that the overall themes of our world would carry over, but there's no butterfly effect here? None of the authors mentioned were impacted by the creation of magic nor did it impact their views/consequential writings? Crazy! Secondly, I like the fact that Victorie left and escaped. She should have. She wanted to live. It didn't make sense for them all to stay. I do wish there had of been a slightly more emotional reaction to Letty’s betrayal, especially when they had the down time after taking the tower. I understand Victorie’s need to get out of town quickly after the events of the book, but her escaping to America of all places, where slavery is emphasized as still legal, feels contradictory to what had been established the entire book! For all of their conversations and the pointing out of her race, their discussions on slavery, and the racism she faced in Oxford, going to America introduces the possibility of being treated worse! It just doesn't feel like something she would do. Furthermore, having her bring up the fact that there are more “Robins” out there, means very little, because by this point we know that Robin is dead, and its not like she is going to do anything with it. It feels like a loose end that wasn't properly tied. As mentioned above, I wasn't the biggest fan of how the ending was written. Perhaps it was written the way it was to keep a certain age rating, I'm unsure, but it felt like it was dancing around the idea that Robin died. I know they were saying the plan was a death sentence, but every death plot in books typically has some sort of Hail Mary that allows them to pull through. Even as he was dying, if you want a “look to the sun and see the light” moment that's fine and fair, but maybe make it more clear he’s dying, they describe worse in far greater detail! 

All in all, I could probably write a thesis on this book, and I heavily recommend you read it. It may take a second to grow on you, but I found my notes that I jotted down while reading to be like 90% positive, and that's after not loving the ending. I do recommend buying, not borrowing this book, I got it in the Harper Collins March Madness sale, and its on my Kobo, but I also happen to love the cover art, so if I happen to find the hardcover version for a solid price, it may find its way onto my shelves.