Babel by R.F. Kuang | Book Review

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Babel by R.F. Kuang
Published by Harper Voyager on August 23, 2022
Genres: Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Dark Academia, BIPOC
Pages: 560
Format: Hardback
Source: Purchased

Content Warnings: Racism, Classism, Death, Alcohol Use, Blood, Gore, Blackmail, Torture, Child Abuse, Gun Violence, Colonialism, Misogyny, Sexual Assault, Slavery, Self-Harm, Death of a Parent, Murder, War
Rating:

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. When Britain pursues an unjust war with China over silver and opium, Robin must decide . . . Can powerful institutions be changed from within, or does revolution always require violence?

Babel is my first experience with R.F. Kuang, as I have yet to read The Poppy Wars, and I was not disappointed. While I may not have rated Babel as high as other reviewers, it was still high up on my list of reads this year.

"Betrayal. Translation means doing violence upon the original, means warping and distorting it for foreign, unintended eyes."

Babel is an in-depth look at the harm colonialism has and is continuing to enact on society at large, set in a fantastical, alternative version of our own world where "magic" exists through the act of translation and silver bars. Despite it being set in an alternative reality, the message is no less an honest reflection of our world, where colonialism has led to the worst atrocities we have ever witnessed. Kuang ruthlessly explores the themes of colonialism, racism, and resistance, leaving very little up to interpretation. 

Some readers have remarked that Kuang is "heavy-handed" in her writing, but I disagree. Just because the exploration and commentary are "obvious" doesn't mean the writing is heavy-handed. In a world where people are arguing that books are not political, I think we need more authors to be clear in their messaging.

Kuang not-so-politely holds up a mirror to the reader and modern society and asks us to confront our darkest demons. Under all the glamour and illusions, we find there is nothing but a failing system leading all of us to our inevitable doom. Robin, our main character, and his friends, who are largely non-white immigrants, are faced with the harsh realities of an oppressive system that is failing everyone except the ultra-wealthy. From capitalism and colonialism to misogyny and racism, our characters, and therefore we as readers, experience the very worst society has to offer, and things never get better.

"Only it builds up, doesn’t it? It doesn’t just disappear. And one day you start prodding at what you’ve suppressed. And it’s a mass of black rot, and it’s endless, horrifying, and you can’t look away."

It's through this exploration that we find ourselves siding with what society calls "terrorists," the individuals fighting against the system. The lengths our characters are willing to go to fight against oppression are the same lengths that so many people have gone through for centuries. This is a culmination of resistance, the desire to fight for freedom and liberation, even when death comes knocking. I was sobbing by the end of Babel, my heart aching for our characters and the world. From the language to the setting to the themes and magic system, Babel is a masterpiece.

“Power did not lie in the tip of a pen. Power did not work against its own interests. Power could only be brought to heel by acts of defiance it could not ignore. With brute, unflinching force. With violence.”

While I thought the story dragged in some parts and could have probably been about 150-200 pages shorter, I loved every minute of it. From the linguistic lessons to the footnotes, my breath was consistently taken away. I am such a sucker for footnotes, whether they are real or not; I believe they are a unique and interesting way to world-build. I loved the footnotes just as much here as I did in the Emily Wilde Trilogy. However, some parts were read like an academic textbook, with very little actually happening in the story. This was my biggest qualm with the book.

Furthermore, the magic system was profoundly unique. Translations were written on silver bars, which were then used to perform different tasks, like shielding the building or speeding up carriages. What was even more interesting was that the silver bar's function waned over time, and eventually, some word pairs no longer worked because the languages became too similar to each other. French and Spanish end up having words in common with English as societies intermingle and trade, resulting in a Frankenstein language. This was such a clever idea, and I ate it up.

I cannot recommend Babel enough, especially in light of current events, not just here in the United States, but all over the world. Alt-right ideologies and politics are on the rise, which is a threat to all of us, not just a few. I encourage you to educate yourself through diverse viewpoints and take whatever actions you can to fight against oppression.