Babel
Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators’ Revolution
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4.2 • 944 Ratings
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- $15.99
Publisher Description
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 alternative fantastical history, but an interrogative one; one that grabs colonial history and the Industrial Revolution, turns it over, and shakes it out." — Shannon Chakraborty, bestselling author of The City of Brass
From award-winning author R. F. Kuang comes Babel, a thematic response to The Secret History and a tonal retort to Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell in this unforgettable work of dark academia that grapples with student revolutions, colonial resistance, and the use of language and translation as the dominating tool of the British empire.
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.
Babel is the world's center for translation and, more importantly, magic. The unique magic system of silver working—the art of manifesting the meaning lost in translation using enchanted silver bars—has made the British unparalleled in power, as its knowledge 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, a secret society dedicated to stopping imperial expansion. When Britain pursues an unjust war with China over silver and opium, Robin must decide…
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
We were awestruck by this stunning historical fantasy set in Victorian England. Young Robin Swift has such an innate gift for language that he’s being groomed by the British Crown to become a translator—and the stakes are high, as the meanings of words create a magical power that can be wielded to run a worldwide empire. But Robin soon discovers an underground network of linguists trying to undo the damage this magic has wrought. Author R. F. Kuang weaves fantasy and history together into an intricate story of love, loss, friendship, and family, all while exploring the complexities of language, culture, and colonialism. Narrator Chris Lew Kum Hoi brilliantly portrays Robin, while Billie Fulford-Brown chimes in to delightfully narrate the book’s many asides explaining linguistics and history. Engaging and poignant, Babel uses brilliant fantasy world-building to grapple with real events.
Customer Reviews
Love for Linguistics and Insane Twists
Every language learner should read this book. The author’s thorough research and passion for linguistics really shines through in a way I’ve never seen before. It was so cool to see a whole magic system be built around one of my life’s passions as a language student myself. Though the general themes can feel overbearing from being stated over and over, I think it gives weight to the overall narrative and drama of the story.
This book takes the magic of language, translation, interpretation, and the unrelenting severity of colonialism, nationalism, and class struggle incredibly seriously, which makes for a not only enjoyable but also eye-opening experience. I definitely will be reading this again at some point.
Well done
An inventive, biting, melancholy tale. I’ll not soon forget it. Kuang’s writing is so self-assured. The pacing in this novel is slower than the poppy war trilogy but that seems by design.
A textbook
I have no doubt that RF is extremely intelligent and did a ludicrous amount of research for this book. For that, 5 stars.
But the sheer amount of straight-up linguistics lessons and etymology explanations is staggering for a fiction book. I would say that it removes you from the story, but there’s so many of them that it really is the story.
On top of that, Robin may just be the most boring yet somehow infuriating main character I’ve ever read. By the middle of the book I couldn’t care less what happened to him, I just hoped it would happen soon so I could be done reading his thoughts.
And then the end of the book, the only interesting part, happens so quickly it’s not even enjoyed.
Think of the least interesting person you know telling you about their homework for six hours and then saying something cool at the end seemingly by accident