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A review by lumie
Babel by R.F. Kuang
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
I found Babel to be such a polarizing book that I can't really rate it.
On one hand I really enjoyed the exploration of language, the magic system, and yes the footnotes. Not to mention the dark academia, Oxford vibes were impeccable.
I think if you are interested in Etymology, language and translation you would likely find it interesting as well, Kuang did a fantastic job on the research and it shows.
On the other I found the characters to be clumsily developed and incredibly stereotypical, their interaction felt hollow to me and the hand of the author was excessively present throughout, to the point where I was constantly yanked out of the story by how anachronistic it was.
Yeah, it's the first book I've read where I don't know whether I liked it or not. An interesting read.
On one hand I really enjoyed the exploration of language, the magic system, and yes the footnotes. Not to mention the dark academia, Oxford vibes were impeccable.
I think if you are interested in Etymology, language and translation you would likely find it interesting as well, Kuang did a fantastic job on the research and it shows.
On the other I found the characters to be clumsily developed and incredibly stereotypical, their interaction felt hollow to me and the hand of the author was excessively present throughout, to the point where I was constantly yanked out of the story by how anachronistic it was.
Yeah, it's the first book I've read where I don't know whether I liked it or not. An interesting read.