I finally finished Babel after a month! I finally think I'm shaking this reading slump though, and it was a brilliant book. I think it will take a while to fully process all the detail!
It was a truly amazing story and anybody who called it 'preachy' needs to take a look at their own values- it was a realistic portrayal of 1800s England and the racism imbued in it. She managed to invent a magical industry but also accurately predict the pitfalls it would have had.
Amazing work from RF Kuang as always, and I really enjoyed the linguistic focus, and how much she discusses meanings that get lost in translation, and how much viewpoints of nations can be seen through languages. It was intense and detailed, but that was honestly what made it as good as it was.
I also loved her clever technique of adding extra context at the bottom, even story relevant details that it would feel too clunky to add into dialogue. She managed to balance a complex historical and multicultural story while still enduring any reader could understand.
The characters were raw and real, and the effort she put into showing us the variety of viewpoints that still exist within the same side was so eye opening and honest. Her understanding of human motivation and psychology always blows me away.
4.5 stars from me ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨️, the 0.5 simply because I would have liked more information on the aftermath, but also understand there wasn't many characters to give it through (this will make sense if you've read it).
To me it is less fantasy focused than the Poppy Wars, so if it was only the aspect of Rin and shamans that you enjoyed in that book, you may not love this as much. However if you enjoyed the historical and political elements pick this up quickly!!
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