Babel (Late to the Party)
I just finished reading Babel, and, knowing there was extensive online debates about it, I started pouring through many of the negative reviews to see what people had to say about it (warning: many of these are from Reddit/Goodreads. Not exactly professional, alas). While there were many critiques that, although I may have disagreed with, were completely valid, such as pacing, the extensive lectures on translation or linguistics, how characters speak in what's supposed to be the 1800's, or even the lack of "showing" compared to "telling" (of which I agree with the last two points!); however, there were so many that repeated the same few complaints: No nuance, flat characters, and too "preachy." Of course, people have their opinions, but I would love to discuss mine as many of these seem to be issues I see in a lot of complaints about different media.
Robin is the very limited main point of view we, as readers, are allowed to see through. Because of this, we are left with only glimpses of others. Griffen, in particular, is the most obvious counterpart to Robin (FOIL). His whole purpose is to challenge Robin and his ideas, not to be a whole, fleshed-out character. This is not an accident, this is intentional and his purpose is done once Robin has shifted his worldview. Now, I could understand wanting a bit more from Ramy or Victoire (the latter especially, though I thought the last arc really helped her out), but Letty was an incredibly grounded view of a wealthy, white person surrounded by the struggles of
Race, Colonialism, and "White People Bad" Arguments
Speaking as a white male, my view on race is limited; however, the critiques of people complaining that the "white people being bad" or "colonialism is bad" is too simple of a message feels reductive both in what this novel is saying in total, as well as making it appear as if these issues are of the past and resolved.
The novel is very clearly not saying individualized white people are bad. There are white people dying for the same cause that Robin and his friends are fighting for. Just like how "all men are bad" wasn't the message of the Barbie movie, it's clear Kuang is writing about the system in which is in place. Of "Whiteness" as a system, similar to patriarchal or socio-economic standards. Yes, the racism is blatant, in your(Robin's) face, and without subtlety. This is colonial England fresh off of abolition of slavery. The United States is 150 years off of slavery, and we have the President on live television calling anyone who isn't white a rapist, while a good portion of the country cheers. While there may have been better ways to approach it, Kuang did not cartoonify anything. She forced the reader to confront it each time, and didn't let you forget it existed.
Letty and Tying All This Together
Letty is such an interesting character, because as a white woman, she is facing prejudice, thinking she understands her cohort, while fully misrepresenting what it is they fight for. I saw a review that was disappointed she didn't have a change of heart because "the white person has to be the bad guy." If this isn't a gross misread, as well as white fragility in its most undisguised form, then I don't know what is.
Her character is so interesting because of this dynamic, showing the grips that "whiteness" and the colonial system have in place, even within someone who is consistently ostracized for being a woman (including by her own family!). She is the neoliberal "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" idea personified. Why can't the beggar just get a job? Why can't they all just bow down to a system designed to kill them? At least then they can be alive, rich, and maybe ignore enough to forget about problems overseas. After all, why bother with something that doesn't affect you?
Letty is also such a glimpse into what Robin almost became, when he refused the call to act against the empire. He wanted to live the life Letty talked about. He tried desperately to, but he couldn't--and Letty couldn't force herself to understand why.
Anyways, that was a lot of rambling probably said better by others before me. I just thoroughly enjoyed it, and was shocked to see so many people upset at what I thought were pretty fundamental to why it did so well. I'd love to hear differing opinions as I process it more, but these are my initial (sleepy) thoughts.
