scijessreads

I read Babel by R.F. Kuang as an audiobook. I am very glad I did so, as I think reading it as an eBook or a physical book would have been harder for me to finish. In that way, it reminded me of when I read Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrel. I could not finish it as an actual book but was completely drawn into the audiobook and loved every minute of it. And long after I finished Babel, it stayed with me. It made me angry and sad and curious and resigned all at once. A book that draws out emotions like that is one that I will forever remember and recommend to others.

Wow. This book says all the quiet parts out loud. It takes the ideas of colonialism, empire-building, capitalism, racism, misogyny, and a whole host of other “-isms” and sets them down in a historical fantasy setting (to make it go down easier?). 

We follow the lives of Robin, Victoire, Ramy, and Letty as they toil in academia at Babel, the place where language is used to control the magic of silver. Silver that the entirety of the British empire relies upon. Silver that highlights and exacerbates class warfare. Silver is used as a preamble to wage war against nations and cultures that the (white) British leadership claims are lazy and “other” and not worth anything. Except those that are exploitable to furnish Babel with languages that it can plunder to expand its silverworks. 

This is a story of place, belonging, and otherness. This is a story about what people are willing to either endure or give up in the name of safety and the status quo. This is a story about breaking points and the costs and worthiness of rebellion. It takes language and uses it to fuel a narrative that is prescient and still ever-so-real. 

Finishing Babel makes me excited to read Yellowface, Kuang’s most recent book. I am on the waitlist at my library to get it and am very much looking forward to delving into that story soon.