Babel

Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators’ Revolution

by

eBook, 641 pages

English language

Published Aug. 31, 2022 by HarperCollins UK.

ISBN:
978-0-00-850183-9
Copied ISBN!

View on OpenLibrary

4 stars (4 reviews)

The city of dreaming spires.

It is the centre of all knowledge and progress in the world.

And at its centre is Babel, the Royal Institute of Translation. The tower from which all the power of the Empire flows.

Orphaned in Canton and brought to England by a mysterious guardian, Babel seemed like paradise to Robin Swift.

Until it became a prison…

But can a student stand against an empire?

2 editions

reviewed Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution

Kääntäjät kolonialismia vastaan

3 stars

Nautin kovasti R. F. Kuangin Poppy War -trilogiasta, ja Babel on odottanut jo jonkin aikaa hyllyssä lukemista.

Ensi alkuun tuntui, että odotukset täyttyivät. Tapani mukaan en lukenut kirjasta edes takakantta, joten koko kirjan lähtökohta tuli yllätyksenä. Ajatus käännösten merkityseroista maailmaa pyörittävänä käyttövoimana oli toisaalta vitsikäs mutta toisaalta antoi vallan käyttökelpoisen tavan käsitellä kolonialistista yhteiskuntaa. Kuangin kerronta vei tarinaa eteenpäin kuin juna.

Jossain vaiheessa jännite kuitenkin katosi. Kirja oli alusta loppuun sujuvaa luettavaa, mutta viimeinen kolmannes on lähinnä loppukliimaksin odottamista, jossa tuntuu, että mitään merkittävää ei tapahdu. Tämä ei tietenkään pidä paikkaansa - kyllähän kirjassa tapahtuu, paljonkin, mutta tunteet, joita lukiessa voisi kuvitella heräävän, jäävät syttymättä.

Lopussa hiukan pedataan siihen suuntaan, että kirjalle voisi tulla myös jatkoa, mutta Kuang on ilmeisesti ilmoittanut, että toista kirjaa ei ole luvassa. Yllä kirjoittamastani huolimatta se ehkä hivenen harmittaa.

reviewed Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators’ Revolution by R. F. Kuang

Review of 'Babel' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

This memorable novel is both ingeniously creative and importantly timely in its message. R.F. Kuang weaves together a story that injects magical realism into a novel that is both historical and revisionist. That is, this is a story that asks us to imagine the road not taken at a certain time in history, and the ethics of the decisions of those in power–and question how and why such power came to be, in the first place.

I felt that the characters were well-developed and realistically complex, making it possible for the reader to feel the emotion in their stories. The plot was also well crafted and paced.

Instead of summarizing the plot, I want to simply recommend this novel, which I knew nothing about before I started reading. Part of the magic, for me, was simply reading on to discover the shape of the world as it is created by …

reviewed Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators’ Revolution by R. F. Kuang

Review of 'Babel' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

It was good, really good. The characters were interesting and three dimensional and enjoyable, the setting and plot was engaging and high stakes, and the translation lectures were tailor made for language nerds like me.

However, don’t do like I did and go into this expecting a fantasy novel. This is, mostly, historical fiction with a magic system reskinning technological progress in Victorian England.

This is not a knock on it, though, saying that it’s superfluous; it has a very interesting, if specific effect on the reader’s relationship with the world. It moves all of the varied goods and services that imperial Britain used to maintain power over their colonies into one spot and one profession: Oxford translators. As I see it, the silver magic system mostly exists to move the political center of Britain into this area. And I enjoyed it if only for this facet, if not for …

reviewed Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators’ Revolution by R. F. Kuang

Good, but not without flaws

4 stars

Some frustration with footnotes (both spotting the asterix and how Kuang was using them - particularly early on - but there was a moment of clarity later on… but then Chapter 31 happened?!?) and that the queer characters were killed off and never able to tell each other they were head-over-heels (and not in a tragedy style way either)… but otherwise really good.

I love translation and the thought that goes into it - much of which is covered here.

Subjects

  • Fantasy
  • Historical Fiction
  • Languages
  • Colonialism

Get a copy