Babel: An Arcane History by R.F. Kuang

CW: Racism, colonisation, misogynie, child abuse, death, murder, slavery

Rating

Review

First thing first, this book is one of my favourites of the year, and I think it takes the first place in my ranking, but we still have some time before the end of the year so we will see.

This book is divided into five parts, but we mainly follow Robin’s pov. We have three interludes that follow the pov of a person from the cohort, which helps us understand them a little more. In these books, we follow a significant evolution of Robin from the child saved by a “stranger” to an adult who has beliefs and will do everything to make them real. Many moments are hard to read as it was set in 1836; you have a ton of racism and misogyny. But, sadly, it’s part of this era, so to this book. The beginning is a little slow, as even if it’s based on history, you have a big part that is fiction, and many new elements are introduced to us. Nevertheless, as the story progresses, the pace takes up.

The essential elements in that book are silver and translation, which impact the geopolitics and the economy, so we have many details about how it affects the empire. We have, throughout the whole book, explanations of this material which is silver and the power it has. This takes so much place in the book, and at reason, that you have the past, present and future of it. You also have demonstrations of its power when coupled with words and how it is used everywhere in Britain, which make it very dependent on it. This silver also has consequences for the working class, which you see at different moments in the book. I found this side of the book so interesting, as the mix between fiction and reality is so well-constructed. Also, I discover that I need more books with footnotes; they add so much to a story.

The characters were just, oh my god! I was so impressed by their complexities, especially the cohort, Robin, Ramy, Victoire and Letty. They all have different mindsets due to their past, but they created a friendship thanks to it. Each of them has a place in their little group and completes each other. All the characters, even the ones I wanted to see dead, and there are some of them, are so mundane. Most of them, as they are rich, want to be richer, not only with money but reputation and will do anything for it. They all face a problem at some point in the book; some are more underlined than others.

I dived into this book right from the first few pages. This book is so worth it, even if it took me some time to read, as it’s still a big one.

Liz.