This Book is Smarter Than Me
Babel made me wish I never learnt how to read but in the best way possible.
By the time Professor Richard Lovell found his way through Canton’s narrow alleys to the faded address in his diary, the boy was the only one in the house left alive.
I’ll be honest, I wasn’t unhappy when the Queen died. If anything, I was surprised she could die because a small part of me had genuinely thought she would outlive the end of the world. Also, I was holding out hope in this conspiracy theory that the Queen actually died towards the end of 2021 and all her appearances since then were deepfaked.
For the most part, most of my friends were in the same boat as me—we live in Commonwealth nations—so this marker of what could be the end of the monarchy was just fodder for our Twitter memes. But of course, there were people who were genuinely upset over her death. And it was this split in public opinion that I kept coming back to as I read Babel.
After his family died during a cholera break out in Canton, Robin Swift—an anglicised name forced upon him—is taken in as a ward by Professor Lovell. As part of the professor’s conditions for Robin to continue living with him, he must study to become a linguist and eventually further his studies at Babel, Oxford. But as he grows older, Robin realises the professor’s conditions were not as innocent at they seem.
In Babel, the British empire has made its wealth by hoarding and selling silver bars that—with the right language pairs carved onto them—power the whole of London and the industrial revolution. And Robin’s native fluency in Mandarin only endears him to the empire as they seek to expand into China’s sphere of influence. With this knowledge looming over him, graduation seems more out-of-reach as Robin must choose between his allegiance to the only world he has ever known and his values.
I have been waiting for Babel’s release since R. F. Kuang announced it in 2021. The original premise had hooked me in since I had been looking for a good dark academia book to sink my teeth into. And sink my teeth into this I did, the novel is 500 pages long and is comparable in thickness to my copy of Les Misérables (which I DNF’d). Mercury retrograde is also testing my patience as I couldn’t find this book til weeks after its publication even though I was haunting the store every weekend because I wanted to get this review out before the end of September.
But what a way to end the month. I could feel my brain growing in size as I read through this book. The philosophy behind language and translating is really just the tip of the iceberg here; Babel also deals with topics like white supremacy, imperialism, race, colourism, sexism, class solidarity — all heavy subjects that are handled with incredible care but also not in a way that feels too in-your-face.1 And these are not just one-off instances either. Within Robin’s friend group at Babel, we see how everyone’s race, gender, and class all play into their own experiences and shape their decisions as they themselves try to find a place within London. I am in love with all the characters—except one and you know what you did—and how nuanced they are as people.
The price for my newly-found intelligence however is a broken heart. As a Chinese person who doesn’t always feel the strongest connection with my heritage, I felt Robin’s pain so deeply when he realised he did not fully belong to either of his two worlds. Try as he might, he cannot integrate into Britain’s white society as they won’t let him as a Chinese man, and after being ripped from Canton at a young age, he no longer belongs to his homeland as well, which has moved on in his absence.
Robin’s struggle to find a balance between Babel and his owned lived experiences was incredibly realistic. I don’t think there is a way to come to terms with knowing that you are part of a war machine, and that violence is what keeps you fed. And to some, the conclusion for Robin might seem very obvious but it can be—and is—incredibly hard to find your path out.
I cried over Babel. Literally felt drunk off it and woke up with a book hangover the very next day. You know when you read something and you genuinely know it has changed you in some way? I can count on one hand what books live inside me and Babel has made it to that very prestigious list.
If you’ve been looking for a new dark academia book to add into your shelves, if you want a book that is intelligent and devastating, or if you want a book that will leave you awestruck, you need to get your hands on Babel immediately.
Rating: 5/5
Babel by R. F. Kuang was released 23 August and published by Harper Voyager.
September Round-up
No round up this month! All books that I have managed to read this month have ended up being featured in my newsletter so if you missed any of my past reviews, you can find them from the home page.
This October, I will be reading—and of course, recommending—horror novels for all the spooky feels. I have some classics and new books that I’m excited to dig into, so keep an eye out for me in your inbox!
I say this not because I mind overt depictions, but rather I know some readers might find it very jarring to be giving a lecture on the basics of bigotry, especially if they are part of a marginalised group as well. I also recognise some of those complaining about things being “in your face” are at best, people uncomfortable with confronting their own biases or at worst, using it as a dogwhistle.
Also R. F. Kuang uses footnotes in Babel as well which I have never seen done outside of nonfiction books but I really enjoyed the use of them.