Parker's Reviews > Babel

“‘How strange,’ said Ramy. ‘To love the stuff and the language, but to hate the country.’

‘Not as odd as you’d think,’ said Victoire. ‘There are people, after all, and then there are things.’”

Babel is by far the best fantasy that I've read this year. This is my kind of dark academia. It simultaneously embraces the aesthetic and wonders of Western scholarship but divulges an essential post-colonial critique. At the center of it, all is a complex, tortured protagonist torn between contentment and resistance.

The book contains fascinating lectures, and I do mean that literally, on the nature of translation and the innate power of language. While some might be turned off by the textbook quality of these sections, I was utterly fascinated. Kuang's concept of the literal act of translation being the catalyst for magic is so unique and works far better than I ever would have anticipated.

I smiled, I cringed, and I cried reading this novel. It's hard not to be emotionally touched by such rich, lively characters like the ever-so-charming Ramy, endlessly irritating Letty, or despicable Professor Lovell. It's one of those stories that leaves you at the edge of your seat and breathless at the end. I am legitimately sad that it had to end, but the ending is about as close to perfect as you can get for a novel of this scale. R.F. Kuang, you are my queen of fantasy!

I can't think of a better way to wrap up my reading year. 2023 didn't have as many bangers, but I've still garnered a solid top five. So, in chronological order:
1) Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow
2) Night Sky with Exit Wounds
3) We Are Bridges: A Memoir
4) The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
5) Babel
An honorable mention goes to All About Love: New Visions for making me cry on the Amtrack. Onwards to another great year of books in 2024!