Babel

5/5 stars

Robin Swift has been brought from Canton to the western world. Stationed at Babel, a center for translation and silver-working, he is offered privileges he never dreamed of. As his time at Babel progresses, he begins to feel a disconnect with his motherland and is pulled into the allure of a mysterious society, Hermes. He struggles with what feels right, protecting Babel or protecting China, and must decide what he’s willing to risk to save what he loves.

Babel is a monster of a book that took me over a month to read. It began as a very slow-burn and character-driven. I immediately could relate to Robin as a fellow Chinese person struggling to fit into a society without much representation. As a transracial adoptee, I reacted strongly to the sentiments that Robin should be grateful for what he has even though he is still treated differently than his white counterparts because anything is better than continuing to live in China. I felt deep empathy for Robin as I had experienced similar reactions to my own adoption. 

There were many characters to follow, and I liked all of them. That is, while there were some I disagreed with (Letty, for example), I thought they perfectly embodied the characteristics needed to highlight the social disparities in the book. A particular passage stood out in my mind where Letty, the white, female friend, finally starts listening to the others’ struggles and somehow, they still end up comforting her and modifying their tone to make her feel safe in the awkward conversation. 

It wasn’t until the last 15% or so that the plot really picked up. And by really picked up, I mean there was more action that in the rest of the book. The climax had finally arrived and even then, it was a slow burn. The resolution was more gentle than I had anticipated after so much build-up. It didn’t feel wrong and it wasn’t disappointing. I think it was a realistic end to a tragic story. 

I could go on and on about how I though Kuang brilliantly tackled really difficult conversations in a book that already had a captivating plot. I loved the amount of research that went into this, and as a language-lover myself, was excited by all the new vocabulary and footnotes to devour. 

Overall, this was a stellar read. It took me a much longer time to finish than my other reads, but it was well worth it. It was deeply emotional and the ending brought me a sad comfort and acceptance that their world isn’t much different from my own. I have seen so many people rave about this book, and I am happy to say I am one of them too. I will definitely be reading Kuang’s other works now!