el dang wants to read Siren Queen by Nghi Vo
It was magic. In every world, it was a kind of magic. "No maids, no …
#SFFBookClub April
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Tak! commented on Siren Queen by Nghi Vo
It was magic. In every world, it was a kind of magic. "No maids, no …
#SFFBookClub pick for April 2024
el dang started reading He Who Drowned the World by Shelley Parker-Chan
Zhu Yuanzhang, the Radiant King, is riding high on her recent victory that tore southern …
I've been looking forward to this sequel since the moment I finished book 1. #SFFBookClub
I've been looking forward to this sequel since the moment I finished book 1. #SFFBookClub
From award-winning author R. F. Kuang comes Babel, a thematic response to The Secret History …
spoiler-free vague review + CWs for this book
5 stars
A long, heavy, beautifully written and very biting book about the ways in which colonialism coopts people and institutions, and the simultaneous difficulty and necessity of resisting that. Deeply and cleverly tied in with real 19th Century history of Britain and its empire, while also being a fantasy story with a very specific magic system that I enjoyed in itself.
I highly recommend this book, but it should also come with some content warnings: * Colonialism * Lots of depictions of racism * Abusive parenting * Abusive academia * Violence * Not afraid to kill important characters
A long, heavy, beautifully written and very biting book about the ways in which colonialism coopts people and institutions, and the simultaneous difficulty and necessity of resisting that. Deeply and cleverly tied in with real 19th Century history of Britain and its empire, while also being a fantasy story with a very specific magic system that I enjoyed in itself.
I highly recommend this book, but it should also come with some content warnings: * Colonialism * Lots of depictions of racism * Abusive parenting * Abusive academia * Violence * Not afraid to kill important characters
Traduttore, traditore: An act of translation is always an act of betrayal. 1828. Robin Swift, …
Babel
5 stars
Content warning I don't think I can review this without some vague spoilers
Babel is a story of colonialism, racism, sexism, whiteness, Englishness, loss, betrayal, and despair. It's basically a modern parable grittily illustrating the causes and consequences of colonialism.
I love the translation magic mechanism, and I found the embedded etymology tidbits super interesting.
I also appreciate that the author had the courage to allow Bad Things to happen to major characters - not in a GRRM torture porn kind of way, but just as a kind of natural consequence of the world and the characters' interactions.
From award-winning author R. F. Kuang comes Babel, a thematic response to The Secret History …
Content warning First Interlude of Book 5
I continue to be amazed at the nuance of the characters who act within the context of their position in society, making me both feel deep hatred and immense compassion. With the span of a couple chapters, I was goaded into the same bloodlust for Letty as Robin felt (which was not a common reaction for me, violence is not typically my jam), and then was able to nod in understanding through the eyes of Letty in this interlude. Nothing outlined here was new or a surprise, it was just lost in the bigger tapestry, and the more front and center suffering of the other characters. The short interlude brought this so deftly into focus; a reminder that anyone who isn’t on top is fighting tooth in nail in the social dogpile for space to breathe and be seen, to be accepted.
No matter how morally suspect or potentially thoughtless the decision was, she too took action that aligned with her beliefs and convictions. Brutal. #SFFBookClub
From award-winning author R. F. Kuang comes Babel, a thematic response to The Secret History …
Edit: This quote was actually from another book I’m reading. See the quote from In The Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado for proper context. Sorry!
There was an idea somewhere in this book (early on perhaps?) that talked about the etymology of archive or archivist, how it’s an act of policy, governance, power. Even though I can’t recall the quote since I didn’t get a chance to write it down, it’s been a recurring haunting; sometimes insidious, other times ethereal and fascinating. The idea isn’t new, but peering under the hood into the history of the word and then filtering that through real historical context gives it more verisimilitude (more than this even, but words fail me) in my mind. #SFFBookClub
From award-winning author R. F. Kuang comes Babel, a thematic response to The Secret History …
The audiobook is fantastic, there are just so many quotes I want to write down and I’m awful at doing it in this format. #SFFBookClub
From award-winning author R. F. Kuang comes Babel, a thematic response to The Secret History …
Historical note: Jardine & Matheson were real people and played very much the same role in real history that they are playing when they show up in this book. Their company, now just "Jardine Matheson", still exists, still has a large footprint in Hong Kong, and did very well out of Britain's abuse of China. If you don't know the history and don't want spoilers then I'd wait until a couple of chapters after they're introduced to look them up. Though I'm also assuming that somewhere after where I've reached, the book must diverge from the real history.
Karl Gützlaff was also a real person whose attitudes seem to be faithfully represented in the book, though I don't know enough about him to know how historically accurate his actions in the book are. #SFFBookClub
Historical note: Jardine & Matheson were real people and played very much the same role in real history that they are playing when they show up in this book. Their company, now just "Jardine Matheson", still exists, still has a large footprint in Hong Kong, and did very well out of Britain's abuse of China. If you don't know the history and don't want spoilers then I'd wait until a couple of chapters after they're introduced to look them up. Though I'm also assuming that somewhere after where I've reached, the book must diverge from the real history.
Karl Gützlaff was also a real person whose attitudes seem to be faithfully represented in the book, though I don't know enough about him to know how historically accurate his actions in the book are. #SFFBookClub
Traduttore, traditore: An act of translation is always an act of betrayal. 1828. Robin Swift, …
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.
— Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution by R.F. Kuang
screamsbeneath replied to el dang's status
Content warning ch15 spoiler
@eldang@outside.ofa.dog I felt very similar about this scene. It was deeply uncomfortable in a very real sense. I felt that it was so well done and a perfect example of the fine distinction between caricature villains commonly found in books and an unrelentingly cruel and self-absorbed character that mirrors reality. In isolation they both look similar, but with context it’s a world of difference. #SFFBookClub
screamsbeneath replied to el dang's status
Content warning ch15 spoiler
@eldang@outside.ofa.dog I felt very similar about this scene. It was deeply uncomfortable in a very real sense. I felt that it was so well done and a perfect example of the fine distinction between caricature villains commonly found in books and an unrelentingly cruel and self-absorbed character that mirrors reality. In isolation they both look similar, but with context it’s a world of difference. #SFFBookClub
From award-winning author R. F. Kuang comes Babel, a thematic response to The Secret History …
Content warning ch15 spoiler
Yesterday I read the scene in which Professor Lovell browbeats Robin into pretending contrition and giving up a scrap of information about Hermes. A different part of it is haunting me: the way Lovell never engages with a single moral claim Robin makes, just mocks and dismisses them out of hand. That part of the conversation, I've had personally with so many relatives and the occasional coworker / fellow student. And I keep reading reports of political and media figures doing the same - Lovell might as well have just said "woke" with that sneer they all do.
None of which is a criticism of the book! It was a painfully well-observed scene. #SFFBookClub
From award-winning author R. F. Kuang comes Babel, a thematic response to The Secret History …
London at the time of... approximately chapter 15: sciencemastodon.com/@oldmapgallery/111931878489659575 cdn.masto.host/sciencemastodoncom/media_attachments/files/111/931/866/556/732/629/original/197a25046f337b05.jpg
among other things, it really underscores how separate Hampstead would have felt back then.
From award-winning author R. F. Kuang comes Babel, a thematic response to The Secret History …
Content warning ch12, non spoiler
I'm enjoying how much Kuang ties the fantasy world of the book to the real world unrest that was happening at the same time, and how timeless the attitudes of the people fully bought into the system are. #SFFBookClub