Book review — Babel, by R. F. Kuang
Topics: books
Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators’ Revolution, by Rebecca F. Kuang
The horrible suspicion that I might be Letty. That is what this book leaves me with, as a White child of Empire: I would not have been one of the Balliol boys, boozily judging all beneath them, but for all that I might be one kind of outsider, I am still in so many ways playing on easy mode. I feel Robin’s grief and horror, but it is not mine.
But what a book. The meticulously researched details, cast into the background of one scene and never referred to again — because what matters is the human stories playing out in the foreground.
This review was thumb-typed into Apple’s Journal app. I started writing book reviews there, but found typing lengthy text on an iPhone keyboard to be more friction than I was willing to deal with. There is no sign of Apple bringing Journal to one of its platforms with proper keyboards, so at this point I have given up on the idea of keeping up these reviews.
If you want a more extensive discussion of Babel, check out the Guardian’s review.
🖼️ Cover image from publisher’s website