⋆⋆⋆⋆.5 out of 5 stars

Listen, this book is not going to be for everyone. R.F. Kuang is a brilliant writer. I was sucked in to this book, even though it had its slow points. It is such a good introduction to a lot of ideas about anti-colonialism and anti-imperialism. Any academics who have been decolonizing their contributions to their field will resonate with the questions the main characters are asking.

This is a really common criticism that I see for this book, but I have to agree. I do think that there was a lot of showing and not telling about the main characters and they're dynamic. We got to see so much of Robin's dialogue and I think we get a lot of good growth from him, but for 2/3s of the book we get so little about his friends that there is so much ground to cover in big moments with them at the end.

I think if you like historical fiction and are interested in english, history, or languages, you would enjoy this, but know that you're going into a book that is riding HEAVY on vibes and plot, not necessarily rich characters.