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A review by the_bookish_owl
Babel by R.F. Kuang
informative
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
I first started reading Babel last year on my Kindle tablet and something about it just wasn't vibing so I abandoned ship and told myself I'd try it again sometime. Coincidentally I went to the library and they had it in massive unwieldy hardback 😂
So I did actually finish it this time and to be honest I found it disappointing. I kept expecting more but instead we get a lot of lectures about language and racism, a lot of pointless footnotes (how useful is a footnote of a Chinese character to the average reader?), and a lot of "time passed, exams were taken" kind of talk.
The action did pick up about three quarters of the way through but it quickly dropped off again and the last 100 pages or so really dragged and then the ending was infuriating because it wasn't so much an ending as a lack of ending. It just stopped. There was no resolution or aftermath.
So I did actually finish it this time and to be honest I found it disappointing. I kept expecting more but instead we get a lot of lectures about language and racism, a lot of pointless footnotes (how useful is a footnote of a Chinese character to the average reader?), and a lot of "time passed, exams were taken" kind of talk.
The action did pick up about three quarters of the way through but it quickly dropped off again and the last 100 pages or so really dragged and then the ending was infuriating because it wasn't so much an ending as a lack of ending. It just stopped. There was no resolution or aftermath.