Babel

by R.F. Kuang

The Wealth of Nations, by Adam Smith. He shook his head. ‘I’m sorry, no.’

talismans. He’d seen them

Lilliput did: a faraway, imaginary, fantasy

He buried his past life, not because it was so terrible but because abandoning it was the only way to survive. He pulled on his English accent like a new coat, adjusted everything he could about himself to make it fit, and, within weeks, wore it with comfort.

But then the fog cleared, and a grey-black silhouette emerged over the horizon, and that was the first glimpse Robin ever had of London: the Silver City, the heart of the British Empire, and in that era, the largest and richest city in the world.

London was drab and grey; was exploding in colour; was a raucous din, bursting with life; was eerily quiet, haunted by ghosts and graveyards.

Robin saw immediately that London was, like Canton, a city of contradictions and multitudes, as was

city that acted as a mouth to the world.

Look at his eyes.

A lie was not a lie if it was never uttered; questions that were never asked did not need answers.

The King’s Own by Frederick Marryat,

As he neared the door, Professor Lovell drew his hand back and brought his knuckles hard against Robin’s left cheek.

Omg! Dr. Lovell! Wasn’t expecting that. So sad. Especially all the race comments. Thought he was a real one.

The Royal Institute of Translation was founded in London in the early seventeenth century, though it didn’t move to its current home in Oxford until 1715

‘The Book of Jubilees claims the historical Tower of Babel reached a height of over five thousand cubits – that’s nearly two miles – which is of course impossible, though our Babel is the tallest building in Oxford, and likely all of England, excepting St Paul’s.

Radcliffe Library—’ Victoire lifted her hand. ‘Is the tower—’ ‘Larger on the inside than it seems on the outside?’ Anthony

Ask yourself why the Literature Department only translates works into English and not the other way around, or what the interpreters are being sent abroad to do. Everything Babel does is in the service of expanding the Empire.

‘That’s the thing about secret societies,’ said Griffin.

can’t begin to understand Chinese today without also understanding Buddhism, which means understanding Sanskrit. It’s like trying to understand multiplication before you know how to draw numbers.’

Still, they found their moments of joy. Oxford had now begun to feel like a home of sorts, and they carved their own pockets

were the only times when his brother seemed less mysterious, more human, more flesh and bone.