February 2023 Standalone BOTM - Babel, Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution, by R.F. Kuang

[Alaina]

From award-winning author R.F. Kuang comes Babel, a thematic response to The Secret History and a tonal retort to Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell that grapples with student revolutions, colonial resistance, and the use of language and translation as the dominating tool of the British empire.

Traduttore, traditore: An act of translation is always an act of betrayal.

1828. Robin Swift, orphaned by cholera in Canton, is brought to London by the mysterious Professor Lovell. There, he trains for years in Latin, Ancient Greek, and Chinese, all in preparation for the day he’ll enroll in Oxford University’s prestigious Royal Institute of Translation—also known as Babel.

Babel is the world's center for translation and, more importantly, magic. Silver working—the art of manifesting the meaning lost in translation using enchanted silver bars—has made the British unparalleled in power, as its knowledge serves the Empire’s quest for colonization.

For Robin, Oxford is a utopia dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge. But knowledge obeys power, and as a Chinese boy raised in Britain, Robin realizes serving Babel means betraying his motherland. As his studies progress, Robin finds himself caught between Babel and the shadowy Hermes Society, an organization dedicated to stopping imperial expansion. When Britain pursues an unjust war with China over silver and opium, Robin must decide…

Can powerful institutions be changed from within, or does revolution always require violence?

**This BOTM thread will be open until March 5th @ Midnight (in your time zone)**

[Mucia]

I am so excited to read this one! Just started and...

One hour into the audiobook:

(view spoiler)[
can already tell I'm about to be upset at a lot of the discrimination and cultural erasure that the MC is going through and going to go through likely for the rest of the book. It was probably a good idea to start at the gym because it got me worked up. Completely having to change one's name for the purpose of an Englishman being able to pronounce it- I have no words for how irritating I find that.

Absolutely obsessed with some of the references so far i.e. his name coming from Gulliver's travels.

I've always been a huge fan of the whole "knowledge is power" mindset (as I'm sure most readers are) (hide spoiler)]

[megs_bookrack ((struggling to catch up))]

I started this tonight on audio and have made it 6%, part of the way into Chapter 2. I am super intrigued thus far. Loving how vivid the set-up is.

(view spoiler)[I'm super interested in the silver 'test' that Professor Lovell gave to Robin in Canton to determine he was the one to be brought to London. Also, curious is the Professor really is Robin's birth father. I liked how Robin chose his last name. He has now started his studies and I'm finding him settling into London so cozy, but also mysterious. Lastly, I love the Scottish cook/domestic help. She's giving me Mrs. Potts vibes and I'm here for it. (hide spoiler)]

I'm so excited to get further in this story and to watch Robin grow.

[megs_bookrack ((struggling to catch up))]

Through 8% of the audiobook:

(view spoiler)[OMG, Robin getting that beating from the Professor for being late to his lessons. That almost brought me to tears. Robin is so sweet and innocent, he made an innocent child's mistake, or human mistake really, losing track of time because of getting caught up in a story and to be beaten like that. Poor thing, he was so scared and surprised. I was intrigued by the Professor before, but now I hold nothing but contempt for him. (hide spoiler)]

[megs_bookrack ((struggling to catch up))]

Through 13% of the audiobook:

(view spoiler)[Holy racism! Wow, Kuang doesn't pull any punches. They're laying it all out there. The family on the train!? OMG. That was so angering! Also, though I love the new friendship that Robin has found with Rami (question on spelling, as I am listening to the audio, not reading it). I love how instantly they are drawn to one another and also how Robin explains how lonely he was until that time and he didn't even realize it. (hide spoiler)]

[megs_bookrack ((struggling to catch up))]

Through 17% of the audiobook:

(view spoiler)[We've made it to the Tower!! I thought the tour was so interesting, learning each of the different floors and the different types of jobs that the translators have. Also, how those roles are viewed by the other translators. A bit of a hierarchy. I'm itching to find out more about Robin's doppelganger. Is this time travel or someone who is actually related to him. (hide spoiler)]

[megs_bookrack ((struggling to catch up))]

Through 26% of audio. This is non-spoilery, so I will leave it open.
I am really loving the found family component of this, for Robin and his first year cohort. That always draws me into a story and the way it is done here...magnifique!

[megs_bookrack ((struggling to catch up))]

Am I the only person reading this? 😂🤣
Through to Chapter 10. I really don't understand the silver work...I would have flunked out of the Tower...

[megs_bookrack ((struggling to catch up))]

Through to Chapter 14:

(view spoiler)[Robin and his cohort have successfully made it through 3rd-year. The tone definitely shifted in 3rd-year. They're all exhausted and have disagreements and arguments more frequently, holding grudges. The easy camaraderie of first year has sort of gone by the wayside. I think they've also grown disillusioned with the Tower. They're starting to see themselves as more expendable than they originally thought, as they learn more of the ins and outs of how the institution functions. Robin is also at a crossroads with his brother and the double-life he was leading. I'm not sure where that is going to go, if they will have a reconciliation or not. I think possibly if Robin gets in over his head and reaches out to Griffin when he hits rock bottom. I hope not because I love Robin and do not want him to fall on hard times, I feel in this situation it's inevitable. (hide spoiler)]

[Ellen-Arwen]

megs_bookrack wrote: "Am I the only person reading this? 😂🤣
Through to Chapter 10. I really don't understand the silver work...I would have flunked out of the Tower..."

I will read it! But it's been pushed right to the end of the month for me - sorry! Signed up for too many buddy reads lol. But I'm REALLY looking forward to this one (particularly as I've been reading a few books I just haven't got into... feeling slumpy)

Just hope it's good!

[megs_bookrack ((struggling to catch up))]

Ellen-Arwen wrote: "megs_bookrack wrote: "Am I the only person reading this? 😂🤣
Through to Chapter 10. I really don't understand the silver work...I would have flunked out of the Tower..."

I will read it! But it's be..."Ooooo, I'm so excited to see what you think, but also understand over-committing. It definitely happens. Everything sounds so good, it's hard to say no sometimes...LOL

[megs_bookrack ((struggling to catch up))]

Through 65% of the audiobook:

I have no idea what chapter I am on. I am listening to it on Scribd and the chapters it shows, don't line up with the actual book chapters if that makes sense, but holy smokes!!! I am shook!

(view spoiler)[So, the group went to Canton on a mission, sent by the school. This was after Robin took the blame for stealing things for the secret group his brother is in, I can't remember what it's called. Anywho, I thought he was going to get kicked the heck out, but Professor Lovell was oddly 'forgiving' about it. But in Canton, holy smokes, what a mess. The opium they were get the population hooked on and all that stuff and Robin finally having enough and what happened on the boat on the way back and everyone banding together to help...I mean, I know they had to or they all would have gone down, but still. This really escalated quickly... (hide spoiler)]

[megs_bookrack ((struggling to catch up))]

Through 93% of the audiobook:

My baby bird is all grown up and (view spoiler)[leading a rebellion. It brings tears to my eyes the experiences that have brought Robin to this point. This second half really picked up the pace and raised the stakes. It has amplified all the themes from the first half, but added in betrayal, death, grief, imprisonment, torture, revenge...my word. I can't believe the characters we have lost along the way, but that leaves Robin as a man with nothing to lose. The most dangerous man of all. I can't wait to wrap this one up tomorrow! (hide spoiler)]

[megs_bookrack ((struggling to catch up))]

Complete!

This story was quite a journey. I'm not sure how to rate it though, I need to think on it for a bit. I applaud the author for the in depth exploration of hella important themes and bringing emotion to this story. There were certain aspects that didn't quite knock me out of the park though...I don't know, for now I am giving it 4-stars and allowing myself a few hours to think on it before I review fully.

[Ellen-Arwen]

I'm not actually going to be able to start reading this until March now because of some really bad time management and planning. I'm really grateful they keep the thread open for the beginning of the month because I'm looking forward to reading your thoughts :)

Hopefully starting tomorrow (I still have two books I intend to finish in February... but it's 9:10pm, I've got teaching tomorrow and waaaaaay more to read than I have proper time for. Like I said - TERRIBLE time management this month).

Did you like the audio? I'll be reading a physical copy

[megs_bookrack ((struggling to catch up))]

Ellen-Arwen wrote: "I'm not actually going to be able to start reading this until March now because of some really bad time management and planning. I'm really grateful they keep the thread open for the beginning of t..."Ohhh nooo. I loved the audio. I think it helped me get through it quickly. The narrator was fabulous. Otherwise, I might still be reading it! good luck!!!