BOOK REVIEW: Babel by Rebecca F. Kuang

Babel: or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution

[HarperCollins Publishers, 2022, paperback -- Total number of pages: 542]

Genre: Speculative Fiction

Characters:

1. Robin Swift -- Cantonese immigrant

2. Ramiz "Ramy" Rafi Mirza -- Indian-Bengali immigrant

3. Victoire Desgraves -- French-Haitian immigrant

4. Letitia Price -- England Native

Summary

In 1828, Robin Swift, orphaned by cholera in Canton, finds himself transported to London under the guardianship of the enigmatic Professor Lovell. Under Lovell's guidance, Robin undergoes rigorous training in Latin, Ancient Greek, and Chinese, all in preparation for his future enrollment in Oxford University's esteemed Royal Institute of Translation, also known as Babel. Within the towering institution, translation is not only an academic pursuit but a conduit for magic, with silver-working—the mystical art of restoring lost meaning through enchanted silver bars—granting the British Empire unparalleled power in its colonization endeavors.

For Robin, Oxford represents a haven of intellectual pursuit, yet he grapples with the moral complexities of his allegiance. As a Chinese immigrant in Britain, Robin faces the dilemma of serving Babel while wrestling with loyalties to his homeland. As his education progresses, Robin becomes entangled in the clandestine operations of the Hermes Society, a group dedicated to thwarting imperial expansion. When Britain's pursuit of an unjust war against China, driven by desires for silver and opium, comes to a head, Robin confronts a pivotal decision.

Amidst the turmoil, Robin is forced to confront the profound question, which is also the main theme of the novel: "Can powerful institutions be changed from within, or does revolution always require violence?"

My Thoughts

This was the most thought-provoking novel I read in 2023, and my first experience of Kuang's writing. The text is slightly heavier and the font is smaller than other novels of a similar genre that I have read, but that didn't hinder much of the content. I appreciated Kuang's use of footnotes to guide the reader through the linguistic aspects of the novel.

There is also a magical element in this novel, called silver work, and it makes up a lot of the content even from the very first chapter. It took me a while to understand the concept behind it, and a month after reading the novel, I still don't think I completely understand the concept. But I think that is what the author intended to do, as we can't fully understand the idea of translation either, no matter how many languages we teach ourselves to bridge that gap (one of my favorite quotes from the novel describes this idea -- you'll read it later on in this post*). There is a lot of intention in this novel, and I love Kuang for that.

I found the exploration of themes such as language, translation, colonialism, capitalism, and race in this novel to be deeply engaging. While the author may have been somewhat heavy-handed in her treatment of these themes, I found myself fully immersed in the narrative. I think Kuang's approach to presenting British colonialism and imperialism through each of the characters was a stroke of genius. Ramy identified with British rule in India, Robin with China, and Victoire with Haiti. Leti's character was really important to the story, as she represented the British Empire itself and the theme that nobody will understand oppression more than those oppressed.

I also, however, share certain sentiments regarding the characters; while the writing itself is commendable, I felt that the characters were not as fully developed as I would have liked. The oversimplification of characters, reducing them to their skin color or gender, can indeed detract from the richness and depth of the story. People are complex beings with multifaceted identities, and reducing them to one-dimensional representations can feel jarring and inauthentic.

The challenge of integrating so many ideas into a single book may have resulted in some shortcomings in character development. It's not uncommon for ambitious works that tackle numerous themes to struggle with balancing depth of theme with depth of character. Despite this, the novel's intellectual depth and exploration of important ideas were aspects that I found rewarding and engaging. Due to these numerous themes, I felt the ending dragged out a lot more than it should have, especially from the beginning of chapter 25 to the end of chapter 32. It took a lot of effort to finish out that stretch of the novel, and if it hadn't ended like it did then I don't think I would have liked it as much.

Finally, I'd like to take a moment to commend R.F. Kuang for the remarkable amount and depth of research evident in this novel. The footnotes, in particular, offer a glimpse into the extensive research undertaken by the author, highlighting the depth of knowledge and understanding she brought to the intricate themes explored within the story. Through her dedication to research, Kuang was able to imbue the narrative with an added layer of depth, enriching the already complex themes of the novel and providing readers with a deeper understanding of the historical and cultural contexts woven throughout the narrative. This commitment to research not only enhances the authenticity of the storytelling but also underscores Kuang's dedication to crafting a compelling and intellectually stimulating work.

FINAL NOTES

If you enjoy historical fantasy and themes like those mentioned above, then I think you should give this novel a try.

Please read the trigger warnings before approaching and pace yourself accordingly.

Let me know what you think of it if you do decide to give it a read :)

I will be posting a podcast episode about certain topics within the language/linguistics aspect that this novel explored so please stay tuned for that. Coming out soon.

As always, thank you for reading this review. Enjoy some of my favorite quotes from the novel, below.

Favorite Quotes (spoiler: there's a lot)

• "Do we try our hardest, as translators, to render ourselves invisible? Or do we remind our reader that what they are reading was not written in their native language?... Either you situate the text in its time and place, or you bring it to where you are, here and now. You're always giving something up" (pg. 153).

• "Translation means doing violence upon the original, means warping and distorting it for foreign, unintended eyes. So where does that leave us? How can we conclude, except by acknowledging that an act of translation is then necessarily always an act of betrayal?" (pg. 153).

• "Languages aren't just made of words. They're modes of looking at the world. They're the keys to civilization" (pg. 164).

• "History isn't a premade tapestry that we've got to suffer, a closed world with no exit. We can form it. Make it. We just have to choose to make it" (pg. 177).

• "You have such a great fear of freedom, brother. It's shackling you. You've identified so hard with the colonizer, you think any threat to them is a threat to you. When are you going to realize you can't be one of them?" (pg. 217).

• "He had the oddest feeling of disappearing as he spoke, of fading into the background of a painting depicting a story which must have been old as history" (pg. 249).

• "Robin had always been willing, in theory, to give up only some things for a revolution he halfway believed in. He was fine with resistance as long as it didn't hurt him" (pg. 263).

• "Ramy stared at his father; the man he still thought was as tall as a mountain, the man who had taught him all his scripts: Roman, Arabic, and Nastaliq. The man who taught him salah. The man who taught him the meaning of respect. His hafiz" (pg. 271).

• "The British are turning my homeland into a narco-military state to pump drugs into yours. That's how this empire connects us" (pg. 305).

• "They create the insult for themselves. Would you let someone come in and tell you what words in your own language mean?" (pg. 311).

• "A great extinction event began the day Christopher Columbus set foot in the New World. Spanish, Portuguese, French, English -- they've been edging out regional languages and dialects like cuckoo chicks, I think it's not inconceivable that one day, most of the world will speak only English" (pg. 384).

• "The thing about violence, see, is that the Empire has a lot more to lose than we do. Violence disrupts the extractive economy... the rapacious greed of capitalism is punishing. It's why slave revolts succeed... the problem is that we're always living like we've lost...'Violence shows them how much we're willing to give up...Violence is the only language they understand, because their system of extraction is inherently violent'" (pg. 397).

• "Power did not lie in the tip of a pen. Power did not work against its own interests. Power could only be brought to heel by acts of defiance it could not ignore. With brute, unflinching force. With violence" (pg. 432).

• "It revealed the sheer dependence of the British, who, astonishingly, could not manage to do basic things like bake bread or get safely from one place to another without words stolen from other countries" (pg. 471).

• * "But what struck him the most just then was the beauty... translation was impossible, that the realm of pure meaning they captured and manifested would and could not ever be known, that the enterprise of this tower had been impossible from inception... For how could there ever be an Adamic language? The thought now made him laugh. There was no innate, perfectly comprehensible language; there was no candidate, not English, not French, that could bully and absorb enough to become one. Language was just a difference... And translation -- a necessary endeavour, however futile, to move between them" (pg. 535).

(https://www.amazon.com/Babel-Necessity-Violence-Translators-Revolution/dp/B0B4BQRPFV)