Published: August 2022
Pages: 544
Standalone
Summary
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. The tower and its students are 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 the arcane craft 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..
My thoughts
This is a masterful work of historical fantasy that transcends genre boundaries, offering a profound critique of colonialism, language, and power. Babel is the heart of the British Empire, harnessing the magical properties of silver-working – a process that imbues silver bars with power derived from the nuances lost in translation between languages. This is the source of the Empire’s power and the irony is not lost on me that what gives them such power is to take from the languages of the people they deem unworthy.
“We’re here to make magic with words”
The novel is unflinching in its portrayal of the dark underbelly of the British Empire. Kuang exposes the racist and classist violence inherent at these times, demonstrating how language, translation, and knowledge itself can be weaponised. I really enjoyed that the power was built on knowledge instead of traditional brute force weaponry. And for much of this knowledge to be within the countries that the British wish to conquer. They take knowledge and goods and then assert themselves, almost seeing themselves as saviours. They’ve convinced themselves that nothing is as worthy than being part of the British Empire, at the same time its the multitude of unique cultures and languages that give the British their power. Reading all the different perspectives of this story really highlighted the range of arguments and the scenarios where those that benefit will close their eyes to destruction and rationality.
The other side of this is how those oppressed respond. Many suffer in silence, who can challenge the might of the British Empire? However others fight and that violence is not a glorification but a stark exploration of the desperate measures people resort to when oppressed, and the moral compromises made in the fight for liberation.
“That’s just what translation is, I think. That’s all speaking is. Listening to the other and trying to see past your own biases to glimpse what they’re trying to say. Showing yourself to the world, and hoping someone else understands.”
I really enjoyed the magic system! It is rooted deeply in the linguistic theories and colonial practices of the era. The concept that the “gap” between languages, the subtle differences in meaning and connotation, can be harnessed as power is brilliant and leaves a chillingly effective metaphor for imperial exploitation.
Robin’s journey is central to this story and it was an emotional rollercoaster. Torn between his loyalty to Babel, which offers him knowledge and belonging, and his growing awareness of the empire’s brutal expansion fuelled by the very magic he helps create, he grapples with a moral dilemma. His fellow students – the brilliant and rebellious Ramy, the sharp and pragmatic Victoire, and the earnest and privileged Letty – form a complex web of friendships and ideological clashes, each representing different facets of the colonial experience.
I loved this group together despite their differences. As a reader, I felt those differences as flashes of lightening. They were not common but when lit you could see just how many cracks there were. Their experiences felt real and honest and you could almost get lost within their friendship at Babel and forget just what is going on outside that tower. That’s the whole point and it’s not just us as readers who feel that but the characters too.
They offered up everything about themselves because they had, at last, found the only group of people for whom their experiences were not so unique of baffling.
Kuang’s prose is sharp and precise and incredibly rich with emotion and intellectual depth. She effortlessly integrates academic discourse, historical events, and character development, making the extensive footnotes feel like an organic part of the narrative rather than an interruption. I came away from this story with a very heavy heart on behalf of these characters, I laughed and cried throughout this story. But I also came away with knowledge, I learned things I didn’t know before, about factual history and also language.
“Be selfish,” he whispered. “Be brave.”
Would I recommend?
I absolutely would 100%. This seems to be a book readers either hate or love, I very much loved this book for so many reasons. This is historical fiction with a magical twist. A coming-of-age story at a time of great suffering, moral dilemma’s, rage and betrayal. The power of language is incredibly strong and was the source of much of my, and the characters, discourse. Who deserves that power? I am emotionally butchered after finishing this!