Babel: An Acrcan History by R. F. Kuang is a robust and powerful story of an orphan rescued from poverty in China. Robin is privileged to be brought up in London and has the unprecedented opportunity to attend Babel College in Oxford. Babel is a historical fantasy novel. This book interacts with many big ideas: translation, empire, colonialism, student revolt, assimilation, and alienation. The main character Robin Swift speaks Chinese and English fluently. His guardian formed Robin to discover word pairs between the languages that will generate magic when etched on a silver bar. Kuang has deep knowledge of multiple languages and Chinese/British history. She is sharp in her assessments of the motives of why Empires conquer and how they exploit those under their "protection." Robin's father uses him villainously by refusing to acknowledge his son, cruelly exploiting him, while demanding his fealty. Robin is a living metaphor for British/Chinese relations. He is continually told how grateful he should be for the favor that allowed him to live in England while, at the same time facing abuse and discrimination from those very people. Where does Robin's heart lie? With England or with China? Which side deserves his loyalty? This reminds me a bit of the Galatic Empire series by Isaac Asimov, proving again my theory that science fiction can be a tool to consider hard facts.
When I say this book is educational, please don't think dry or dull. It is full of tension and conflict. Kuang fearlessly raises the stakes repeatedly, but she also invests the reader in the characters. I wanted to understand the different forces at work and know Robin's "right" choice. It made for an excellent, but painful read because the oppressors don't always lose, and the underdog isn't always triumphant.
Babel might become a literary classic taught in Modern English classes if it isn't already.
Here is an excellent review: babel-by-rf-kuang-review-an-ingenious-fantasy-about-empire
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Last week I read the first in the Cursebreakers series, A Heart So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer. Link here: https://barbpruittwrites.blogspot.com/2023/03/beauty-and-beast-retold-and-ancient.html
This week I read #2, A Heart So Fierce and Broken. Kemmerer did an excellent job with the middle book of the trilogy. It takes a skilled writer to have the second book be satisfying and also set up the final book well.
The angriest I've ever been at the middle of a trilogy was Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (the second Star Wars to be released). The movie left too many things unresolved, and it would be years before the final film dropped. It was 1981, and I was on a date with my college boyfriend. I yelled out my betrayal of a gratifying ending in the movie theater's parking lot. I'm not sure what my boyfriend remembers of that night, but we did get married. So, that story ended well.
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A Heart So Fierce and Broken pivots from Prince Rhen and Harper to his faithful guardsman, Grey. Grey carries the burden of a terrible secret that ruptures his relationship with Prince Rhen. He flees with a small company seeking safety. Among his companions is a rejected princess, Lia Mara, of a rival kingdom ruled by Queen Karis Luran, who we met in book #1. Kemmerer imagines a land ruled by females, instead of males. It is a good twist. Succession is appointed by the queen instead of inherited. Like the first book, it has good characters, and even though it's fantasy, they feel authentic, except for the female villains. The queen, Karis Luran, and Lilith the Enchantress are both abominable evil--viciously enjoying hurting and killing others. I could see one villain like that, but two? And both females?
I look forward to book three and wonder how Kemmerer will land this story. Is she a happy-ever-after writer? I hope so!
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