Babel by R.F. Kuang

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

Oxford, 1836.

The city of dreaming spires.

It is the centre of all knowledge and progress in the world.

And at its centre is Babel, the Royal Institute of Translation. The tower from which all the power of the Empire flows.

Orphaned in Canton and brought to England by a mysterious guardian, Babel seemed like paradise to Robin Swift.

Until it became a prison…

But can a student stand against an empire?

My Review
R.F. Kuang is known for her Poppy War Trilogy which I have on my book shelf to read, and Babel is her first stand alone. Set in an alternative 1836, where parts of England and other wealthy countries owe their running to magical silver bars which help the world work more effectively, from keeping canals clean, to run horseless carriages, to aid in War helping England colonise the world. This magic is made by the translators at Babel, Oxford Universities prestigious Royal Institute of Translation, where only four students are accepted each year. In 1836, Robin Swift is excited to be part of Babel, a place of paradise to those who study languages. Torn from China as a child, after the death of his parents, he becomes the ward of Proffessor Lovell, a Proffessor at Babel himself. With his fellow students, Ramy, Letty and Victoire, they start their studies, but soon realise that all is not well in paradise and that there is a much darker side to their studies, leaving them to question if it is ‘Better to reign in Hell, than serve in Heaven” (Paradise Lost).

There are some books that when you finish you just go ‘WOW’, and feel devestated the book is finished, for me Babel is one of those books. In Babel R.F. Kaung has written a love letter to etymology and the power of languages, and how they evolve over time. Through Robin and his fellow students, all of whom study different languages, we see how words can be mistranslated, and misundersttod leading to misinformation, where in the making of silver bars can be fatal. Language at Babel is studied, documented in Grammatica as reference for new students, but is also the power of behind the British Empire, the pairing of words the secret behind the silver bars. I was fascinated by this theme of the book, and R.F. Kaung includes so many footnotes that give more detail of the language, it’s origin and development.

R.F. Kaung shines a light on so many important issues of the time through her characters. Robin was a character that I warmed to from the first page. He was a frightened young boy in Canton, living with his family as they die from the plague, leaving him alone. Proffessor Lovell offers him a new and better life in England, an education, and a place at the exclusive Babel at Oxford University. But with Ramy and Victoire he realises that he is just a victim of Colonisation, taken from their homes by rich white men and trained to study at Babel and ultimately help the Empire by working with the silver. There is also focus on racism and sexism, only Babel allows foreign and female students unlike the other colleges at Oxford, the class system where the silver takes the jobs of those manual labours leaving them unemployed, and the self belief and greed of the British in their Colonisation, especially in China.

The research into these subjects is detailed and impressive, where you forget the fantasy elememt of the book and become engrossed in the historical element; the impact of the industrial revolution, the politics and cruelty practiced on people who were different, by sex of race. There is also the alternative Industrial Revolution, workers made unemployed as factories use the silver to do most of the work.

I have to mention the setting of this book as well; truely stunning. A college solely for words, on eight floors, full of books and reference materials, where only the students can enter. The description of the tower it’s self, named after the biblical Babel, is classical in style and there is even a drawing at the fromt of the book. R.F. Kaung puts the same detail into her descriptions of Canton, life on the Ship and the streets of Oxford and London; my mind was full of the sights and sounds of these places.

Babel is definitely one of my favourite books of the year, the focus on language, its power and development was just fascinating. What makes this book really special though is the writing of R.F Kaung, the attention to detail and the themes of identity, belonging and the harsh facts of Colonialism. This is truely a masterpice of a book, and at over five hundred pages a substantial read, but it is well worth taking the time to read it and lose yourself in the beautifuuly written pages and in Robin Swift’s story. Simply stunning!!.

I would like to thank Harper Voyager for my sdvanced copy of this book in return for my honest review.