16. Book Club: 'Babel' by RF Kuang
Translation, language, and colonialism in 1830s Oxford
Season five is here! We can’t believe that we’re already heading into six brand new titles for the fifth time.
We’re starting off with a heck of a book and delving into 1830s Oxford with RF Kuang’s ‘Babel’.
This book has been out for over eight months and the hype is still sky high - it got to us and we had to join in with the discussion. ‘Babel’ is an introduction to Kuang’s writing for both of us and we were expecting big things.
Book Club Run-Down
Title: 'Babel’ by RF Kuang
Pages: 560
Release Date: September 2022
Publisher: HarperVoyager (UK & US)
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?
An incendiary new novel from award-winning author R.F. Kuang about the power of language, the violence of colonialism, and the sacrifices of resistance.
Sophie’s Thoughts:
‘Babel’ was my first RF Kuang novel and I had high expectations for her writing and skilled storytelling, and they were more than met, but I was also disappointed by the disconnect to the characters themselves. It’s a clever and important novel, but it slightly missed the emotional connections for me.
Sarah’s Thoughts:
‘Babel’ is a powerful piece of prose. Much like the tower the novel surrounds, I think it's both important and imposing. And while I found it a little difficult to fully commit myself to the reading experience, it's fascinating to watch as that tower is pulled apart, brick by brick. Word by word.
You can read the full review on ‘Books, Burgers and Backpacks’ right here!
Discussion Topics:
The oppression and dismantling of culture and language under the British Empire.
Did you find that the footnotes added to the story? Or did they distract you from the current moment?
How do you think that the secret society of Hermes in ‘Babel’ differs from how secret societies operates in other dark academia titles?
Make sure you’re following us on Instagram and TikTok as we’ll be delving into these questions over there across the coming weeks.
The full episode discussing the novel went live this morning!
This newsletter is completely free, but if you’d like to support us and haven’t already, please check out the podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts and drop us a review or a rating if the mood takes you. You could even buy us a coffee!
Please feel free to reply to this email or drop us a line on social media to chat about the book, the podcast or the book club questions that we’ve posed.
We’ll see you in two weeks for an update on what we’ve been reading, writing and recording!
Sophie and Sarah x