A Review of R.F. Kuang's 'Babel'

Lots of authors have tried to capitalise on the dark academia trend, but few of them actually produce any innovative work that approaches the genre in an interesting and different way. Even those that do take a slightly newer approach - like Leigh Bardugo's Ninth House, which brings in magical and fantastical elements - miss out on delivering any deeper meaning or message. R.F. Kuang's Babel, therefore, stands out for its excellent use of the aesthetic of dark academia whilst providing a valuable and insightful commentary on colonialism (which being a massive history nerd I really enjoyed).

To start off, Babel feels somewhat similar to The Secret History in having a cohort of close-knit students who are subjected to tragedy (albeit of a different nature) and I think that Kuang's work captures some of the most beloved aspects of Tartt's classic in a fresh way. Whilst Babel has some similarities with TSH, it doesn't feel like a carbon copy in the same way that M.L. Rio's If We Were Villains sometimes did. Instead of Ancient Greece, Babel focuses on language and translation, and whilst I was never overtly interested in languages at school, I loved the depth that the book gives into aspects like how language controls the world and the range of expression you get in different ways in different languages. Additionally, I loved the historical context of the book being set in the 1830s - coincidentally this is the time period that I studied for the final year of my degree, and it felt super cool to be able to understand all of the references made to global events at the time.

Babel also includes magical and fantasy

elements, but I felt that they were perfectly set up to fit in to the alternate-reality 19th century that the story takes places in. In the book silver can be engraved with "match-pairs" of translated words that make the silver able to carry out certain functions, like turning the user invisible, or making machinery run efficiently. Whilst it sounds slightly fantastical, I loved the focus on the power of language and felt that magic was realistically integrated into the world (including its economy) and that the silver works as an easy to understand analogy for how colonialism controlled (or controls) the world. Being a history student, I adored the analysis of colonialism throughout the book, in particular the sassy, matter-of-fact tone adopted by the author in the footnotes explaining the key terms. Whilst all this history sounds a bit heavy, it is balanced with plenty of suspense and action.

Although it was maybe a bit slower to start, once the main character Robin enrolls at Oxford the action properly begins. Babel wasn't exactly a light read, and I think that being interested in learning about language and have an interest in character-driven stories would definitely help you to enjoy and get more out of this book. Overall I enjoyed it immensely and would recommend it to anyone looking for a captivating and insightful story.