Steven Vlad

Babel by R. F. Kuang

Wow. I’m not sure what I expected but it wasn’t this.

This is a Nebula-winning book and probably would have won the Hugo too if the Chinese government had not ‘disqualified’ it. It’s ostensibly about a group of young people who are trained at Oxford to be translators. Except translators are kind of magicians in this world. But it’s about a whole lot more than that.

I like reading books going in blind so I’m not going to talk much about the plot, but let’s just say that it has a lot to say about colonialism, injustice, and how the oppressed and oppressors see the world.

What I most appreciate is that when the author describes different characters’ points of view – and even though she clearly thinks that one is better than all the others – she none-the-less gives each its due. That is, the argument for the viewpoint is internally consistent and makes sense. As a result, each character’s motive is believable, and thus the character is (or can be) sympathetic; even though you might not agree with them, you understand them. In that sense it’s writing for adults: it eschews the good vs. evil trope that’s so easy to fall back on.

A good read. Highly recommended for those who like alternative history and are willing to think about what they believe and why.