Babel by R. F. Kuang
1836 in Oxford.
The dreaming spire city.
It serves as the hub of global knowledge and development.
Babel, the Royal Institute of Translation, is located in its core. the tower from which the Empire derives its entire strength.
Robin Swift, who was abandoned in Canton and brought to England by an enigmatic guardian, thought Babel was paradise.
Prior to becoming a prison,
Can a student confront an empire, though?
a fiery new book by the acclaimed novelist R.F. Kuang about the violence of colonialism, the force of words, and the price of resistance.
Babel by R. F. Kuang
Amazon.com
A fantasy version of history is Babel. Although technically accurate, that description is false. In reality, Babel is both about the past and the present. You should have some knowledge of 19th-century English history, particularly the Industrial Revolution and the Opium Wars, before reading Babel.
The history of the Industrial Revolution is changed by Babel. There is a Silver Industrial Revolution that depends on the capacity to perform magic with silver bars on which are etched untranslatable words in two languages. This revolution is in place of (or in addition to) the coal and steam-based revolution that actually occurred. When spoken by a native speaker, the words might have an impact that corresponds to the difference in meaning between the two words. As a result of this alternative technology, linguists are now priceless resources. Babel, the Oxford Institute of Translation, rises to great power.
Babel accepts students that would not typically be accepted to 1830 Oxford: women and non-Caucasians. This is because they require people who can speak other languages. The main characters of the novel are four of these students: Letty, a white English girl, Victoire, an immigrant from Haiti, Rami, an Indian boy, and Robin (a half-Chinese boy from Canton). Most of the narrative is presented through Robin’s perspective. We follow them during their first three years as Babel students during the first half of Babel, which is quite subdued. Othering emerges as a recurring topic.
Since Letty, Vikky, Rami, and Robin do not fit the mould of typical Oxford applicants, they are viewed as foreigners. After the four go to Canton with Robin’s English father, Professor Lovell, so that Robin might function as an interpreter in negotiations between opium traders and a representative of the Chinese Empire, this largely subdued drama degenerates into actual violence. Letty, Vikky, Rami, and Robin are caught up in a fight when they go back to Oxford.
