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Babel by  R.F. Kuang

Historical fantasy

Babel

YEARLY LOOK-BACK

Once a year, we break our own rules and share a book from earlier in the year that wowed us.

by R.F. Kuang

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Quick Take

Knowledge is power in this potent, Oxford-set tale about the magic of translation and the tumult of revolution.

Good to know

  • Illustrated icon, 400

    400+ pages

  • Illustrated icon, Literary

    Literary

  • Illustrated icon, Brainy

    Brainy

  • Illustrated icon, Academic

    Academic

Synopsis

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

1828. Robin Swift, orphaned by cholera in Canton, is brought to London by the mysterious Professor Lovell. There, he trains for years in Latin, Ancient Greek, and Chinese, all in preparation for the day he’ll enroll in Oxford University’s prestigious Royal Institute of Translation—also known as Babel.

Babel is the world’s center of translation and, more importantly, of silver-working: the art of manifesting the meaning lost in translation through enchanted silver bars, to magical effect. Silver-working has made the British Empire unparalleled in power, and Babel’s research in foreign languages serves the Empire’s quest to colonize everything it encounters.

Oxford, the city of dreaming spires, is a fairytale for Robin; a utopia dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge. But knowledge serves power, and for Robin, a Chinese boy raised in Britain, serving Babel inevitably means betraying his motherland. As his studies progress Robin finds himself caught between Babel and the shadowy Hermes Society, an organization dedicated to sabotaging the silver-working that supports imperial expansion. When Britain pursues an unjust war with China over silver and opium, Robin must decide: Can powerful institutions be changed from within, or does revolution always require violence? What is he willing to sacrifice to bring Babel down?

Why I love it

Every book lover knows words have power: the power to make you laugh, teach you something new, or make you ugly cry on a park bench. But what if words had power literally? What if uttering the right syllables could cure illness or turn you invisible? Would a world in which words held such power be a better world, or would that power inevitably be corrupting?

These are just some of the questions posed in Babel, R.F. Kuang’s magnificent fantasy epic set in 19th-century England. The novel stars Robin who, after being taken from his home in China, is sent to the prestigious translation institute at Oxford University. There, he learns about silver-working, a method that harnesses the powers of translation to create magical effects. But as Robin uncovers the ways the British Empire uses this power, he is soon torn between pursuing the academic life set out for him and joining forces with an underground organization working against the institute.

We have a tradition here at Book of the Month every December: to reflect on books we didn’t feature from earlier in the year and choose one to highlight as our “yearly look-back” selection. This year, we knew it had to be Babel, a book so special I’m still thinking about it months after I first read it. For anyone seeking a whip-smart novel that boasts great fantasy world-building with the storytelling flare of a 19th-century novel, this will be a decadent, mind-expanding treat.

400+ pages
The Courting of Bristol Keats
Pictures of You
Intermezzo
The Dagger and the Flame
The Wild Huntress
The Pairing
The Wives
A Short Walk Through a Wide World
Just for the Summer
The Familiar
The Book of Doors
The Fox Wife
The Women
The Disappearance of Astrid Bricard
Family Family
Ruthless Vows
Gwen & Art Are Not in Love
The Future
What the River Knows
What We Kept to Ourselves
The Fragile Threads of Power
The River We Remember
Shark Heart
Ink Blood Sister Scribe
Warrior Girl Unearthed
The True Love Experiment
Did You Hear About Kitty Karr?
Yours Truly
The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi
Hell Bent
A Wilderness of Stars
A Fire Endless
Babel
Before I Let Go
Bloodmarked
Foul Lady Fortune
As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow
The Attic Child
The It Girl
The Change
Part of Your World
Kaikeyi
The Cartographers
Peach Blossom Spring
A River Enchanted
The Postmistress of Paris
The Book of Magic
Apples Never Fall
The Night She Disappeared
Damnation Spring
Sisters in Arms
One Last Stop
Firekeeper's Daughter
The Four Winds
Black Buck
The City We Became
Legendborn
Pretty Little Wife
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
Magic Lessons
Star Daughter
The Unraveling of Cassidy Holmes
Notes on a Silencing
A Good Marriage
The Library of Legends
The Sound of Stars
Yes No Maybe So
Anna K
American Dirt
Not So Pure and Simple
Dangerous Alliance
The Glittering Hour
Red, White & Royal Blue
When the Stars Lead to You
The Great Pretender
Ninth House
Imaginary Friend
The Goldfinch
Permanent Record
The Chestnut Man
This Time Will Be Different
The Rest of the Story
Storm and Fury
Free Food for Millionaires
The Golden Hour
A Nearly Normal Family
Summer of '69
Ask Again, Yes
All the Light We Cannot See
With the Fire on High
We Hunt the Flame
Wicked Saints
Sky Without Stars
Beyond the Point
Opposite of Always
Enchantée
The Gilded Wolves
Kingdom of Copper
On the Come Up
Unsheltered
Nine Perfect Strangers
The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock
The Oracle Year
Circe
The Astonishing Color of After
The Philosopher's Flight
The Great Alone
The Woman in the Window
Pachinko
The Nightingale
400+ pages
View all
The Courting of Bristol Keats
Pictures of You
Intermezzo
The Dagger and the Flame
The Wild Huntress
The Pairing
The Wives
A Short Walk Through a Wide World
Just for the Summer
The Familiar
The Book of Doors
The Fox Wife
The Women
The Disappearance of Astrid Bricard
Family Family
Ruthless Vows
Gwen & Art Are Not in Love
The Future
What the River Knows
What We Kept to Ourselves
The Fragile Threads of Power
The River We Remember
Shark Heart
Ink Blood Sister Scribe
Warrior Girl Unearthed
The True Love Experiment
Did You Hear About Kitty Karr?
Yours Truly
The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi
Hell Bent
A Wilderness of Stars
A Fire Endless
Babel
Before I Let Go
Bloodmarked
Foul Lady Fortune
As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow
The Attic Child
The It Girl
The Change
Part of Your World
Kaikeyi
The Cartographers
Peach Blossom Spring
A River Enchanted
The Postmistress of Paris
The Book of Magic
Apples Never Fall
The Night She Disappeared
Damnation Spring
Sisters in Arms
One Last Stop
Firekeeper's Daughter
The Four Winds
Black Buck
The City We Became
Legendborn
Pretty Little Wife
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
Magic Lessons
Star Daughter
The Unraveling of Cassidy Holmes
Notes on a Silencing
A Good Marriage
The Library of Legends
The Sound of Stars
Yes No Maybe So
Anna K
American Dirt
Not So Pure and Simple
Dangerous Alliance
The Glittering Hour
Red, White & Royal Blue
When the Stars Lead to You
The Great Pretender
Ninth House
Imaginary Friend
The Goldfinch
Permanent Record
The Chestnut Man
This Time Will Be Different
The Rest of the Story
Storm and Fury
Free Food for Millionaires
The Golden Hour
A Nearly Normal Family
Summer of '69
Ask Again, Yes
All the Light We Cannot See
With the Fire on High
We Hunt the Flame
Wicked Saints
Sky Without Stars
Beyond the Point
Opposite of Always
Enchantée
The Gilded Wolves
Kingdom of Copper
On the Come Up
Unsheltered
Nine Perfect Strangers
The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock
The Oracle Year
Circe
The Astonishing Color of After
The Philosopher's Flight
The Great Alone
The Woman in the Window
Pachinko
The Nightingale