Babel by R.F. Kuang

From Goodreads

A new dark academic fantasy by the New York Times bestselling author of The Poppy War

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.

My thoughts

I grabbed a copy of this from my local Library.  I am not sure how I came across it, whether it was seeing that someone on Twitter was reading it or had read it and I was drawn to the cover, who knows but drawn to it I was.

This is an extremely hard book to review really, it's a heck of a tome at over 500 pages.  Split into parts the story is told in sections as the characters grow up.  I was so many pages into it and wasn't sure what to make of it and was almost going to give up on it, but I kept going and I am glad I did as it got easier as the story progressed.  I don't tend to give up on books as I feel that the Author has taken the time to write it, so the least we can do is finish it.  I know that not everyone will agree with me on this at all, as I have many friends that do give up on books if they are not getting on with them.

Set in the 1800's in Britain, it follows the life of a young Chinese boy who is brought to London by a professor of languages.  With a cast of many characters that he becomes involved with throughout his life we follow what happens to him.  In my eyes Babel the building is as much a character as the real life characters of the story.

To find out more for yourself you can grab a copy and find out which side of the fence you sit on with this marmite book, as it has many readers who have loved and hated it.