Babel, or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution

Babel, or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution
R. F. Kuang, 2002

Premise: Robin was rescued from death in China as a boy, and he loves so much about his new life in England, especially the chance to study, to perform the translation that underpins the magic that runs the world. But what is the cost of the system? What if Robin isn't willing to pay it anymore?

I'll admit that this book first got on my radar as "the book that should have won the Hugo for Best Novel" if not for bad behavior on several fronts. [https://www.npr.org/2024/02/23/1233355111/the-hugo-awards-scandal-has-shaken-the-sci-fi-community]

And it would have been a worthy winner. A tour de force combining fantasy and history to focus an intentionally painful spotlight on the global and personal impacts of colonialism and privilege, it was both compelling and horrifying.

In the character of Robin, the tension and inner moral struggle between accepting some amount of privilege or discarding it to fight a (possibly hopeless) battle to stop exploitation is illustrated in all its pain and nuance. Robin does love the work he's being trained to do, despite the racism he faces constantly, and even after he starts to become concerned about the impact of the  magic on others. He is finally faced with the enormity of the British colonial machine and really has to deal with how his work is supporting casual evil that impacts so many, but he still struggles with what is the right thing to do. 

The translation magic is really cool, by the way. It's interesting and complicated, and I like the way it's powered by the tension that's inherent in translation, that very seldom do two words in different languages mean the exact same thing with all the same connotations. As a word nerd, I loved that part. 

The foreshadowing of certain betrayals and certain plot twists I thought were well handled, because I did appreciate that the characters themselves had bad feelings and chose to try anyway. I don't think it softened the impact of the ending, it just made it feel more visceral, like the weight of the crushing system the characters were trying to undermine. 

Overall, a fantastic read.

5 Stars - An Amazing Book