August 2024

Book Reviews

Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence

by

R.F. Kuang

Genre: Fantasy, Historical Fiction

Synopsis: An academic fantasy novel that shines a spotlight on the devious nature of the British colonial empire. Babel explores the intricacies of language and translation, grapples with messy friendships and delves into the violence of a revolution amidst a striking magic system.

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The Last Tale of the Flower Bride

by

Roshani Chokshi

Rating: 4.25 ★

Genre: Gothic Fantasy, Romance

Synopsis: A dark and delicious fairytale-esque story of a man who marries an heiress to a fortune. The catch is that she has one condition: he can’t pry into her past. When he is gripped by inevitable curiosity, he is consumed by the lurking secrets of his wife’s childhood friend.

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Have you ever read a book that feels like it has seeped into your bones and altered your brain chemistry? No? Well, let me introduce you to Alone With You in the Ether. This is the kind of book that is so extraordinarily beautiful and simultaneously so disturbing that it makes you frightened by how much you relate to the characters.

Aldo is a perpetually-frustrated mathematician who views the world as a grand algorithm and Regan is a mentally ill ex-artist who leverages unpredictability as armour for a vulnerable heart. Together, they are a heavenly mess.

When I read this, I started dog-earing my pages so frequently for quotes that I wanted to re-visit that the book now looks like it’s double the width that it actually is. Every page that I turned to contained my new favourite quote. Two scenes, in particular, are seared into my brain: the monologue of Regan’s mother’s voice in her brain and Aldo’s reaction to someone describing a piece of artwork as “pretty” (iykyk).

Alone With You in the Ether is blatantly pretentious but I savoured every single word. I actively read like a snail because I didn’t want it to ever be over. If you don’t like flawed characters or you don’t like convoluted (albeit, stunning) writing, then don’t bother with this. But personally, I would (and plan to) reread this in a heartbeat.

“If I’d known I would meet Charlotte Regan in the morning, maybe I would have gotten some fucking sleep.”

“…once upon a time, men looked at the world, took in all its beauty, and still only saw it flat.”

“‘I like it,’ he said.

‘What?’

He loosened the wine from his lips. ‘Your brain.’

Three conversations, Regan marveled, and she already understood that was the highest compliment in Rinaldo Damiani’s arsenal.”

“That old reflex never died; the little pang of Don’t go, just stay. Settle over me like the tide, cover me like a blanket, wrap around me like the sun.”

“Whatever you are made of, Charlotte Regan, I am made of it, too.”

“He wasn’t just unconventionally handsome, she realized.

He was uncommonly beautiful.

‘What did you learn?’ he asked neutrally.

That I could study you for a lifetime, carrying all of your vast peculiarities and discretions in the webs of my spidery palms and still feel empty-handed.”

“…Regan, this night is stolen, I want grand larceny and this is petty theft.”

“…what is religion except the vague promise of a reward nobody’s ever seen?”

“So this is what it is to love something you cannot control, he thought. It felt precisely like terror.”

“What kind of sad, unremarkable nothingness have you so callously lived that you can witness the splendor of her existence and not fall to your knees for having missed it, for having misunderstood it all this time?”

Babel follows a young boy, Robin, of mixed heritage who is orphaned and then given the opportunity to study translation at Babel. What starts as a story of a boy trying to make the most of what opportunities he has been given, slowly unravels into a student revolution that exposes the widespread horrors of the British Empire and the treacherous truth behind Robin’s individual role in the broader scheme.

I loved this book, but not for the reasons that I usually do. It wasn’t particularly gripping or action-packed and it had periods that I found a bit dull. But what it lacks in excitement, it makes up for in ample fascination. There are layers upon layers of carefully crafted narratives and the overall execution was phenomenal.

R.F. Kuang’s knowledge of languages is so damn impressive and building an entire magic system on her profound understanding of translations is wild. The story is pointed and heavy and the characters are flawed and complex. This isn’t a light read but it was so worth it.

“That’s just what translation is, I think. That’s all speaking is. Listening to the other and trying to see past your own biases to glimpse what they’re trying to say. Showing yourself to the world, and hoping someone else understands.”

“English did not just borrow words from other languages; it was stuffed to the brim with foreign influences, a Frankenstein vernacular. And Robin found it incredible, how this country, whose citizens prided themselves so much on being better than the rest of the world, could not make it through an afternoon tea without borrowed goods.”

“This is how colonialism works. It convinces us that the fallout from resistance is entirely our fault, that the immoral choice is resistance itself rather than the circumstances that demanded it.”

“Betrayal. Translation means doing violence upon the original, means warping and distorting it for foreign, unintended eyes. So then where does that leave us? How can we conclude, except by acknowledging that an act of translation is then necessarily always an act of betrayal?”

“‘Nice comes from the Latin word for “stupid”,’ said Griffin. ‘We do not want to be nice.'”

I’m really starting to think that maybe I’m the problem with Abby Jimenez’s books because again, I just feel like these characters were so forgettable. My experience with Yours Truly was very similar to Part of Your World (check out that review here), which makes sense. Same author, same series and therefore, same vibes, but  I was really hoping for more of an impact with this one.

The frustrating part is that I remember loving the writing just as much as I did with Part of Your World. I remember being completely gripped by the story and I remember having a great time while reading it. Genuinely, I agree with the masses that this is a wonderful story. I can even confidently say that I would happily pick up another Abby Jimenez book but I just don’t recall feeling anything in particular about the book or its characters. It just ended and I completely forgot about it because none of it was worth taking up the mental space.

There is something so specifically off-putting about a “perfect” male lead. At least this time, Jacob struggles with anxiety but even then, he handles it so well that it doesn’t even feel like it counts as friction for his character. It’s basically just a tidbit. I even needed to go back and Google his name for this review…if that doesn’t tell you what you need to know, then I can’t help you.

“Un hombre que puede mantener viva una planta tiene la paciencia de aguantar tus mierdas. It means ‘A man who can keep a plant alive has the patience to put up with your shit.’“

The Last Tale of the Flower Bride is a gothic, romantic mystery with strikingly beautiful writing. It follows a man who is a scholar of myths and fairytales. After an electric encounter, he marries an heiress to a fortune, Indigo. But when she agrees to marry him, she makes him promise that he won’t pry into her past. However, when Indigo is forced to move back to her childhood home for a sick relative, the bridegroom is surrounded by clues of her past and finds it increasingly diffuclt to keep his promise. 

I loved how this mystery unfolds in two timelines and POVs: the bridegroom in the present and Azure (Indigo’s childhood best friend) in the past. It’s creepy and strange with an undercurrent of blurred realities. There’s a delicious concoction of jealousy and betrayal in among this air of wealth, magic and opulence. Truly an immersive experience.

I really think this is worth the read, especially if you’re someone who likes atmospheric books. Also, it’s a relatively short book so there isn’t a massive commitment required to still get the full pay-off of a substantial story.

“She looked like the nostalgia that settles in your ribs at the end of a story you have never read, yet nevertheless know.”

“I was only visible when next to her, a shadow revealed by the light cast before it.”

“Some individuals are like portals, the knowing of them makes the world a far vaster place.”

“I don’t want you to get trapped by things you thought were there and weren’t…or by someone who says they’re the only one who can love you.”

“Never apologize for wishing to devour the world whole, child.”