📖 peek insideBabel
by R.F. Kuang
Set in an alternate 1830s Oxford, the story follows Robin Swift, a Chinese orphan brought to London to study at the prestigious Royal Institute of Translation, known as Babel. Here, silver-working-a magical craft powered by the loss of meaning in translation-fuels the British Empire's expansion. As Robin navigates the academic world, he realizes that his work supports the colonization of his homeland. This ambitious novel explores the intersections of language, power, and revolution, questioning the cost of progress and the weight of loyalty.
Widely read around the world. Estimated 7 million readers.
Notable Quotes
"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."
"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."
"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."
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