Babel. Una storia arcana

‘ Without translation, I would be limited to the borders of my own country, ’ wrote the great Italian author Italo Calvino and when ‘ words travel the world, ’ as translator Anna Rusconi says ‘ translators do the driving. ’ So what happens when these hands are behind the wheel of a war machine, what respo Leggi tutto

ARC was provided by the publisher—Harper Voyager—in exchange for an honest review. Babel was absolutely impressive, ambitious, and intelligently crafted. As unbelievable as it sounds, R.F. Kuang has triumphed over The Poppy War Trilogy—which I loved so much—with this one book. “Language was always Leggi tutto

The Italian word for disappointment is delusione , from the Latin de-ludus , literally “to make fun of”. Its closest cognate in the English language is delusion , which the Oxford Dictionary defines as “an idiosyncratic belief or impression maintained despite being contradicted by reality”. R. F. Kuang Leggi tutto

By the end of Babel, I was shaking. Maybe out of grief, maybe out of awe; I felt as if I had watched something monumental flourish and collapse. And, for a minute, the world seemed so still, like the last few pages were a clip from a silent film. I’m writing this review immediately after finishing t Leggi tutto

I tried my very hardest to like this. I thought The Poppy War was excellent when I read it a few years ago, and Babel seemed like a combination of subjects I find fascinating and spent my own uni days immersed in-- history, language/linguistics, colonial studies --but in hindsight, I wonder if I mig Leggi tutto

My complete review of Babel is published at Before We Go Blog . “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.” I Leggi tutto

so many people are going to have so many individual heart shattering reactions to their identity because of this book. it made me feel pride, it made me feel shame, it made me hopeful, it made me grieve, it truly kind of made me feel everything. but right now i am just feeling in awe of rf kuang and Leggi tutto