Ruin me, ruin us, and I’ll let you

Taylor Swift, “illicit affairs” | R. F. Kuang, The Burning God | Zara Larsson, “Ruin My Life” | 5 Seconds of Summer, “Bad Omens” | audrey emmett | Lorde, “Writer in the Dark” | Richard Siken, “Scheherazade” | Oscar Wilde, in a letter to Leonard Smithers

You say ‘dark academia’ but I raise you:

The way that the poor, overlooked, often non-white, are sacraficed in Ninth House/Babel/The Golden Enclaves so that the rich, powerful, magical institution can keep running

And the foundation of these books are that not even one person is worth the sacrifice, and those institutions need to be torn down or changed

REVIEW: Babel by RF Kuang

A quick disclaimer before we start- this book impacted me very heavily, and because of those strong emotions I think I have to include some spoilers in this review to process what I felt in the book’s heaviest moments. You’ve been warned!

Robin Swift was taken from his homeland to become a scholar. Thanks to his powerful and mysterious guardian Richard Lovell, an 18 year old Robin becomes one of four new undergraduate students at the Royal Translation Institute, aka Babel. He meets his cohort- dazzling Ramiz Mirza, fierce Victoire Desgraves, and posh Letty Price. From there, an unbelievable, years-spanning epic of magic, academia, love and betrayal.

I’ll start by saying that I absolutely loved the magic system in Babel, because it’s so simple- words are power, just like they are in the real world. I think this works beautifully to illustrate Kuang’s main arguments about colonialism in the book, because it literalizes the way that empire depends heavily on those they exploit, even while proclaiming their colonies less than. I really appreciated the care that was taken to explore multiple schools of thought regarding the best way to fight oppression. None were explicitly “wrong” because both theories- Victoire and Anthony’s nonviolence and Griffin and Robin’s violence- were more than justified in the context of the book. Obviously, this mirrors real life. As someone who talks politics in leftist circles, I hear both ideas come up. Do we disobey quietly, lobby our politicians, and wait for slow incremental change? Or do we fight, scream, burn, demand to be seen as human? There’s no right answer, but I think the fictional environment of Babel is a good outlet to explore these questions, and Kaung does it expertly.

Ok, now that my academic, poli-sci major baggage has been laid out, I’m gonna get a bit sappy. This book WRECKED me. I cried. So. Much. In the style of a Shakespearean tragedy, just about every single character that you fall in love with through the first three hundred pages of this book will be taken away from you. (Spoiler time!) I want to write about Ramy’s death specifically. Just as Robin and Letty fall in love with him at the first hello, so did I. Ramy was a character that simply shone so brightly that it reached far off the page. Kind, passionate, brilliant. OF COURSE two of the three people around him were madly in love. Letty’s betrayal (especially Shakespearean) and her goddamn revolver took Ramy from us, and in the midst of my reading I felt like the world was ending. Even worse, the most emotional moments come dozens of pages later. Robin and Ramy clearly loved each other. It was perhaps unrealistic to believe that they could have a happily ever after in 1840, but I thought at least they would get to be honest with each other about how they felt. Instead, Robin is left alone to grieve, to wonder how Letty, who “loved him almost as Robin loved him”, could take away the person who defined his world. Kuang invokes Ramy’s name almost like prayer. Robin turns to it in his time of most need. It hurts, like, reaaaallly hurts. I’ll think of them every time i see a sunset now.

Last thoughts. This book is nothing if not a five star read. It’s somehow a love story, a dark academia fantasy, a Newsies-style tale of the underdog, and more. It’s a found family that could never last. I can safely say that it’s one of the best things I’ve ever read, despite how much pain it caused me. There’s so much more I could’ve said, but I’ll leave it here.

READ THIS BOOK!!

16, 22, & 24 for the end of the year book asks :-)

16. What is the most over-hyped book you read this year?

the invisible life of addie larue by ve schwab ( it was so bad )

22. What’s the longest book you read?

babel by rf kaung ( i loved this one so much )

24. Did you DNF anything? Why?

i have some questions for you by rebecca makkai ( it was so incredibly dull and the mc was in her 30s or 40s? with a husband a family a career yet she kept recalling her high school days like??? that sounded kinda pathetic to me )

end-of-year book asks!

just finished yellowface by rf kaung and that was an absolute batshit novel. very well written. very hard to read just because all the characters sucked so bad. I kept having to remind myself that it was dark satire because of the random racist shit june would say off handed.

hi nova! omg i have been meaninnng to reach out when i first saw you follow, but life’s been semi chaotic!

firstly: your blog is so pretty ahhh!

secondly: i read your about and was like AHH this person likes so many similar things lololol. especially if that ‘yellowface’ book in your likes is by rf kuang?! she is my absolute favorite author! her other books just 😩 words cannot describe.

thirdly: i shall have to dig in to your master list later! 💗 yay for new reads!!!

and lastly because i feel like i could ramble more but won’t lol, hope you have a lovely rest of your day!

ohmygod hi rin! ty ty ty! i love your blog too, it’s so cute!!

and yes, i was talking about rf kuang’s yellowface! it was one of the first books to really pull me out of my reading stump during the summer and it was literally so fucked up lol. i loved its exploration of racial diversity and june hayward made me want to tear my hair out with her excuses and rambling. it’s so messy and frustrating and wild and i loved how you’re unable to root for any of the characters. like none of them are good people lmao. anyway, to cut myself off before i ramble more, i can’t wait to read more from rf kaung! her style of writing is just so next-level. 😩

life’s been pretty ✨chaotic✨ for me too so i feel ya. i hope you have a good day! 💛💛💛

Top 3 books of 2018

Not gonna lie, this was a bad year for books. I read a lot of okay books and a bunch of rereads and was severely disappointed by others. But there were a few gems. Only 3 I truly want to gush about.

3. Dumplin' by Julie Murphy- This was one of the most recent books I read and I couldn't put it down. It was straight up addictive. I only just read it so I might be biased. I cried because of how much I related to Will so much. I Ioved the emphasis on female relationships but the romance was adorable as well. The movie was decent adaptation and the soundtrack was off the charts (I mean, Dolly Parton!!!!) Maybe it is just because this book is so fresh in my mind. But I really think this will remain a favorite.

Tied at the top are

MUSE OF NIGHTMARES AND THE POPPY WAR

Muse of Nightmares by Laini Taylor- A truly satisfying sequel. I loved this finale, it had a wonderful story, I adore the characters, and the book followed my morals without being didactic. It really reminded me of my sister (strange, right?) but it truly was like if she were a fantasy book. It is about forgiveness and love and understanding and empathy. It openned the door for more possibilities, but also ended the story.

The Poppy War by RF Kuang- @howlsmovinglibrary and @logarithmicpanda highly recommended this so I had high expectations and they were far surpassed. Passionate and clever, I was swept away by this book. Rin was so compepling, even when she was being horrible, my heart still went out to her. The magic system was riveting and the historical basis of the story broke my heart. I am desperate for the next book and I know I will love it. Trigger warning for violence. Check author's blog for details.

I’m currently cursing myself for not picking up The Poppy War sooner 😩 It’s amazing & I love it so much !!!

Oh my god, yesssss, I'm so glad!!! On the bright side, you will only have to wait a few months before book 2. You must tell me when you finish, I assure you, you'll need to talk when it ends ;)

I finished The Poppy War (my review is up) and it was AMAZING!!! I can't wait for the sequel and to see what happens next! The world building, characters, writing, and everything else was just unbelievable. Chapter 21 killed me though

I am so so sososososoosososososos glad I am on my toes for the next one!!! Did you find yourself low key shipping Rin and Nezha? Also Kitay was my absolute fave!!!!