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Babel, or The Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators’ Revolution by R.F. Kuang
“Languages aren’t just made of words. They’re modes of looking at the world. They’re the keys to civilization. And that’s knowledge worth killing for.” Babel, or The Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators’ Revolution is an fierce indictment against colonialism. Within this superbly written slow-burner of a bildungsroman, R.F. Kuang presents her…
1820s, 1830s, 19TH CENTURY, 3 STARS, 3rd pov, 4 STARS, abuse, academia, Adult, ALIENATION, alternate history, anxiety-inducing reads, atmospheric, babel, Babel or The Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution, belonging, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, brothers, child abuse, CHILDHOOD, China, chinese american author, class, cliques, colonialism, coming of age, cultural dissonance, dark academia, DEATH, england, FANTASY, fathers & sons, female authors, friendships, great storytelling, growing up, GUILT, HISTORICAL FICTION, history, identity, India, language, lgbtq+, LONDON, loneliness, Longing, MAGIC, morality, MURDER, muslim side characters, My reviews, MYSTERY, orphans, oxford, philosophical, politics, PRIVILEGE, psychological, published in 2022, queer undercurrents, R.F. Kuang, RACE, read in 2022, reading, revenge, secret societies, secretiveness, ship, SOCIAL COMMENTARY, social issues, strong sense of place, SUSPENSE, teachers, terrific prose, tragedy, travel, UNIVERSITY/COLLEGE, URBAN FANTASY, war -
Three Daughters of Eve by Elif Shafak
“She and Mona and I. The three of us: the Sinner, the Believer, the Confused.” Since I fell in love with Shafak’s The Forty Rules of Love back in 2016, I have made my way through her oeuvre, even her more ‘obscure’ titles such as the overlooked gem that is The Saint of Incipient Insanities.…
1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, 3 STARS, 3rd pov, bi side characters, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, campus, CHILDHOOD, class, Contemporary, cultural dissonance, drama, ELIF SHAFAK, england, family, favourite authors, female authors, friendships, growing up, GUILT, introspective, Islam, jealousy, lgbtq+ side, LITERARY FICTION, MAGICAL REALISM, My reviews, oxford, politics, published in 2016, read in 2021, Religion, teachers, Turkey, turkish author, UNIVERSITY/COLLEGE, unrequited love -
Three Rooms by Jo Hamya
“I was no longer sure what I was allowed to want. Everything I had been raised to desire, had, at some point, become passé, but no one had told me. There was a chasm between my expectations and the reality I had to exist in which no one else seemed to grasp.” In theory, Three…
1st pov, 3 STARS, academia, Adult, Black & Black heritage authors, Brexit, British author, Contemporary, contemporary malaise, england, existentialism, female authors, introspective, Jo Hamya, LITERARY FICTION, LONDON, millennial, navel gazing, netgalley, no quotations marks, oxford, philosophical, politics, published in 2021, read in 2021, social media, style over character, stylised prose, Three Rooms, UNIVERSITY/COLLEGE, unnamed narrator, work culture -
Close to Home (DI Adam Fawley #1) : Book Review
Close to Home by Cara Hunter ★★★✰✰ 3.5 stars Close to Home might seem like yet another missing-child crime novel but Hunter manages to make give a fresh take to this scenario.The narrative switches from 1st pov to 3rd, and includes tweets and newspaper articles. We can follow the crime through a wide range of individuals…
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The Lessons by Naomi Alderman
The premise itself was enough to intrigue me. A close-knit group of friends attending Oxford? Yes please. Naomi Alderman’s style lends itself well for this: it has a ‘polish’ that evokes notions of privilege. However, the characters and plot do not convey the good qualities of Alderman’s style. Throughout, there is a sort of entitlement…
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La Belle Sauvage by Philip Pullman
Overall:There is something aesthetically pleasing about Pullman’s daemons-populated world. There is a nostalgic yet magical vibe going-on that I really enjoy. The setting merges old-fashioned elements with more contemporary ones, and which makes for a wistful atmosphere. However, this was very much a companion novel, and, to my opinion, it could have easily been wrapped…
luce [is reading] 