Book Info:

My favorite quotes:

‘Languages aren’t just made of words. They’re made of looking at the world. They’re the key to civilizations. And that’s knowledge worth killing for.’

My personal rate: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

My review:

This book is gonna be my favorite historical fiction in 2024. I really like the world-building, the characters, and the whole story. This book makes me thinking about the origin of language, the history, and the colonialism that happen in 19th century. And also, after reading this, I want to learn more foreign languages.

The world-building in Babel takes place in Oxford circa 1830s. This book has a vibe of the 19th century. The author wrote some events that are actually accurate according to history. It mentions a lot about racism and colonialism that happens a lot in the 19th century.

The main characters are four people who come from different race and country. They become found family after they got to study in Institute of Translation. I like their dynamics so much. And I like how every one of them are so different; Robin who come from Canton, Ramy who come from Calcutta, Victoire who come from Haiti, and Letty who come from England. They’re students in Babel but three of them are also involved in secret society called Hermes society.

Some parts in this book makes me feel like joining a lecture. I found a lot of new insights. Reading this book is like stacking so many new trivial language facts into my brain. It makes me wonder where every word comes from because every word is like derrivative from other language and there’s a link between languages. That’s why translation exists.

The plot is great. Some parts makes me smiling because of the heart-warming of the main characters dynamics. Some parts are exciting and so tensed. And, some parts are heart-wrenching.

I like everything about this book; the plot, the prose, the character improvements, and the world-building. To sum up, I give 5 star for Babel.

Posted on Goodreads:

[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4995272251](Posted on: Goodreads)