Historical Fantasy and Fiction, National Book Awards Winners and What to Watch in December

November reviews of the books by R.F. Kuang and more

Welcome to the November edition! (I apologize for the one-day delay - December approached unexpectedly 🙃)

In this issue, you’ll find reviews on R.F. Kuang’s work in historical fantasy and fiction genres.

Also, if you’re a book nerd who doesn’t leave under the rock, you’ve probably heard the news about the National Book Award. If not, I’ll recap it for you <3

If you read any of these books, let me know your thoughts! I’m always happy to hear from you.

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#1 Babel: An Arcane History

by R.F. Kuang

Harper Voyager

I’ve been hearing about Rebecca F. Kuang for a while now. An author of “The Poppy War” trilogy, she quickly gained momentum, becoming an award-winning and bestselling writer.

At the age of 27, she holds two graduate degrees from Oxford and Cambridge and is currently studying at Yale. Born in China and growing up in Texas, her work is heavily influenced by her background in Chinese history and culture.

For better or for worse, my introduction to R.F. Kuang’s work has begun with “Babel”. Before I picked up the book, I didn’t have any expectations and approached the book with an open mind.

What is the book about?

“Babel” is set in 1830s England, where the use of language and translation is a dominating tool of the British Empire. In this world, the British economy, industry, and supremacy are fueled by silver bars enchanted with match pairs that capture what is lost in translation between words with similar meanings in two different languages. The right match pair can make ships go faster, make guns more deadly, and even heal the sick.

To identify such match pairs, Oxford University established the Royal Institute of Translation “Babel”. Bright children from all over the world are brought to England and put to work to translate. The plot follows four new students at the institute, who navigate the world of magic as they learn how their efforts contribute to maintaining Britain’s quest for colonization, depicting the events of the first opium war.

What’s my take on it?

Although the book looked promising, the slow pace of the book threw me off, especially in the first half. The problem is that almost nothing happens throughout most of the book: there are these bright kids, an elaborate magic system, and a captivating atmosphere, but nothing is happening.

Despite my skepticism (and the length of the book), I kept reading.

By the second half, the pace picks up and the plot progresses, covering so many events it could be a separate book by itself. It is eventful and engaging, and the momentum is building up… until it isn’t anymore. And when I turned the last page, the only question in my mind was: what was that about?

The amount of topics R.F. Kuang attempts to cover becomes overwhelming. She tackles racism, discrimination, power, colonization, war, violence, friendship, and identity, speaking her voice through the characters. The problem is, they feel forced.

They don’t seem to have a personality; they are an extension of the author’s thinking. Feeling like muppets in Kuang’s storytelling, they turn out to be far less convincing than they have the potential to be.

This bundled up with the uneventful (for the most part) plot and a bunch of explored themes makes the book read like a lecture on British imperialism and postcolonial studies.

Yet, there were aspects I greatly enjoyed. I felt sympathy for the characters’ past and was curious how their story played out thanks to Kuang’s writing. It captivated me to the extent that I would re-read entire sentences and paragraphs, admiring her storytelling and word choices.

Is it worth reading?

It is undoubtedly a thought-provoking and ambitious work. However, if I were to describe the book in one word, ‘underwhelming’ would be a good fit.

But this is not to say the book is not worth reading. Although it wasn’t a perfect fit for me, it’s crucial to explore books that challenge our go-to choices and push our boundaries of thinking.

As someone who is not an expert in linguistics, language studies, or history, I appreciated reading and learning more about it. This book is an enlightening read for anyone who is interested in the topics or is a great fan of historical fantasy and R.F. Kuang’s work.

Here’s the quote that stuck with me:

“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.”

Read my full review of “Babel” by R.F. Kuang on Medium.

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#2 Yellowface

by R.F. Kuang

William Morrow

“Yellowface” is another story. I loved it so much that I gave it 5/5 (which I only do with the most favorite books). To be fair, I don’t even know why I liked it so much. After finishing the book, I searched the internet for reviews as I was curious if everyone loved it as much as I did. Turned out they didn’t.

First, I noticed the Goodreads rating of 3.88, which is not necessarily bad but also not great. I read some reviews to see where people dug holes and many of the identified issues are the same issues I had with Babel (such as too much of Kuang’s voice in her characters).

Yet, I didn’t notice it in “Yellowface”. Maybe she got better at it?

What is the book about?

The plot follows the journey of the writer Juniper “June” Hayward who steals her friend’s unpublished manuscript after she dies in a freak accident. Publishing it under her own yet ambiguous name Juniper Song, she immediately becomes a promising writer in the literary world. As the evidence threatens her success, we watch June go far to prevent it from ruining her life.

What’s my take on it?

The story is so engaging, I didn’t know when to put the book down when I had to stop.

As someone interested in the innerworks of the publishing world, I found the story very sharp and fascinating. In a way, Yellowface felt like a mystery: there is a “crime” and there is a tale, how would it all unravel?

The main protagonist, although at fault, is very relatable. As the story is narrated from the first-person voice, I felt completely immersed in the world of June Hayward and her thinking. The white lies she tells herself also convinced me. “It all makes sense”, I found myself thinking.

R.F. Kuang manages to transfer the readers from the isolation of their own rooms to the mind of the protagonist, navigating the troubles of the publishing world together. What was fascinating to me is how Kuang makes the reader feel sympathy for the character, justifying her actions with white lies.

Is it worth reading?

Definitely yes.

This book has it all - an interesting story, engaging storytelling, mystical plot. It also raises important issues for the world of publishing. I enjoyed this book greatly and devoured it within a couple of days. It’s definitely one of my favorites now.

If you like books about books or are simply a fan of good fiction, you might like this one!

Here’s a quote I liked:

“Writing is the closest thing we have to real magic. Writing is creating something out of nothing, is opening doors to other lands. Writing gives you power to shape your own world when the real I’ve hurts too much.”

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Quick note

My review like any other should be taken with a grain of salt. They are all biased and are based on personal experiences. I hope detailed reviews help you make your own decisions about whether a book is worth reading <3

If you got curious about Rebecca Kuang, here’s one of her interviews where they discuss “Babel” with Miles Moran.

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What’s new?

Here’s a recap of what’s happened in the world of books in the last month. First off, the National Book Award took place on November 15 in New York.

Source: Farrar, Straus and Giroux; Yale University Press; Omnidawn; New Vessel Press; First Second

The winners are:

• Fiction: Blackout by Justin Torres

• Non-fiction: The Rediscovery of America by Ned Blackhawk

• Poetry: From Unincorporated Territory (åmot) by Craig Santos Perez

• Translated Literature: The Words That Remain by Stênio Gardel, Bruna Dantas Lobato

• Young People’s Literature: A First Time for Everything by Dan Santat

Besides, TIME has released its “The 100 must-read books of 2023” list. I haven’t read all of them, so I wouldn’t stand behind the “must-read” description, but it’s a good list to go through. It’s simple, diverse, and might help you find some new candidates for your “to-be-read” list.

What caught my eye from the list is The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride and The Rachel Incident by Caroline O’Donoghue that go to my to-read list.

Books on the screen

• A beautiful adaptation of “Poor Things” with Emma Stone and Mark Ruffalo releases in December or January depending on the country.

• Starring Julia Roberts, Mahershala Ali and Ethan Hawke, “Leave the World Behind” premiers on December 8 on Netflix. Produced by Barack and Michelle Obama’s production company, the movie is based on Rumaan Alam’s novel.

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Before you go…

If you read a book or two from this edition, don’t be shy and share what you think. Just reply to this email or leave a comment here:

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Happy reading!

Liza