Babel : Or the Necessity of Violence
From award-winning author R. F. Kuang comesĆ Babel, a thematic response toĆ The Secret History?Ć and a tonal retort toĆ Jonathan Strange & Mr. NorrellĆ that grapples with student revolutions, colonial resistance, and the use of language and translation as the dominating tool of the British empire.
Traduttore, traditore: An act of translation is always an act of betrayal.
1828. Robin Swift, orphaned by cholera in Canton, is brought to London by the mysterious Professor Lovell. There, he trains for years in Latin, Ancient Greek, and Chinese, all in preparation for the day heĆ¢ā¬ā¢ll enroll in Oxford UniversityĆ¢ā¬ā¢s prestigious Royal Institute of TranslationĆ¢ā¬āalso known as Babel.
Babel is the world's center for translation and, more importantly, magic. Silver workingĆ¢ā¬āthe art of manifesting the meaning lost in translation using enchanted silver barsĆ¢ā¬āhas made the British unparalleled in power, as its knowledge serves the EmpireĆ¢ā¬ā¢s quest for colonization.
For Robin, Oxford is a utopia dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge. But knowledge obeys power, and as a Chinese boy raised in Britain, Robin realizes serving Babel means betraying his motherland. As his studies progress, Robin finds himself caught between Babel and the shadowy Hermes Society, an organization dedicated to stopping imperial expansion. When Britain pursues an unjust war with China over silver and opium, Robin must decideĆ¢ā¬Ā¦
Can powerful institutions be changed from within, or does revolution always require violence?Ć
Babel : Or the Necessity of Violence
From award-winning author R. F. Kuang comesĆ Babel, a thematic response toĆ The Secret History?Ć and a tonal retort toĆ Jonathan Strange & Mr. NorrellĆ that grapples with student revolutions, colonial resistance, and the use of language and translation as the dominating tool of the British empire.
Traduttore, traditore: An act of translation is always an act of betrayal.
1828. Robin Swift, orphaned by cholera in Canton, is brought to London by the mysterious Professor Lovell. There, he trains for years in Latin, Ancient Greek, and Chinese, all in preparation for the day heĆ¢ā¬ā¢ll enroll in Oxford UniversityĆ¢ā¬ā¢s prestigious Royal Institute of TranslationĆ¢ā¬āalso known as Babel.
Babel is the world's center for translation and, more importantly, magic. Silver workingĆ¢ā¬āthe art of manifesting the meaning lost in translation using enchanted silver barsĆ¢ā¬āhas made the British unparalleled in power, as its knowledge serves the EmpireĆ¢ā¬ā¢s quest for colonization.
For Robin, Oxford is a utopia dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge. But knowledge obeys power, and as a Chinese boy raised in Britain, Robin realizes serving Babel means betraying his motherland. As his studies progress, Robin finds himself caught between Babel and the shadowy Hermes Society, an organization dedicated to stopping imperial expansion. When Britain pursues an unjust war with China over silver and opium, Robin must decideĆ¢ā¬Ā¦
Can powerful institutions be changed from within, or does revolution always require violence?Ć
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From award-winning author R. F. Kuang comesĆ Babel, a thematic response toĆ The Secret History?Ć and a tonal retort toĆ Jonathan Strange & Mr. NorrellĆ that grapples with student revolutions, colonial resistance, and the use of language and translation as the dominating tool of the British empire.
Traduttore, traditore: An act of translation is always an act of betrayal.
1828. Robin Swift, orphaned by cholera in Canton, is brought to London by the mysterious Professor Lovell. There, he trains for years in Latin, Ancient Greek, and Chinese, all in preparation for the day heĆ¢ā¬ā¢ll enroll in Oxford UniversityĆ¢ā¬ā¢s prestigious Royal Institute of TranslationĆ¢ā¬āalso known as Babel.
Babel is the world's center for translation and, more importantly, magic. Silver workingĆ¢ā¬āthe art of manifesting the meaning lost in translation using enchanted silver barsĆ¢ā¬āhas made the British unparalleled in power, as its knowledge serves the EmpireĆ¢ā¬ā¢s quest for colonization.
For Robin, Oxford is a utopia dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge. But knowledge obeys power, and as a Chinese boy raised in Britain, Robin realizes serving Babel means betraying his motherland. As his studies progress, Robin finds himself caught between Babel and the shadowy Hermes Society, an organization dedicated to stopping imperial expansion. When Britain pursues an unjust war with China over silver and opium, Robin must decideĆ¢ā¬Ā¦
Can powerful institutions be changed from within, or does revolution always require violence?Ć
