Colonialism is not a machine capable of thinking, a body endowed with reason. It is naked violence and only gives in when confronted with greater violence.
Frantz Fanon, The Wretched of the Earth, translated by Richard Philcox
Table of Contents
Getting to Babel
I think I’ve had Babel in my wishlist/to-be-read pile ever since it came out. I’ve put off reading it partly due to its length being longer than what I usually read and the subject matter, historical fantasy dealing with colonialism; a heavy topic that is not something I’d usually enjoy reading about.
I bought a copy of this book when it went on sale a few months ago and this week I decided it was finally time to actually sit down and see what all the hype and critical acclaim was about.
Subtlety is for Cowards
The first thing about this book is none of it is subtle. Kuang is not a author that deals in subtlety, at least not in this book. The book starts punching you in the face with the themes from the very beginning and doesn’t let up all the way through. I suppose in that way, the book’s narrative style is a metaphor for colonialism.
This book is a slow burn. At certain points this past week I considered dropping it because I was getting a bit impatient with the narrative. I wasn’t sure where all this set up was going. But ultimately, the book was compelling enough for me to stick it through to the end and I am glad I did.
Colonialism and the Necessity of Violence
The word I have in mind when describing this book is: sublime. The way it weaves the various aspects of colonialism such as race, military domination, language, religion, labour into the narrative makes for a masterful treatise on how colonialism affects those it subjugates and the systems that keep the machine going. The book’s themes are not subtle but it understands the subtleties of colonialism quite well.
One such theme is how established institutions like academia further the goals of empire by lending the veneer of high education, knowledge, and progress to systems of oppression. As someone who has a lot of uhhh..personal baggage when it comes to academia, I felt personally vindicated in a way that I haven’t been before.
Ultimately, the biggest lesson this book is trying to impart is the necessity of violence against systems of oppression. In doing so, it channels the work of Fanon. The quote at the beginning of the review is present in the book at the start of one of the chapters and characters in the book stress the importance of the violent struggle.
‘Violence shows them how much we’re willing to give up,’ said Griffin. ‘Violence is the only language they understand, because their system of extraction is inherently violent. Violence shocks the system. And the system cannot survive the shock. You have no idea what you’re capable of, truly. You can’t imagine how the world might shift unless you pull the trigger.’ Griffin pointed at the middle birch. ‘Pull the trigger, kid.’
An excerpt from chapter twenty-two of Babel
Historical Fantasy with a dash of Magical Realism
The fantasy elements of this historical fantasy are functional. They are solely here to serve the themes present in the narrative and no more. In that way, I don’t think its too much of a stretch to call this a work of magical realism as well. Historically, this book makes references to various real events such as the crowning of Queen Victoria, the Opium Wars, the Luddites etc.
I am not versed enough in the history of the period to comment on if any of these portrayals of real events match what actually happened. Like the fantasy, the history is here to serve the narrative. Additionally, this is a work of fiction so I am not going to get hung up on matters of historical accuracy.
Conclusions
I think this book is a challenging read. Its slow burn nature and the heavy nature of the themes makes for a book that can be a slog to get through. I think the book earns its length and I don’t think anything in the book was unnecessary and superfluous. Both the journey and the destination were worth it.
The biggest praise I can give this book is that it made me want to read some non-fiction which I read very rarely. Specifically Frantz Fanon’s The Wretched of the Earth which I haven’t read before. I am a bit familiar with Fanon’s work from having listened to the History of Philosophy podcast episodes about him but I never actually read any of his work.
Babel was well worth a read if you can stomach the subject matter.
P.S – Parts of this book also reminded me of the first season of Andor. You can read my review of that here.