Why did I love this book?
Babel combines 19th-century British history, an academic setting, and several fascinating premises—including endowing silver with magical properties—into a potent mix.
Kuang’s novel concerns a fictional Oxford college dedicated to translation (inevitably nicknamed Babel) and four brilliant young students in a Harry Potter-esque plot line that turns serious, then violent, as they reach a greater understanding of the project of which they are a part.
I was riveted and wanted to read more about the place, the time, and the characters.
20 authors picked Babel as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.
THE #2 SUNDAY TIMES AND #1 NYT BESTSELLER
'One for Philip Pullman fans'
THE TIMES
'An ingenious fantasy about empire'
GUARDIAN
'Fans of THE SECRET HISTORY, this one is an automatic buy'
GLAMOUR
'Ambitious, sweeping and epic'
EVENING STANDARD
Traduttore, traditore: An act of translation is always an act of betrayal.
Oxford, 1836.
The city of dreaming spires.
It is the centre of all knowledge and progress in the world.
And at its centre is Babel, the Royal Institute of Translation. The tower from which all the power of the Empire flows.
Orphaned in Canton and brought to England by…