(oruthavanga review ketaanga. so naa kattaya pattu podren 🙂‍↕️) 

The book is Babel by R F Kuang.

𝙄𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙩𝙮, 𝙄𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙜𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙮, 𝙄𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙪𝙞𝙩𝙮: 𝘼𝙡𝙡 𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣. 

6⭐️/5

Set in the late 1830s, Babel follows Robin Swift, an orphaned boy taken from the streets of Canton and brought to England to prepare to serve the Crown, where language, translation, and empire become instruments of power.

"𝘼𝙛𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙡𝙡, 𝙬𝙚'𝙧𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙪𝙣𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬𝙣, 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙛𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙖𝙧. 𝙒𝙚'𝙧𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙜𝙞𝙘 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙙𝙨."

In Babel, the author deftly weaves themes of British imperialism, colonialism, capitalism, identity, racism, oppression, misogyny, and sexism (and many more) through the architectural grandeur of Oxford and the imposing edifice of Babel, crafting a narrative that is as haunting as it is beautiful. 

“𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙢𝙚𝙣 𝙖𝙩 𝙊𝙭𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙙; 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙊𝙭𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙙 𝙢𝙚𝙣. 𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙚𝙣𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬𝙡𝙚𝙙𝙜𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙨𝙤 𝙙𝙚𝙫𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙨𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙖 𝙫𝙞𝙘𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙨𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙚𝙚 𝙜𝙤𝙡𝙙𝙚𝙣 𝙙𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮’𝙙 𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙡𝙮 𝙚𝙣𝙟𝙤𝙮𝙚𝙙, 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙣𝙚𝙞𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙨𝙖𝙮 𝙞𝙩 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙡𝙤𝙪𝙙.”

How in a foreign land that drapes itself in opportunity, belonging becomes a quiet negotiation between gratitude and erasure, where each offered door asks you to shed a piece of the self that once knew home.

"𝙃𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙚. 𝙃𝙚 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙩. 𝙃𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙞𝙩 𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙝𝙞𝙢. 𝙃𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙖 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙞𝙩 – 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙞𝙩 𝙛𝙚𝙡𝙩 𝙨𝙤 𝙜𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙖 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙞𝙩, 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙖𝙠 𝙩𝙤 𝙞𝙩𝙨 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙛𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙤𝙧𝙨 𝙖𝙨 𝙖𝙣 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙡 𝙚𝙦𝙪𝙖𝙡, 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩 𝙜𝙖𝙢𝙚."

Questions you find yourself deploring as you move through the book:

• How do you reclaim yourself when they have taught you to see your own culture as something primitive to outgrow?  
• What is conquest if not the art of making the oppressed finance the magnificence of their oppressors?  
• At what point does adapting to them become participation in your own erasure?  
• How do you carry the weight of a stolen homeland while speaking the language of those who stole it?  
• At what point does the pursuit of justice force you to stand with one foot in evil?   
• Is the greater good still good when it is built upon innocent blood?

In conclusion, this is a book that should not merely be read, but etched into education as a lens through which ever-growing minds learn to question, remember, and resist.

TLDR: White men are bad news.

to the people who think maybe we'd be better off if the british were still ruling us - a book review and recommendation