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From award-winning author R. F. Kuang comes Babel, a thematic response to The Secret History? and a tonal retort to Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell 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 he'll enroll in Oxford University's prestigious Royal Institute of Translation--also known as Babel. Babel is the world's center for translation and, more importantly, magic. Silver working--the art of manifesting the meaning lost in translation using enchanted silver bars--has made the British unparalleled in power, as its knowledge serves the Empire'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 decide... Can powerful institutions be changed from within, or does revolution always require violence?
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La première partie du roman est très introductive et peut paraître longue pour les personnes qui veulent de l’action (pas moi). L’autrice met en place tout les éléments et les enjeux du récit avant la troisième partie, il y a beaucoup de world building et de tensions qui apparaissent. Lorsque ça éclate, tout s’accélère et j’avais juste envie de retourner aux parties calmes du début. Les larmes ont coulé plus d’une fois et R.F. Kuang sait ce qu’elle fait. Son travail est monstrueux et on ressent vraiment les heures de recherches vis à vis de la traduction. C’est un livre qui parle de colonisation et de son impact sur les populations. C’est une lecture aussi intéressante que passionnante. C’est un immense coup de cœur !