Babel, or The Necessity of Violence

We meet the main character of this book, Robin Swift, when he is a young boy dying of cholera in a house in Guangzhou (referred to as Canton), China. His mother has already died, and he is close to death, when an Englishman comes into his house and touches him with a mysterious silver bar that heals him. The Englishman, Professor Lovell, assumes guardianship of the boy, has him pick an English sounding name (we never learn the boy's real name), and brings him back to England to be educated in Latin, Greek, and Mandarin. Everything seems fine, if strange, until Robin neglects his studies one day to finish reading a novel he had started, and Professor Lovell beats him viciously as punishment. It becomes clear to us, if not to Robin, that Professor Lovell is not a benefactor. He is educating Robin for a purpose and Robin is not to be allowed to stray from that purpose at all.

Eventually Robin is sent to Oxford, to the prestigious Royal Institute of Translation, or Babel. He and the three other entering “Babblers,” two of whom are foreign born like him, become close friends as they endure the rigors of their first year at university. Robin, however, encounters a boy, Griffin, who knows some of the secrets of Professor Lovell and Babel, and draws him into a nerve-wracking and disturbing double life.

This epic novel is the story of the friendship of those 4 students, a story about colonialism and exploitation at work in people's lives, and the story of the ways people attempt to deal (or not deal) with such all-encompassing forces. It also involves fascinating discussions of etymology and the power of translation. As a librarian I love a good footnote, and this book delivers footnotes! I felt like the book verged on preachy when it came to the central conflict between the friends, but that feeling faded as the story developed.

If you like a nice, fat, complex novel that takes you to surprising places, this is a good one!