Babel, or The Necessity of Violence

The story takes place in Victorian Era Oxford, but its relevance to today's world is undeniable. Mirroring the industrial revolution, Babel plays out an alternate version of British colonialism wherein silver - not coal - drives the world order.

Oxford scholars have used silver to harness the power of language and translation to perform fantastic feats. As a result, linguists are some of the most valuable and powerful people in the world, and the more languages they can harness, the more power their silver bars can create. To gain more linguistic knowledge, Oxford is doing something unthinkable: letting people from other cultures into their school!

The way this book deals with racial and cultural tension is indescribable. The injustices the Babel students faced were very nuanced, but at the same time very obvious. The privileged classmates and professors ask what they have to complain about since they have things so easy - better than most Englishmen, let alone people of their own race - so how dare they complain about colonialism. But they see exactly what it's doing to people just like them. They see how easily wealth and power could be distributed, and how petty the reasons for withholding resources and aid are.

These characters and situations are so perfectly orchestrated that it allows the reader to clearly see all the perspectives enmeshed in the messiness of colonialism. With the way the characters of colour interact with the others, unintentional racism is also portrayed in a visceral way. Even the most well-intentioned characters would do things that would make me cringe, because though I may not have felt it through my own lens, experiencing the interactions through their lens made the awkward moments so potent, I could practically taste the unintended insults.

Some of these concepts might sound intimidating and heavy, but they are approached with a masterful tact, sticking to the story and the perspectives of the times, and focusing on the characters. The main story is then peppered with historical details and anecdotes in fun, and occasionally vicious footnotes. When footnotes are done right in a novel, they can be such a spectacular delight, and this author nailed it.

While the story builds gradually, the groundwork it does to make the four main characters so familiar pays off in powerful ways. When the tension rose, Robin and his friends tore at my emotions in ways I couldn't begin to predict. This book is an unstoppable force, and I am telling any person who will listen that it is THE must-read book. Stop reading this review, and get your hands on this book!