Babel

• Blackwell's Book of the Year • British Book Award Fiction Book of the Year • Daily Mail Best Book of 2022

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 a mysterious guardian, Babel seemed like paradise to Robin Swift. Until it became a prison...

But can a student stand against an empire?

An incendiary new novel from award-winning author R.F. Kuang about the power of language, the violence of colonialism, and the sacrifices of resistance.

Absolutely phenomenal. One of the most brilliant, razor-sharp books I've had the pleasure of reading that isn't just an alternative fantastical history, but an interrogative one; one that grabs colonial history and the Industrial Revolution, turns it over, and shakes it out. - S.A. Chakraborty, bestselling author of The Empire of Gold

• Ambitious, sweeping and epic.

  Evening Standard

• A brilliant and often harrowing exploration of violence, etymology, colonialism, and the intersections that run between them. Babel is as profound as it is moving.

  Alexis Henderson, author of The Year of the Witching

• R.F. Kuang has written a masterpiece. Through a meticulously researched and a wholly impressive deep dive into linguistics and the politics of language and translation, Kuang weaves a story that is part love-hate letter to academia, part scathing indictment of the colonial enterprise, and all fiery revolution.

  Rebecca Roanhorse, New York Times bestselling author of Black Sun

• Babel is a masterpiece. A stunningly brilliant exploration of identity, belonging, the cost of empire and revolution - and the true power of language. Kuang has written the book the world has been waiting for.

  Peng Shepherd, bestselling author of The Cartographers

• Kuang has outdone herself. Babel is brilliant, vicious, sensitive, epic, and intimate; it's both a love letter and a declaration of war. It's a perfect book.

  Alix E. Harrow, bestselling author of A Mirror Mended

• An astonishing mix of erudition and emotion. What Kuang has done here, I have never before seen in literature.

  Tochi Onyebuchi, author of Goliath

• If you only read one book this year, read this one. Through the incredibly believable alternative HF, Kuang has distilled the truth about imperialism and colonization in our world. Kuang’s depth of knowledge of history and linguistics is breathtaking. This book is a masterpiece in every sense of the word, a true privilege to read.

  Jesse Sutanto, author of Dial A for Aunties