Episode 203
#203 - Babel by R. F. Kuang (Books 1 & 2)
Happy New Year! On this episode, we discuss the first 2 acts (or "books") of Babel by R.F. Kuang, a epic dark academia fantasy taking place in an alternate universe version of Oxford during the early Victorian era about a Chinese boy named Robin Swift who is whisked away from his home in Canton and set on a path to become a translator for the Royal Institute of Translation (aka Babel). However, as he and his cohort learn more about their chosen field, the contradictions of empire, and their roles in it, become harder and harder to ignore.
*Support the podcast by purchasing books at our bookshop *
---
Follow our hosts:
- Reera Yoo (@reeraboo)
- Marvin Yueh (@marvinyueh)
Follow us:
The Books & Boba January 2023 pick is Babel by R.F. Kuang
**
Note that Babel is published by a Harper Collins imprint which is in the middle of a strike with the HCP Union seeking fair pay for workers. Books & Boba supports the HCP Union, as does the author R.F. Kuang, and invite you to support the union by amplifying their message on social media (Twitter / Instagram) and donating to their strike fund.
**
This podcast is part of Potluck: An Asian American Podcast Collective
Mentioned in this episode:
Don't miss an all AAPI production of HENRY VI: A Trilogy in Two Parts at The Public in NYC
NAATCO returns to The Public with their production of Shakespeare's trilogy, HENRY VI: A TRILOGY IN TWO PARTS, adapted and directed by Stephen Brown-Fried. Condensed into two parts and performed in rep, experience this saga of a nation spinning wildly out of control. Part 1: Foreign Wars kicks off with the funeral of King Henry V, leaving his infant son on the throne and sending the country into decades of spiraling chaos both abroad and at home. Part 2: Civil Strife picks up nearly 30 years later, as nascent domestic feuds rapidly metastasize into the full-blown civil war known as the War of the Roses.
