Babel ; or the necessity of violence : an arcane history of the Oxford Translators' Revolution /
Kuang, R. F.
Babel ; or the necessity of violence : an arcane history of the Oxford Translators' Revolution / Babel : an arcane history R.F. Kuang. - First edition. - London, UK : HarperVoyager, 2022. - xii, 544 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm.
"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?"--Amazon.com.
Winner 2022 Nebula Award for Best Science Fiction Novel.
9780063021426 0063021420 9780008501815 0008501815 9780008501822
jb2022030923
GBC2B4622 bnb
020667512 Uk
University of Oxford--Fiction.
University of Oxford.
1800-1899
Orphans--Fiction.
Secret societies--Fiction.
Social change--Fiction.
Orphans.
Secret societies.
Social change.
Imperialism.
Diplomatic relations.
Magic--Fiction.
Imperialism--Moral and ethical aspects--Fiction.
Anti-imperialist movements--Fiction.
Translating and interpreting--Fiction.
Imperialism--Fiction.
Oxford (England)--History--19th century--Fiction.
England--Oxford.
China.
Great Britain.
China--Foreign relations--Fiction.
Great Britain--Foreign relations--Fiction.
China--Foreign relations--Great Britain--Fiction.
Great Britain--Foreign relations--China--Fiction.
US & CAN fantasy fiction US & CAN historical fiction
Historical fiction.
Alternative histories (Fiction)
Fantasy fiction
Fiction.
Novels.
PS3611.U17 / B33 2022
813.6
Babel ; or the necessity of violence : an arcane history of the Oxford Translators' Revolution / Babel : an arcane history R.F. Kuang. - First edition. - London, UK : HarperVoyager, 2022. - xii, 544 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm.
"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?"--Amazon.com.
Winner 2022 Nebula Award for Best Science Fiction Novel.
9780063021426 0063021420 9780008501815 0008501815 9780008501822
jb2022030923
GBC2B4622 bnb
020667512 Uk
University of Oxford--Fiction.
University of Oxford.
1800-1899
Orphans--Fiction.
Secret societies--Fiction.
Social change--Fiction.
Orphans.
Secret societies.
Social change.
Imperialism.
Diplomatic relations.
Magic--Fiction.
Imperialism--Moral and ethical aspects--Fiction.
Anti-imperialist movements--Fiction.
Translating and interpreting--Fiction.
Imperialism--Fiction.
Oxford (England)--History--19th century--Fiction.
England--Oxford.
China.
Great Britain.
China--Foreign relations--Fiction.
Great Britain--Foreign relations--Fiction.
China--Foreign relations--Great Britain--Fiction.
Great Britain--Foreign relations--China--Fiction.
US & CAN fantasy fiction US & CAN historical fiction
Historical fiction.
Alternative histories (Fiction)
Fantasy fiction
Fiction.
Novels.
PS3611.U17 / B33 2022
813.6
