Babel: An Arcane History by R.F. Kuang, 2022
Beautifully written. Slight mysticism with the 'magic' of silver but used as an approriate stand-in to talk about colonialism and power. Would highly recommend this epic. There is a deep dive into etymology as well, since words really are the power.
The story revolves around Robin Swift, a boy from Canton who is brought to England to live with Professor Lovell, who teaches linguistics at Babel's, Oxford fictional school of language.
Babel is an exclusive instituational and the scholars respected throughout the Empire. At Babel, Robin meets fellow students Ramy (an Indian Muslin), Victoire (originally from Haiti) and Letty (the wealthy English daughter of a British General).
Reminds me of Donna Tartt's Secret History except the group of students are at Oxford. Having spent a summer at an Oxford program, was neat to be reminded of the campus.
Despite it's 500+ pages, the story never gets stuck or predictable. I dragged my feet finishing the book because I did not want the story to end!
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