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Babel, or, The necessity of violence : an arcane history of the Oxford Translators' Revolution

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Book

First edition.

"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?" --

Available copies

  • 20 of 37 copies available at Westchester Library System.

Current holds

17 current holds with 37 total copies.
Location Call Number /
Shelving Location
Barcode Status /
Due Date
Ardsley Public Library FANTASY KUANG (Text)
Fantasy
31000151295048
Available
-
Bedford Free Library FIC KUA (Text)
New Book
31002150788908
Available
-
Bronxville Public Library FICTION KUANG (Text)
Fiction
31004151868424
Available
-
Chappaqua Library SCIENCE FICTION KUANG (Text)
Science Fiction
31005400035814
Checked out
04/29/2024
Croton Free Library FICTION/KUANG (Text)
Fiction
31006151898475
On holds shelf
-
Dobbs Ferry Public Library KUANG (Text)
Fiction
31007151463443
Available
-
Eastchester Public Library FICTION KUANG (Text)
Fiction
31008152541369
Checked out
05/06/2024
Greenburgh Public Library KUANG (Text)
Fiction
31009154926640
Available
-
Harrison Public Library KUANG, R. (Text)
Curated Fiction
31010300305242
Available
-
Hastings-on-Hudson Public Library FICTION KUANG (Text)
Fiction
31011151425402
Available
-
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