Episode 5.1: ‘Babel’ by RF Kuang

It’s happening. We’re finally doing it. The book launching Season Five (!!) of ‘The Dark Academicals’ is RF Kuang’s huge 2022 release, ‘Babel’. We’re both new to Kuang and have been completely intimidated by the hype for ‘Babel’, but it’s time. Traduttore, traditore: An act of translation is always an act of betrayal. 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. With the combination of Oxford, university, a focus on language and translation, and the pull of an outsider main character, it’s got to be dark academia, right? Did it tick all of our boxes, though?