Babel by R. F. Kuang
Daringly imaginative and penned with devastating authenticity, Babel by R. F. Kuang takes readers through the thinnest of veils between worlds into an alternate history of Great Britain during the height of its colonial empire. It follows Robin, a young Chinese boy taken from his plague-ravaged home town of Canton by a mysterious British professor who promises to train him in the art of languages so that he may one day become a translator at Babel, the prestigious institution at the heart of the Empire which holds the secrets to its unrivaled might. Scholars at Babel practice silverwork, imbuing the precious metal with the power of words that are caught in translation between different languages. Robin begins his training only to find himself quickly caught up in a web of affairs outside his control, implicating himself in a series of crimes against the nation as he inadvertently starts to tangle with an enclave of former translators planning a deadly revolution. He grapples with his inherent otherness to the institutional monolith, trying to come to terms with both his identity and the cycle of exploitation in which he is becoming complicit – the Empire is sustained by conquest and the subsequent supply of newly subjugated languages from which its silver-smiths can derive ever more power. But even Babel’s scholars agree: “Every translation is a betrayal.” The paradox inherent in such a phagocytic system as Kuang’s imaginary Britain, an outsize behemoth of industry and dominion, becomes starkly apparent as she hints at the impossible scope of its colonial treachery.
— Elaine Yang, Features Editor
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin is one of those books that force you to ponder the nature of the human experience. The novel centers around the relationship between the two main characters: Sam and Sadie. We get to see these characters grow and change from both perspectives as they move in and out of each other’s life, while never truly losing sight of one another. This book has the same focus on complex relationships like Normal People by Sally Rooney, but with the backdrop of video games and the added complexities of our contemporary society. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is for the reader that has a hankering for complexity and stories that unfold within the little details. It’s really good for when you’re feeling uninspired by books altogether.
— Evelyn Logan, Radio Editor
In the eye of the wild by Nastsassja Martin
“The bear left some hours ago now, and I am waiting, waiting for the mist to lift. The steppe is red, my hands are red, face swollen and gashed, unrecognizable. As in the times of myths, obscurity reigns; I am this blurred figure, features submerged beneath the open gulfs in my face, slicked over with internal tissue, fluid, and blood: it is a birth, for it is manifestly not a death.”
These are the opening lines of Nastassja Martin’s chilling and yet poetic book In the eye of the wild. She tells the story of her “encounter” with a bear in the mountains of Kamchatka, on the edge of Siberia, to carry out an anthropological study among the Evens. As the book unfolds we get more glimpses of this moment where the human and animal world collided. The local populations call survivors “marked by the bear” medka meaning that you become half human half bear. Martin writes in a fascinating way about her rebirth and her inaptitude to re-enter the world as if nothing happened. Her story intertwines physical scars, a necessity to survive and a call to the grandeur of nature. The book isn’t meant to appeal to your sympathy, on the contrary it is an invitation from the author to follow her in the coldest parts of Russian wildlife – where myth meets reality – and into the some parts of her mind.
— India Mosca, Managing Editor
Journey to the West by Wu Cheng’en
A Chinese classic I read this summer and the previous two summers, too—though I didn’t finish the first time, to my regret. You may recognize this epic as the source material for the hit game Black Myth: Wukong, but its story and legacy have already been entrenched into centuries of folklore. A satire of celestial politics? A critique of religious power? A hero’s journey in search of freedom and enlightenment? Featuring a weary Buddhist monk, a genderfluid monkey with “trouble” as their middle name, and a crew of misfits who’ve inhabited the collective consciousness of generations of Chinese children, inspiring them to forge their own destinies like the heroes of legend.
— Andrei Li, Sci+Tech Editor
Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness by Susannah Cahalan
I picked up this book when staying at a guesthouse with no wifi and found myself unable to put it down! This autobiography chronicles Cahalan’s experience with a rare autoimmune disease, encompassing her journey to a life-saving diagnosis and recovery once she was able to get treatment. Drawing on her skills as an investigative journalist, Cahalan pieces together her “month of madness” through testimonies from family and friends, medical documents, and videos to recount this life-changing experience.
— Emma Bainbridge, Coordinating Editor