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From: jerry.friedman99@gmail.com (jerryfriedman)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.fandom
Subject: Re: Babel
Date: Tue, 12 Mar 2024 23:15:22 +0000
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Scott Dorsey wrote:

> jerryfriedman <jerry.friedman99@gmail.com> wrote:
>>I thought it was good but not great.  The story and characters were engaging,
>>and the magic system was original.  One problem was that criticizing 19th-
>>century colonialism and especially the Opium Wars seemed too easy and
>>out of date.  And nothing was said about China's conquests or suppression
>>of dissent.

Or other forms of oppression.

> Those problems were EXACTLY why I was surprised it didn't get a nomination.
> Because those problems are very much advantages for promoting the book in
> China.  That's what I found so boggleworthy.

Seems strange to me. Maybe there's something that only Chinese people, or
people very knowledgeable about Chinese culture, would object to.

>>A minor criticism is that, after Kuang makes a big deal about researching
>>Oxford slang of the 1830s, she gives her characters a lot of 20th- and
>>21st-century dialogue, which I found jarring.

> I didn't find it that jarring because I am living in the middle of it, but
> I agree that it won't age well.

> I disagree with your spoiler, though.

Did I miss a counterexample?

-- 
Jerry Friedman