Babel by R. F. Kuang made quite the splash in the book world when it was published in 2022. Taking place in 1800’s Oxford, not only are words literal magic in Kuang’s alternate history, but those words and their translations are what are granting Britain so much of its power. Of course, that means that people wielding those words and making those translations have to ask themselves difficult questions about who is benefiting from their work. Not only is the story compelling, but the interrogation of power structures fierce, and the sources – as often in Kuang’s case – are impeccable.

“That’s just what translation is, I think. That’s all speaking is. Listening to the other and trying to see past your own biases to glimpse what they’re trying to say. Showing yourself to the world, and hoping someone else understands.”