--- description: Find out why "Babel" by R.F. Kuang is on TIME's list of the must-read books of the year. title: 'Babel' Is One of the 100 Must-Read Books of 2022 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta862604bf3056810/698a37b9457a52a749d670c0/Babel.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Nov 14, 2022 # Babel by R.F. Kuang by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close  [Dark academia](https://time.com/6143359/dark-academia-vladimir-disorientation/ "undefined") gets the revolutionary treatment in [R.F. Kuang](https://time.com/collection/100-best-fantasy-books/5898525/the-poppy-war/ "undefined")’s fantastically rendered novel _Babel_. After being orphaned in early-1800s Canton as a child, Robin is shipped to London by the mysterious Professor Lovell. There, Robin is trained for many years in multiple languages in the hopes that one day he will attend Oxford University’s Royal Institute of Translation, colloquially referred to as Babel, where translation also manifests in dark magic. But Robin faces a dilemma: his skills will be used in service of British imperialism, an allegiance he can’t abide by. As the nation pursues war on his homeland, Robin must decide what to do, leading him to consider the purpose of institutional reform and revolution, and the necessity of violence. —_Cady Lang_ **Buy Now**: _Babel_ on [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/4973/9780063021426 "undefined") | [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3UlfAX1 "undefined") **Contact us at** [letters@time.com](mailto:letters@time.com?subject=%28READER%20FEEDBACK%29%20Stay%20True&body=https%3A%2F%2Ftime.com%2Fcollection-post%2F6228627%2Fstay-true%2F "undefined")**.** ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/must-read-books-2022/6228437/babel/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/must-read-books-2022/6228437/babel/"},"headline":"Babel","datePublished":"2022-11-14T12:58:40.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-03T00:11:33.727Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/must-read-books-2022/6228437/babel/","keywords":["Books","list","best books"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta862604bf3056810/698a37b9457a52a749d670c0/Babel.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta862604bf3056810/698a37b9457a52a749d670c0/Babel.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/must-read-books-2022/6228437/babel/","name":"Babel"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"The 100 Must-Read Books of 2022","description":"Gripping novels, transporting poetry, and timely nonfiction that asked us to look deeper.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/EeIdKgaD/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2022-11-09T14:12:32.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/EeIdKgaD.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/collections/must-read-books-2022/6228437/babel/","duration":"PT2M54S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/collections/must-read-books-2022/6228437/babel/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```