By Kaity Chandrika
Babel by R.F. Kuang
I like books that live up to what the back cover promises—this is absolutely one of them. It’s a new-age dark academia tour-de-force (560 pages, but worth it) that focuses its commentary on the conquest of languages. R.F. Kuang’s Yale PhD research in East Asian Studies beautifully informs these conflicts. She manages to create, and make you love, a better version of Hermione, Ron, and Harry—while blending a compelling magic system into British imperial history.
You will like this book if: You’re an armchair revolutionary.
Trust by Hernan Diaz
A layered mystery that unravels itself, and is actually four manuscripts. Almost like a puzzle you put together, every passage leads to a payoff at the end. This is an absolutely wonderful read to procrastinate everything else you have to do. Lots of satisfying philosophical one-liners and falls so squarely within my old NYC/Hudson money obsession that it’s a little scary.
You will like this book if: You’re a little goth, and love puzzles.
Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel
Patel retells the Epic Ramayana from the perspective of an originally very insignificant female villain— a lot like Circe, but also a lot different than Circe. Hinduism still informs contemporary attitudes and politics– Greek myths don’t. The retelling from the female POV is naturally inflammatory, and the book has a good amount of 1 star Goodreads reviews for that reason. Patel paints a picture of aristocracy, succession, war, and fantasy in a way that’s thoughtfully feminist, without being clickbait-y.
You will like this book if: You’re interested in masculinity and its vicissitudes. Bonus points if you have little brothers.
