It's been weeks since I've finished this book and I still can't stop thinking about it.

There have been a lot of people claiming that this book is shoving the theme down your throat (ie. racism and colonialism = bad), but I think they're missing the complexity and nuance of the story. The story isn't about whether or not racism and colonialism are bad, we know they're bad, the story is about Robin and his cohorts navigating an institution that they love and enjoy, in a place that they love, but that also treats them as commodities to advance the colonial project - and what does that mean for them?

I love how Kuang deals with intersectionality as well. What does it mean to be a white woman at Oxford? An occasionally white-passing Chinese man? An Indian man? A Haitian woman? How do these differences push them together, and how do they pull them apart? 

In particular, I love that the doubts and hesitancies that Robin has about the Hermes society are often because he is removed from Canton (physically and emotionally) in a way that Rami and Victoire were not, and he does sometimes pass as white. It's a different history that paints his experience at Oxford and it's not until they go to Canton that he gets a bit of a reality check. It's heartbreaking to know how they each reach that place, and how Letty doesn't, but it is so fascinating to see those different experiences and perspectives. Not even going into the queer aspect that is in play - it's blink and you miss it until near the end, but once it's obvious (when Ramy is shot) it just brings everything else into a new perspective.

This book is a beautiful navigation of these ideas and concepts while also creating these incredible characters who you come to feel as if they are your own friends, and when the plot continues you feel their emotions so strongly. You will feel so much reading this book, and I don't want to say more than that. It brings in fantasy and magical elements without them feeling unnatural in the world. The footnotes are such a great technique to add context without trying to fit in a bunch of exposition, it also brings a more academic feel to the novel which works considering the primary setting at Oxford.

The ending is heartbreaking, losing Ramy, Griffin, and finally, Robin just devastated me, but the final chapter is perfect. I can't fathom a better ending than Victoire's "victory". She did not win, not really because she lost so much. But her continued survival and perseverance is a victory in the face of the empire. It's the message that she will keep fighting, that this is not over, that I love so much. If there was only ever going to be one character to survive (or not betray the group), I am so glad it was her.

I have way too much to say about this book, but this is turning into a stream of consciousness so I'll leave it here. It's amazing, just read it.