Babel-17 (original: 1966; edição: 1999)

Read as part of 'Babel 17/Empire Star' trade p/b omnibus ( )

Delany is such a clever writer (I've loved him ever since finishing 'Dhalgren', now one of my favourite novels). Babel-17 was a very exciting narrative for such a short span of pages, and I love anything concerning the philosophy of language so particularly enjoyed this text.

I like languages - my TBR-pile still has more than a handful of such books, which are less easy to read than a fiction novel - and how they are constructed, how the meaning of words changed over the centuries, and so on. It's therefore all the more fun to read a novel in which language is a key factor. Babel-17 is one of those classics one must have read, as many lists continue to "preach". I know, lists don't preach, those who create said lists do, with all due respect, of course.

With a lot of interest, I started this adventure in space (preceded by a foreword by [a:Adam Roberts|23023|Adam Roberts|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1222988832p2/23023.jpg]), one about one population battling and invading the other and language playing a role in trying to comprehend the whys and hows. Rydra Wong is a famous poet; she's written several texts that gained her popularity across the galaxy. She's also an excellent strategist, though with some psychological issues.

What is Babel-17? She wants to understand, as a linguistic expert, and therefore embarks on a mission, taking on two major tasks: deciphering the code behind Babel-17 and fighting off invaders, though the latter was not originally planned, if I read correctly. Where the excellent (in my opinion) [b:Flowers for Algernon|10464340|Flowers for Algernon|Daniel Keyes|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1297700319l/10464340._SY75_.jpg|3337594] goes from a person not being able to properly express himself to perfect expression (and back, sadly), here it's a similar (d)evolution, with the critical elements 'I' and 'you'. You'll also read a few times: "The I is lost in me.", which is part of the lyrics of In Flames's song 'In Search for I' (Soundtrack to Your Escape, 2004) (YouTube-link).

As a reader, you get to read about language, about its characteristics, its DNA, how other people express themselves, so to speak. (See also [b:Is That a Fish in Your Ear? The Amazing Adventure of Translation|16001554|Is That a Fish in Your Ear? The Amazing Adventure of Translation|David Bellos|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1347291100l/16001554._SY75_.jpg|16364404] by [a:David Bellos|15926|David Bellos|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1311694554p2/15926.jpg] - my review)
Whether or not all of the information in this story is true and scientifically correct, I'll leave that in the middle. The information does encourage you to find it out for yourself or dig deeper into the secrets of languages. Bonus points for this, which probably also was one of the main reasons for this novel.

The story itself is not really coherent and contains quite a few gaps. With only 192 pages to read (my copy), Mr Delany couldn't/didn't want to/... elaborate on the matter, I guess. Published in 1966, it has aged pretty well, though there is mention of obsolete technology, like punch cards.

Oh yes, there's also a little love story hidden (well, not exactly) in this "tale". A wee bit too quick to have happened, but again, only 192 pages, one has to move fast.

In short: I found it an entertaining read, if only for the linguistic contents. The story itself was ok, though nothing out of the ordinary. It may be a classic SF-novel, but today I wouldn't consider it indispensable. ( )

Great writing and story although it ended a little too quickly and neatly. However, that didn’t diminish the joy of the story for me. Wonderful to see strong female character in scifi from the 1960s, showing once again the falseness of the claim that sexist scifi novels were just a product of their times. ( )

Esta es una extraña y ocurrente novela de ciencia ficción que iteresará sobre todo a los filólogos, por las teorías del lenguaje en que se basa la trama, inspiradas en la hipótesis de Sapir-Whorf. ¿Tiene el lenguaje alguna relación con la percepción que tenemos de la realidad? Véalo usted mismo...
Ciertamente, lo importante en esta novela es la idea, que podría haber dado para mucho más. Y aunque con escenas algo confusas, tiene otras absolutamente memorables, con lo cual se hace entretenida y la impresión general es buena. ( )