This is an impressive book, 4.5 out of 5 stars from me. One would think a book about academics at Oxford wouldn’t be so gripping, but the author R.F. Kuang paints an incredible picture. The book centers around four young students at Oxford. Each of the main characters is a fully realized person in their own right. I believe one, in particular, is the cause of all the negative reviews I’ve seen, as some folks don’t like to see themselves as the villain.

All at once, this book is a love letter and a satirical commentary on academia. The setting of a post-colonial England, in which the English are taking advantage of the people and their natural resources, is ripe with potential race and class conflicts, which the author does a great job using to drive the story forward.