Babel (poche)

"An act of translation is always an act of betrayal."1828. A Chinese orphan is taken to Canton by a professor and led to London. Renamed Robin Swift, the young boy devotes his days to studying languages with the aim of integrating the prestigious Royal Translation Institute of Oxford University, better known as Babel. The berch of Argentogravure, the students exploit the lost meaning of words there with the aid of enchanted silver bars. From his first days in Oxford, Robin realized that this work gave the British Empire an unparalleled power and served his thirst for colonization, to the detriment of the disadvantaged classes of society and its territories. Serving Babel therefore amounted to betraying his native homeland. Can he hope to change Babel from within? Or will he have to sacrifice his dreams to bring down this institution?Translated from English by Michel Pagel