It was the last title, though, that made the Guangzhou-born novelist, who publishes as R F Kuang, a household name. Yellowface, which tells of a white author who steals her dead rival’s work and prints it under the guise of being Asian in order to benefit from tokenism and positive discrimination, is a satire on very real issues of cultural appropriation, capitalist interest and jealousy that afflict the publishing industry. It had writers and readers alike side-eyeing every viral release, the arrangement of titles on bookstore shelves (cover facing out or just spines on view?) and any public figure’s overly smiley, obviously manicured social media posts. Part thriller, part commentary, it is razor sharp, witty and wickedly funny — markedly different from her earlier books.
So, it was only normal that a portion of readers — those familiar with just this one example of Kuang’s work — expected something similar for her sixth novel Katabasis. Long-time fans were exhilarated when it was revealed that the author was instead making a grand homecoming to her favoured genre — fantasy.
The plot is typical of Kuang. Alice Law and Peter Murdoch are rival graduate students studying magic (or “magick”) at Cambridge University. When their adviser Professor Jacob Grimes — an acclaimed and infamously sadistic magician known for making his students miserable — dies in a spell gone wrong, the pair sacrifice half their lifespan to sojourn to Hell and rescue his soul in hopes of salvaging their doomed academic careers. With not much more than accounts by the likes of Dante and Orpheus for guidance, they travel to the Eight Courts (a purgatory for each major sin) where they encounter souls of all shapes and personalities, evil illusionists and deities amid a perplexing and terrifying landscape.
While the book’s title — originating from Greek (a major influence in the mythology employed) which means to descend into Hades — is an immediate reference to Alice and Peter’s literal journey to the underworld, it also describes their respective burdens, ones so torturous that death and eternal damnation might just be more comforting. In an interview, Kuang mentioned a key motivating question was “What kind of suffering would you have had to have gone through for hell to seem like a better alternative?”
The novel is dedicated to Kuang’s husband who was hospitalised with an undiagnosed chronic illness. Peter’s arc mirrors this.
See also: Agent of change
Botticelli’s La Mappa dell’Inferno (Map of Hell) is one of many artworks illustrating Dante’s underworld geography. In Katabasis, Alice and Peter draw up their own charts
Born with a silver spoon and for whom everything seems to come easily, he is the golden boy who, to Alice’s chagrin, floats through life with unearned ease. But under the charm and talent, he nurses deep shame over an incurable health condition that debilitated him from childhood. Fearing being underestimated and belittled, he keeps his peers at arm’s length to avoid unwanted discovery of his ailment. His unexplained absences and emotional distance cost him true intimacy, particularly with Alice. Meanwhile, Alice is the usual stubborn high achiever coveting glory and success.
See also: Animal writing
She works her way up from nothing and revels in becoming the object of Grimes’ favouritism, turning a blind eye to his abusive behaviour until the violation goes a step too far. Even then, she is unable to sever herself from him, and as her humiliation persists she begins entertaining suicidal ideation.
As they move through the courts, Alice and Peter, especially the former, are forced to confront the inner demons threatening to destroy them. The pit demands they face their past and overcome it or be consumed, just like all the other atoning souls.
These heavy themes of struggle and suffering, as well as the enduring dilemma of how to conquer them, are the novel’s key discussions. When faced with tribulations, it is human nature to look for the quickest and most definitive way out. Many live plagued by fear of what awaits us after death. The thought of fiery deserts where souls burn away and repent for eons before having a chance at karmic redemption and transmigration are enough to drive one mad. Most literature also describes rebirth as either a draw of luck or a reflection of your past life’s sins — no one is guaranteed a perfect or even comfortable existence in the next cycle. Some find these daunting unknowns a worthwhile gamble if it means putting an end to their hardships.
However, in legends, katabasis is always followed by anabasis — the act of returning to the realm of the living. As the duo search for Grimes’ soul and ponder their way out of Hell, they each achieve a form of reincarnation. Peter confides in Alice and finds solace he has never known. After several close brushes with annihilation (sojourners who perish in Hell are permanently obliterated and cannot regenerate), she awakens within herself a fire to live. In a final bout with Grimes, she manages to remove him from her mind’s pedestal and see him as the villain he has always been. A trip to the underworld is unfailingly transformative and you never emerge the same, whether you retrieve or learn something precious or, more likely, make great sacrifices. When our heroes are finally granted passage home, they bring with them a renewed passion for life.
A once dreary and depressing world becomes beautiful and full of promise. The lessons from Katabasis are brutal and emotional, but the book does a good job at pacing the dosage. Relief comes in the form of Kuang’s indulgence with language — you might roll your eyes and snicker at silly terms like “crisscross applesauce” being used with reckless abandon next to gory imagery, but these remind the reader to take a break from the grave themes and momentarily immerse themselves in the descriptions.
Another primary storyline is the will-they-or-won’t-they enemies-to-lovers relationship between Alice and Peter, where the writer employs a smorgasbord of tropes to an almost cringey but hilarious degree: Forced Proximity (Alice and Peter initially form a friendship when Grimes enlists them to aid in preparation for a presentation) and
One Bed (after the first night in Hell where they are forced to share a blanket, the pair wake up entangled and “something hard dug against her thigh”) — the list goes on. The bickering is amusing and romance surprisingly tender, transforming two insufferable characters into endearing and relatable personas. Real love is not just about those who would go to Hell for you or vice versa, but the ones you would want beside you while battling through the toughest of times, fighting tooth and nail to live on for.
Katabasis is not an easy read. It is a clunky 500-plus pages, generously peppered with Kuang’s usual knowledge flexes, long paragraphs that deep dive into complicated theories, academic references and rich words that will inevitably have you doing a Google search or be on the brink of giving up altogether. It is best for those who adore her debut works and have a mind wired for complicated fantasy, or at least possess steely determination. If you can settle into it, though, the takeaway is nothing short of magical.
