Babel
by R.F. Kuang
Really really good and worthwhile. 4.5 but rounded down because it's impressive but didn't blow me out of the water emotionally and because the one-off interlude chapters from Letty and Victoire felt very pastede on and tell-heavy.
Actually, I'm a big fan of footnotes (nonlinear ftw!) but footnotes shouldn't stop the momentum of the scene or spell out things that the story is trying to show. Also, the chapter that's just the newspaper article footnote was a devastatingly good idea for how to deliver that plot point/bit of emotion, but not well executed - I've read 1800s newspapers, that is NOT how they talk nor who they talk to, not even close - and it brought me out of the story.
The ideas, they're all there, and they're worth it. The structure of the story itself is really really good. The writing is the weak link I think - mostly up to the task, but occasionally fumbles.