In Babylon received enthusiastic reviews, especially in Holland where it became a bestseller. Paul Binding, writing for the Times Literary Supplement, praises the novel's themes, writing that it “evokes a deep sense of loss and impermanence, together with a courageous facing up to restlessness.” Binding declares it to be “a moving and convincing testimony to the continuing tension between the desire for assimilation and the awareness of separateness.”

Noting the novel's interplay between past and present, Binding argues that the novel has “all the penetration we expect.” He finds its theme carried out until the end of the novel, which, he claims “is both moving and disturbing.” He asserts, “Confrontation with the past isn't quite enough, its thoughtful pages seem to be suggesting; there will always remain the intractable world.”

Binding, however, finds fault with some of the novel's techniques. He claims that “its concern with...