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A review by peachybee53
The Testaments by Margaret Atwood
challenging
dark
hopeful
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
A perfect conclusion to The Handmaid's Tale. This book had me hooked from the beginning. With three protagonists from different backgrounds, it reads like a historical fiction despite being based in the not-so-distant future. I loved the tones of hope and rebellion throughout, I'm glad that Atwood's dark humour has continued to shine through and I enjoyed the comparisons between citizens' and outsiders' perspectives of Gilead's totalitarian society. Learning that every practice included in the world of Gilead has real-life parallels was frightening but sadly unsurprising. Overall, a fairly easy & very satisfying read.
Favourite Quotes:
"You don't believe the sky is falling until a chunk of it falls on you."
"The world was no longer solid and dependable, it was porous and deceptive. Anything could disappear. At the same time, everything I looked at was very clear."
"So peaceful, the streets; so tranquil, so orderly; yet underneath the deceptively placid surfaces, a tremor, like that near a high-voltage power line. We're stretched thin, all of us; we vibrate; we quiver, we're
always on the alert. Reign of terror, they used to say, but terror does not exactly reign. Instead it paralyzes. Hence the unnatural quiet."
"The world was emptying itself of meaning. Everything was hollow. Everything was withering."
"All of the secrets I had learned, and doubtless many more, would be mine, to use as I saw fit. All of this power. All of this potential to judge the wicked in silence, and to punish them in ways they would not be able to anticipate. All of this vengeance... I would not be telling the truth if I said I was not tempted."
"How can I have behaved so badly, so cruelly, so stupidly? you will ask. You yourself would never have done such things! But you yourself will hever have had to."
Favourite Quotes:
"You don't believe the sky is falling until a chunk of it falls on you."
"The world was no longer solid and dependable, it was porous and deceptive. Anything could disappear. At the same time, everything I looked at was very clear."
"So peaceful, the streets; so tranquil, so orderly; yet underneath the deceptively placid surfaces, a tremor, like that near a high-voltage power line. We're stretched thin, all of us; we vibrate; we quiver, we're
always on the alert. Reign of terror, they used to say, but terror does not exactly reign. Instead it paralyzes. Hence the unnatural quiet."
"The world was emptying itself of meaning. Everything was hollow. Everything was withering."
"All of the secrets I had learned, and doubtless many more, would be mine, to use as I saw fit. All of this power. All of this potential to judge the wicked in silence, and to punish them in ways they would not be able to anticipate. All of this vengeance... I would not be telling the truth if I said I was not tempted."
"How can I have behaved so badly, so cruelly, so stupidly? you will ask. You yourself would never have done such things! But you yourself will hever have had to."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Sexual harassment, and Classism
Moderate: Body horror, Cancer, Chronic illness, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Blood, Death of parent, and Abandonment
Minor: Eating disorder, Miscarriage, Terminal illness, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Trafficking, Medical trauma, Toxic friendship, Dysphoria, and War