Reviews tagging 'Pregnancy'

The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood

9 reviews

kjm19's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

The ending was so good. 

Parts of it felt too conversational and contemporary for my liking - but I appreciate this was intentional. 

Loved the elements of poetry and stage play writing, it was very impactful in telling different sides of the story. And I enjoyed that Penelope’s prose was diaristic mainly and set in the present. 

The last few chapters were very good and I managed to finish them in one sitting after spending a while reading the initial 65% of the book. The whole 12 maids imagery analysis - chefs kiss - and then their never-ending revenge on him in future lives. 

‘We’re no more real than money’
‘Pretty maids, all in a row’

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Gore, Infidelity, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Kidnapping, Grief, Pregnancy, and War

cepbreed's review against another edition

dark emotional fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I first fell in love with Penelope after reading Emily Wilson’s version of The Odyssey. I say this with a bit of shame but it’s the only play or epic I’ve read all the front matter for. I loved The Odyssey when I was a freshman in high school and I loved it even more after Wilson’s interpretation. I’m all for un-deifying Odysseus which is what attracted me to The Penelopiad. All of this build up and genuine interest in the character did me no good while reading this book. I just felt like Atwood’s interpretation fell flat for me. I loved the inclusion of the twelve maids’ voices and the theory of Penelope as “female-goddess cult leader,” but everything else was nothing new. Maybe it’s all the praise Atwood gets and the richer Penelope centered readings that have come out in the past few years. I still really enjoyed this though; I was reading another Penelope focused novel but I DNFd it because it was so boring. Finishing a book is the bare minimum but it says something. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Infidelity, Misogyny, Rape, Murder, Pregnancy, and War

ajs279's review against another edition

dark reflective medium-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Murder, Sexual harassment, and War

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, War, and Classism

lizzym126's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Blood, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, and Abandonment

Moderate: Violence and War

teresaangelica_'s review against another edition

adventurous dark reflective fast-paced

4.0

If it were just Penelope’s perspective it would’ve been a 3 star range rating. However, the addition of the 12 Hanged Maids as a narrative chorus elevated my rating and really made the entire retelling worthwhile. Definitely a unique retelling that was executed well.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, and Violence

Moderate: Pregnancy and War

sarahsbooklife's review against another edition

dark informative reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Misogyny, and Sexism

Moderate: Gore, Sexual content, and Gaslighting

Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Trafficking, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, and War

azalia's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism, Slavery, Violence, and Classism

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Torture, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and War

rhysecakes's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Murder, Sexual harassment, and War

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Sexual content, and Pregnancy

readerette's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I found some of the literary devices confusing, like mixing in the maids singing and performing. However, the whole concept is quite creative and compelling, and I love stories that take the viewpoints of supporting characters. It reminds me of Madeline Miller's works (Circe, Song of Achilles), but more abstract, and perhaps darker. It also leaves holes, still, in the story of Penelope and Odysseus--this is not a book of answers, but one of questioning what is "known", of offering another way of thinking about Odysseus and Penelope and her maids, or maybe even more than one way. I was never quite certain I was getting the whole truth from Penelope, or if she as a character knew the whole truth, herself. It made it difficult to put the book down!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Death, Sexism, Slavery, Violence, Blood, and Abandonment

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body shaming, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, and Pregnancy