Reviews tagging 'Torture'

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

144 reviews

capybara5's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infertility, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, and Pregnancy

crypticspren's review against another edition

Damn this book aged so badly. This is 300 pages of unnecessary, unexplained violence and rape, with exceptionally little detail about how the world became how it did. Explanation would have improved this books tenfold, considering the flashbacks to a normal world were only two years prior. I don’t get the hype. I hated this book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, and Violence

kileyjojo's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.25

Everything great has already been said about this book. It’s intriguing and horrific at times. The dystopian future is eerie and the fact that so much of this novel had been based on real events speaks volumes. It can be a hard read at times but it had a very powerful message.

The pacing does struggle every now and then and the ending feels abrupt. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, and Pregnancy

deblambert's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-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? No

5.0

A cautious speculative tale of an alarming future that is possible.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Trafficking, Kidnapping, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Homophobia and War

apatheticastronaut13's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicide, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Colonisation, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic

kayjezza's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infertility, Infidelity, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

The story is sort of based around the concept of sort of mandatory sex with a random person assigned to you. And that person is treated like Harry Potter in his broom cupboard, except they go to school for child bearing not magic and aren’t allowed to have friends.

joensign's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Pregnancy, and Classism

Moderate: Gun violence, Infidelity, Torture, and Violence

morganthecarrot's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Violence, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Infertility, Racism, Sexual content, Torture, Pregnancy, and War

czoltak's review against another edition

dark sad slow-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? It's complicated

3.0

“Better never means better for everyone. It always means worse, for some.”
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Such a powerful story that still resonates today. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Suicide, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, and Classism

Moderate: Racism and Antisemitism

violet_viper's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective medium-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? No

5.0

A short book but not a single word wasted. I would recommend this to anyone. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infertility, Miscarriage, and Misogyny

Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, Torture, and Violence

Minor: Homophobia and Antisemitism