Reviews tagging 'Ableism'

The Handmaid's Tale: The Graphic Novel by Margaret Atwood

8 reviews

howlinglibraries's review against another edition

5.0

 I've never read The Handmaid's Tale in its original format (or seen the television show), but I was generally familiar with the subject and so, when I saw that my library had a graphic novel adaptation, I thought that might be a good way of determining if I want to pick up the original novel or not.

Since this is my introduction to the story, I can't say if it's a faithful adaptation, but I can say that it was an excellent, haunting read on its own. It didn't delve into much backstory at all on how things came to be or what life is like for women outside of The Red Centre, but it touched briefly on the conditions in the Colonies and Jezebel's, and it definitely made me interested in learning more. My only complaint was that the ending felt so abrupt, but at the same time, I can see that it was done so intentionally, and it made sense. I probably won't be rushing to pick up the original book right away, but only because I know it's going to be such a difficult read emotionally.

✨ Representation: queer and BIPOC side characters 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, Suicide, Torture, Transphobia, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy, and War

cpersin's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Religious bigotry, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Infertility, Infidelity, Slavery, Police brutality, Car accident, Murder, Lesbophobia, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Ableism, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and War

jainabee's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

This graphic adaptation is visually beautiful and conveys the dystopian tone and social complexities of the story in a way that enhanced my appreciation for Atwood's novel. (I haven't seen the TV series) There is enough discretion in the visual details that much is left to the reader's imagination, yet the horror of the story's reality is not diminished. This is dark, depressing stuff, especially since the fiction is not far enough away from the facts.

There's no happy ending

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, War, and Classism

Moderate: Ableism, Child abuse, Child death, Deadnaming, Death, Infidelity, Mental illness, Racism, Abortion, and Death of parent

This is a dystopian classic; enter at own risk.

elizalavenza's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective tense fast-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Bullying, Death, Suicide, and Pregnancy

Minor: Ableism, Eating disorder, and Miscarriage

kingorgan's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad fast-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? Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Violence, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Murder, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Ableism, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, and Death

mengzhenreads's review against another edition

dark 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? No

4.0

Great, terrifying story. I loved the art style and thought the visual storytelling was really beautiful so yayyy. Definitely worth the read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Bullying, Death, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

Minor: Ableism, Eating disorder, Homophobia, Miscarriage, and Torture

candycain's review

challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Police brutality, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Death and Torture

Minor: Ableism and Miscarriage

betweentheshelves's review

dark emotional tense fast-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

Re-read this for a banned book club discussion about graphic novel adaptations of banned books (of which there are actually a lot!). I'm still impressed by how this book was adapted into the graphic novel form, using color to emphasize the separation of women, and the overall structure of society. It really is a well-illustrated book.

This is an absolutely gorgeous adaptation of The Handmaid's Tale, and I thoroughly enjoyed that it existed separately from the show. It's its own entity. The images themselves are gorgeous and bring to life this amazing book that Margaret Atwood created.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence, and Suicide

Moderate: Bullying, Death, and Miscarriage

Minor: Ableism and Eating disorder