Reviews tagging 'Cursing'

The Testaments by Margaret Atwood

22 reviews

magnan1mouse's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5


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kayleejanes's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0


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ameliaflint's review against another edition

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

3.0

A little bit disappointing. Not bad. I did enjoy it and I was glad to hear more about Gilead, but I would expect way more from Atwood. This felt almost like a sell-out. I get it, money grabs are sometimes necessary, but they don’t always make for great literature.

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thejuliette's review against another edition

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adventurous dark medium-paced

4.0


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overdramaticsoprano's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense 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? It's complicated

5.0


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ericarao's review against another edition

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dark emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75


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lily1304's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.5

This is very different from the Handmaid's Tale. One of the strengths of the Handmaid's Tale is its lack of detail - lots of aspects of Gilead are shadowy and vague, which makes it feel like a bad dream, and the fact that the narrator has no idea what's happening politically inside or outside Gilead makes her even more hopeless and powerless.

The Testaments was clearly written partly to satisfy fans' questions about Gilead, and it has a much more traditional dystopian-adventure style than the Handmaid's Tale. You can see the three womens' stories and motivations slowly weaving together to a distinct climax. It's both a strength and a weakness - it's probably more of a page-turner than the Handmaid's Tale, but it doesn't have the same power.

The Testaments introduces the Pearl Girls / "Pearls of Great Price", or Gilead missionaries to Canada and other countries. They seemed like an intentional dig at Mormons, who are known for their pairs of missionaries around the world, and who have a book of scripture called the Pearl of Great Price. I'm not a fan of many aspects of Mormon practice and culture, but it seems extreme and unnecessary to associate them with Gilead.

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chronicallyplotting's review against another edition

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

5.0

Phenomenal tribute/ending to the Handmaid’s Tale. I love the closure Atwood has given us. The surprises with each character. You will find yourself wondering where things are going until the very end. Hard to put the book down. You will morn characters. Cheer for characters. Hate characters. So many emotions. Fans of the Handmaid’s tale you won’t regret reading this. And The Hulu series has not touched anything this book is covering as it is 15 years after the Handmaid’s Tale book left June.

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bradypus's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

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therobinjoyce's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

"As they say, history does not repeat itself, but it rhymes"

Margaret Atwood does it again with this thrilling sequel to The Handmaid's Tale.

I have no words to express how much I loved this book. The chopping between testaments from Aunt Lydia, Jade, and Agnes was wonderfully done and really invested me in the tales from Gilead and the lives of the women withing it.

The plot twists were epic and had me reeling, and the whole book from start to finish was gripping, chilling, and dastardly dark. Showing the true power of man's reach and the possibilities of what could happen if the world we live in is allowed to mimic history.

A well-deserved five star rating for such an exceptional book.

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