Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

63 reviews

vee_the_tree's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, War, and Injury/Injury detail

q17's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Hate crime, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Slavery, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Ableism, Child abuse, Death, Mental illness, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, Medical content, Grief, Abortion, Acephobia/Arophobia, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, and Classism

annoyedhumanoid's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad slow-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

4.0

definitely a slow burn but i liked the way it built tension somewhat exponentially with the narrator at the center of three mini rebellions—

seeing the Commander, defecting with Ofglen and Mayday, and conspiring with Serena Joy and Nick

—but in the end it didn't really amount to all that much. i love the inclusion of the "Historical Notes," they're terrible and perfect.
it's definitely white feminism, with racism in this religious-extremist totalitarian regime only mentioned once, in passing, at the very end. compared to another modern classic published just two years later, Beloved, it's kind of embarrassing.
cover design review: ★★★★☆. instant one-star deduction for having author's name larger than the title (sorry Margaret Atwood), and this is especially egregious; the title is relatively tiny. we all know minimalism has become excessive but i really like this one. the centering of the title is very satisfying, with approximately equal overhang of "HANDMAID'S" on either side of the dress. and the best part, get ready for your mind to be blown: see that dot in front of the Handmaid's head? it's the eye of a face in profile looking to the left hidden in the negative space. genius

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infertility, Infidelity, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Trafficking, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Classism

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Drug use, Homophobia, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Blood, Antisemitism, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Body shaming, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Physical abuse, Racism, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Medical content, Abortion, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and War

darbo's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I’ll be fully honest, I needed my girlfriend to explain some things to me as we buddy-read this. It was, at times, hard for me to understand and follow what was going on - especially so in some night chapters - but in the end I managed to get the full picture of it and I ended up really enjoying this. It’s a very well written dystopian novel that follows our main character, Offred, through her daily life and thoughts as she goes along, through what can only be described as tyranny. I thoroughly enjoyed this, with the exception of one particular chapter - although relevant to story. I highly recommend this to any dystopia fans out there, and I personally am looking forward to reading its sequel.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny and Sexism

Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Police brutality, Trafficking, Murder, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

theresejs's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Forced institutionalization, Trafficking, Religious bigotry, and Colonisation

evilyn's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad fast-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

Obviously there are so many layers but if you haven't reread or read this after 2020 I would strongly recommend it because it's a very different perspective. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

megan_j's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I don’t know what I was thinking first time round with rating this 3. Listened the audiobook this time and LOVED it. Margaret Atwood is a genius and I also hate her for it. She brings everything you dread into reality. I think this is especially poignant for women because we all need to be more aware of the world around us, and how small injustices can add up to something much bigger eventually. LOVE LOVE LOVE 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infertility, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Antisemitism, Kidnapping, Grief, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, and Classism

cdt96's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful sad tense fast-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? No

5.0

A dark yet scarily relevant book. Atwood said herself she never included anything that hasn't happened to women before. Now more than ever women should read this book as if it is a warning. This book shows a time before Gilead which unfortunately resonates with today's political and cultural landscapes. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Trafficking, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Colonisation

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

kelly_lhm'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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment

aliceloyallaleon's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Medical content, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail