Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

40 reviews

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

rory_john14's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Biphobia, Confinement, Death, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Antisemitism, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Abortion, Suicide attempt, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Lesbophobia and Alcohol

Minor: Child death, Racism, Death of parent, Murder, and War

tonjebjorkenes's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Suicide, Violence, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Rape, Violence, Forced institutionalization, and Kidnapping

ionai's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad 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? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, and Sexual harassment

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

ibook816's review against another edition

adventurous dark informative inspiring reflective tense slow-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Sexual harassment, and War

natalie_1127's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective 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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Slavery, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Ableism, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Infidelity, Sexual content, and Grief

Minor: Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, and Suicide attempt

bigkidbookworm's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Pregnancy

therobinjoyce's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

The Handmaid's tale is such a wonderfully dark and gritty, almost dystopian novel. Considering its publication over 3 decades ago, it is surprisingly easy to read and flows with such emotion.

The system of Gilead within the book is so brutal and cruel yet it highlighted the true capabilities of man. What man can do to one another, and just how dangerous and misogyny can be.

There are so many other reviewers who could word their feelings about this book with much more eloquence than I'm capable of, but if I had to leave this review with one closing thought I would tell you that this book will change your life. It will make you think and question and ponder so many different things and appreciate the lives and freedom we are able to live in this bustling modern era. How lucky we are and how we need to remember this fact.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence and Misogyny

Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infertility, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Minor: Child death, Miscarriage, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Abortion, and Suicide attempt

peachani's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective 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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Violence, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Infertility, Rape, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Blood, Antisemitism, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Murder, and Gaslighting

Minor: Genocide, Homophobia, Mental illness, Slavery, Suicide, Abortion, Lesbophobia, and Alcohol