Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

50 reviews

nowakatie's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

Everyone should read this book!!!!!!! There’s so much more internal dialogue to June that we see some of in the TV show but not all of. It’s also great to catch the Easter eggs they throw into the show for people who have read the book. The most thought provoking dystopia and a riveting read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

nschilling10's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

5.0

This book was amazing but I hated reading every second of it. This author is clearly an excellent writer and very apt at getting into the heads of their characters. They are also good at capturing how various non book mediums (film, print, voice recordings) would be captured on print.

That being said, I hated every minute of reading this book. It was hard to read, both mechanically and because of the subject matter (this book is filled with sexual violence, mental abuse, and emotional abuse). 

Ultimately, I think this book has interesting things to say about anthropology and how we construct historical narratives. Is it worth the slog? Kind of. I guess I give it 5 stars.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Colonisation, and War

turninbackshejustlaughs's review against another edition

dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• 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: Misogyny, Rape, Sexual violence, and Violence

Moderate: Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, War, and Classism

emsterbot's review against another edition

dark inspiring mysterious 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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Rape, and Sexism

Moderate: Misogyny and Pregnancy

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Racism, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Religious bigotry

sarahgmo's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense 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? Yes

5.0

Simply amazing! A modern classic dystopian novel with fun wordplay and imagery that just worked for my brain, and themes of gender, power, and autonomy. I loved it as much as I loved 1984, which is saying something! Unlike 1984, this book is from the perspective of someone who remembers the recent and dramatic shift of society, which I really enjoyed! Nothing is taken for granted as “simply the way things are” (from the narrator’s perspective). Instead, it is a very uncomfortable adjustment, which also makes the pious seem even more ridiculous in their devoutness. I should reread this in a few years to reflect on it again. Nothing I can say now would do it justice, but maybe in a few years, I’ll have the words to describe my love for every word in this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infertility, Infidelity, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Body shaming, Child death, Confinement, Death, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Abortion, Murder, Lesbophobia, Alcohol, and War

angemarval's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, War, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

ann_the_imp's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Misogyny, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Grief, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Deportation

Moderate: Confinement, Cursing, Infidelity, Mental illness, Blood, Antisemitism, Kidnapping, Abortion, Lesbophobia, Colonisation, and Pandemic/Epidemic

hollylollypop31's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense slow-paced

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

3.5

Everybody needs to read this book because I refuse to become a Handmaid 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Infertility, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Slavery, Forced institutionalization, Trafficking, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, and Classism

kimmy_witch's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective sad

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• 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, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Violence, Police brutality, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting

leesgriffith's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

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

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexism, Suicide, Violence, Pregnancy, and Classism