Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

158 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

lucyrudd's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cursing, Death, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Murder, Pregnancy, War, and Injury/Injury detail

jessabelow's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

A classic for a reason.  A must read for everyone living in the US right now. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Genocide, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Trafficking, Pregnancy, and Lesbophobia

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

mswarbrick's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

4.75

I only don't give it 5 stars because the content feels eerily too similar to the slow decline of womens right we are currently seeing in the US. This book is a foreboding tale, but also an expertly written and crafted story. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Trafficking, Religious bigotry, and Pregnancy

maryblairwhy's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

5.0

This is the best book I’ve ever read. Made me reflect deeply on the world

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Rape, and Sexism

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

sawyer75's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

Fell in love with this book the moment I read it. Was especially prevalent given the upcoming presidential election in 2020. So weird to come back to it after the election of 2024.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual violence

spl2d's review against another edition

challenging dark informative reflective sad 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

4.5

Got me thinking, was reacting and leaving margin comments in the second half. It took a little while to get into, but then really picked up speed. 

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Misogyny, Physical abuse, Blood, Pregnancy, and Dysphoria

Minor: Animal death, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Alcohol