Reviews tagging 'Murder'

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

209 reviews

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.

---

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

---

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

brookey8888's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective 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? Yes

3.0

While I appreciate the topic and the discussions this book brings, I can’t bring myself to rate this higher. I just felt like nothing happened for like 80%. I also didn’t like how this was told and took me out of the story and didn’t let me connect with the characters and feel their struggles in this dystopian world. I’m glad I finally read this especially in this current climate. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Classism

awsugar's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective 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

incredible and so deeply unsettling to read currently 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape and Murder

Moderate: Suicide

happilyeveralli's review against another edition

• 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? It's complicated

4.5

Wow.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Racism, Rape, and Murder

Moderate: Sexual content, Slavery, 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

---

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

gabriela_carolinacf's review against another edition

dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Reading this book during this week may not have been the greatest thing for me mentally, but I believe this is a MUST read. 

“Nolite Te Bastardes Carborundorum”

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Trafficking, Religious bigotry, and Murder

Moderate: Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Abortion, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Child death, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

dakotajade's review against another edition

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Infertility, Miscarriage, Suicide, Religious bigotry, and Murder

reading_pumpkin's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? No

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Abortion, Murder, and Pregnancy

Minor: Homophobia, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, and Islamophobia

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.

---

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