Reviews tagging 'Slavery'

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

113 reviews

lynini's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense 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? Yes

5.0

her style of writing and the way she wrote the main character is so mundane, the way no author does anymore. i adore this book.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Infertility, Pregnancy, Slavery, Classism, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Bullying, Death, Forced institutionalization, Miscarriage, Domestic abuse, and Kidnapping

sashtastic3's review against another edition

dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

A very good book. The story telling was interesting as was the dark horrific plot. The only thing that bothered me was the lack of indication of who was speaking and the lack of quotation marks in the book.

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Toxic relationship, Slavery, Abortion, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Body shaming, Suicidal thoughts, Trafficking, Sexism, Suicide attempt, and Sexual assault

kaffeogbok's review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery and Rape

sarah_roundtree's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective 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? No

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Torture, Violence, Rape, and Slavery

Moderate: Pregnancy, Infertility, and Death

playfulbee's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective tense slow-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Religious bigotry, Rape, and Trafficking

Moderate: Torture

carlycormier_'s review against another edition

dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? No

2.0

The plot itself is incredibly interesting but I wasn’t a fan of the writing style nor the plot development/story arc. Could be better, could be worse. It is either for you or it isn’t.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual content, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Slavery

ramakn22's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Violence, Homophobia, Religious bigotry, Slavery, Rape, Classism, and Trafficking

sav_22's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-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

3.0

Oddly, I did not feel as strongly for this as I did the show adaptation. I feel like it wasn’t as easy to connect to the story as much. Pacing was quick and it left you feeling hollow and sad; this was likely the point, but it didn’t really have any development other than world-building. this has a nihilistic perspective, which can be more impactful for the message depending on how you go into it.

the show covers this entirely in just season 1, except a few passages here and there. The show explores this concept far more deeply and gives Offred more depth and personhood. Her real name is never mentioned in the book, as the show takes many creative liberties to explore the concept more.

 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Domestic abuse, Police brutality, Forced institutionalization, Rape, Sexual assault, Trafficking, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Miscarriage, Emotional abuse, Grief, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Sexism, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Blood, Body shaming, Sexual violence, and Slavery

Moderate: Abortion, Miscarriage, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Infertility, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Body shaming, Child abuse, Self harm, Abandonment, and Ableism

avery_hutchinson's review against another edition

dark emotional tense slow-paced

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

4.5

Very interesting commentary

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Sexism, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Murder

Minor: Slavery and Violence

itsradsmads's review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-paced

• 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? Yes

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Trafficking, Murder, Slavery, Suicide, and Suicidal thoughts