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meagan_young's review against another edition
5.0
4.5? This was an interesting continuation of the Gilead story, but with perspectives from women besides the Handmaids. It wasn’t as propulsive as Handmaid, but the story was masterful, and the Gilead culture just as oppressive and harrowing
smilesgiggle's review against another edition
4.0
Amazing read! Applause to Ms. Atwood.
Great plot, great character development.
Some areas were a little too obvious.
Overall excellent read. I had to finish it.
Great plot, great character development.
Some areas were a little too obvious.
Overall excellent read. I had to finish it.
clara_parker's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
jackievr's review against another edition
dark
emotional
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? It's complicated
3.5
blueberry31's review against another edition
2.0
This is the most disappointing sequel in the history of sequels.
The Handmaid’s Tale is one of my absolute favorite books of all times. The Testaments felt like a mediocre YA novel or even fan-fiction taking place in Gilead and feeding the reader all of the answers to their questions, just to “please them” and without doing any justice whatsoever to the original novel’s brilliance and depth. It leaves no space for mystery, everything is so predictable (is that voluntary or does the author think readers are that dumb?)... it’s a flat story. I think there is merit in leaving things unsaid, letting readers think for themselves... The Handmaid’s Tale did that very well. The Testaments just spoon-feeds you everything and doesn’t even try to leave space for thought and interpretation. A lazy novel for lazy readers.
Not to mention the cheesiness of it: everything always goes to plan, and everyone bonds and there is barely a single struggle in this plot!! No suspense whatsoever, no surprise, not even the slightest plot twist. I was rolling my eyes at so many of the dialogues. One narrator is boring, uninteresting and flat. The other has no other personality trait other than “obnoxious rebellious teen”. The third is Aunt Lydia and at least has a few interesting passages... but it’s not enough to save the whole book.
What an absolute waste of a concept and fictional universe... SO much could have been done to keep writing Gilead’s story. Heck even the tv series has done 100x better at that. What happened?
The Handmaid’s Tale is one of my absolute favorite books of all times. The Testaments felt like a mediocre YA novel or even fan-fiction taking place in Gilead and feeding the reader all of the answers to their questions, just to “please them” and without doing any justice whatsoever to the original novel’s brilliance and depth. It leaves no space for mystery, everything is so predictable (is that voluntary or does the author think readers are that dumb?)... it’s a flat story. I think there is merit in leaving things unsaid, letting readers think for themselves... The Handmaid’s Tale did that very well. The Testaments just spoon-feeds you everything and doesn’t even try to leave space for thought and interpretation. A lazy novel for lazy readers.
Not to mention the cheesiness of it: everything always goes to plan, and everyone bonds and there is barely a single struggle in this plot!! No suspense whatsoever, no surprise, not even the slightest plot twist. I was rolling my eyes at so many of the dialogues. One narrator is boring, uninteresting and flat. The other has no other personality trait other than “obnoxious rebellious teen”. The third is Aunt Lydia and at least has a few interesting passages... but it’s not enough to save the whole book.
What an absolute waste of a concept and fictional universe... SO much could have been done to keep writing Gilead’s story. Heck even the tv series has done 100x better at that. What happened?
thaurisil's review against another edition
3.0
The Handmaid’s Tale was set in the early days of Gilead. The Testaments shows the opposite, the events leading to the downfall of Gilead. It is written in three interweaving narratives, showing the viewpoints of Agnes Jemima, a girl growing up in Gilead as the daughter of a Commander, Daisy, a girl growing up in Canada as the daughter of a couple owning a used clothes store, and Aunt Lydia, one of the fierce Aunts of The Handmaid’s Tale. Agnes discovers that her original mother was a Handmaid, encounters various trials in school, and eventually ends up, under Aunt Lydia’s persuasion, training to be an Aunt. Daisy’s parents, whom she learns are adoptive, are killed by a car bomb, she learns that she is the famed Baby Nicole who was smuggled out of Gilead, and she helps the Mayday resistance movement get into Gilead then smuggle secret documents out of Gilead. Aunt Lydia tells us her backstory, of her career as a judge, how she was tortured into joining the Gilead regime, and rose to the top. Gradually, we realise that she has never forgot the harms done to her by Commander Judd at the start of the regime, and is secretly using her powerful knowledge to mastermind the downfall of Gilead.
Given the build up to this book, the embargo placed on it before its release, and its nomination for the Booker Prize even before it was released to the public, I was highly anticipating this book. I was disappointed. It is a fast-paced, entertaining read, but unfortunately it reads like fanfiction, and not a particularly well-written one either. There are conflicting messages about when the time period is – the car bombs and teenage slang place it in the modern-day era, but there is a conspicuous lack of modern-day technology and globalisation. The voices of the girls are not convincingly realistic and don’t gel well with the overall mood of the book – Agnes is overly innocent and Daisy is whiny. It felt like Margaret Atwood, being no longer a young sprightly thing, was having difficulties conveying the vibes of teenagers accurately. There were several twists, but I had already predicted many of them, and had considered many of the others.
The one highlight was Aunt Lydia’s narrative. Since the first book, there has always been a question of how Aunts, despite being female, rose to the top of Gileadean hierarchy. The Testaments not only answers this, but also gives Aunt Lydia a strong, independent, free-willed character, shows how such a personality was subdued through torture, and how it has been sustained throughout the decades, slowly simmering to the end where it takes its silent revenge. Aunt Lydia is frank, wise, shrewd and sarcastic. Her dry humour was unexpected and refreshing.
I paused my reading of this book for a few days, and when I got back to it, I could no longer remember who each girl was. It’s demonstrative of the book itself – entertaining but forgettable.
Given the build up to this book, the embargo placed on it before its release, and its nomination for the Booker Prize even before it was released to the public, I was highly anticipating this book. I was disappointed. It is a fast-paced, entertaining read, but unfortunately it reads like fanfiction, and not a particularly well-written one either. There are conflicting messages about when the time period is – the car bombs and teenage slang place it in the modern-day era, but there is a conspicuous lack of modern-day technology and globalisation. The voices of the girls are not convincingly realistic and don’t gel well with the overall mood of the book – Agnes is overly innocent and Daisy is whiny. It felt like Margaret Atwood, being no longer a young sprightly thing, was having difficulties conveying the vibes of teenagers accurately. There were several twists, but I had already predicted many of them, and had considered many of the others.
The one highlight was Aunt Lydia’s narrative. Since the first book, there has always been a question of how Aunts, despite being female, rose to the top of Gileadean hierarchy. The Testaments not only answers this, but also gives Aunt Lydia a strong, independent, free-willed character, shows how such a personality was subdued through torture, and how it has been sustained throughout the decades, slowly simmering to the end where it takes its silent revenge. Aunt Lydia is frank, wise, shrewd and sarcastic. Her dry humour was unexpected and refreshing.
I paused my reading of this book for a few days, and when I got back to it, I could no longer remember who each girl was. It’s demonstrative of the book itself – entertaining but forgettable.
archiegitdog's review against another edition
5.0
I have enjoyed the first book, this book and all five series so far. I am surprised of some people’s reaction (including my own mum - age 78). Well done anyone connected to it, very dark and believable.
johannasreadinglist's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
5.0
sarah_roundtree's review against another edition
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
rioslittlelifelibrary's review against another edition
challenging
dark
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0