Reviews tagging 'Injury/Injury detail'

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

38 reviews

sestout's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense 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? No

4.5


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alixbx's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

To be edited when I can compose my thoughts.

This main character is a piece of work (derogatory) but the story’s major elements are so relevant all these decades after it’s first publication. I don’t know yet how to reconcile that I hate the main character so much and yet feel that this should be required reading.

Full thoughts to come in an edit, though.

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anxieteaandbiscuits12's review against another edition

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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? It's complicated

3.25


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another_dahlia's review against another edition

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dark reflective 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? Yes

4.25


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rchulin1's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful sad 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? Yes

5.0

Wow I loved this book immensely. It is very dark but so worth it every sentence word paragraph was so well thought out and placed I found myself imagining all the reasons for each placement though this book is on the shorter side the story feels so long in a good way.

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sorkka's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I listened to the audio book and found this novel to be the most beautiful prose I have ever heard. 

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riverofhorton's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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

4.0

I went into this book having watched the series, as each season was released, so the first was largely forgotten, although I did remember the vague plot. I personally would say the series is better than the book. For a start, the writing style took a bit of getting used to, especially with the way flashbacks are presented, but once I got used to it I did find it to enjoyable and thought provoking, but the series was more enjoyable and had the same thought provoking bits. I think that had I read the book first, I wouldn't have been interested enough to then watch the series, and may have DNFed the book before getting used to the writing style.

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booksnobb's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

this was obviously a brilliant book and is defo a new fave of mine.

it was not what i was expecting. i did not expect such incredible writing, nor such a disturbing story - but i loved it anyway. the writing style made this book and if im honest, its easily the best writing i have ever read: it was complex, not to the point of it being a difficult read, but it was so soul-bearing and rich with tension, emotion and vivid mental pictures. i could rave about it for ages but in summary, it dropped my jaw and it WILL open your legs. However, i found that near the ending the writing became slightly repetitive - like too much of a good thing. i wish Atwood used less minicliffhangers at the end of paragraphs (please tell me that makes sense) because although they were all great, there were so many that they kinda lost their punch and had a much lesser impact.

Atwood’s take on dystopia was so captivating and actually quite frightening. even though it is very very far off from our current reality, as i read this, the worldbuilding was so solid that i felt like this was a genuine possibility. and im not gonna do a whole analysis here but the social issues dealt with here had such intriguing commentary. you could write a book on this book and im sure someone has. i would read it.

oh and this is the first book where i didn’t roll my eyes at the first-person narrative bc she executes it SO WELL. there was no looking into her golden orbs in the mirror 🥳🥳 ngl i didnt even notice that it was in first person until like the middle of the book. Whether thats a compliment to Atwood or an insult to me im not sure. probably both. and this book actually wouldnt have worked in the third person, even if it were omniscient. it’s just too intimate for that. 

i loved all the characters, especially the protagonist because damn they were so INTERESTING. im not really one for morals influencing whether i like a character, but i need them to feel genuine. so although there wasnt much development per se, there was a lot of character work, and i felt like i understood them. i think its because the protagonist had so much empathy, so through her eyes we saw each character laid bare. Atwood also didnt give two shits whether we liked them, and in doing so made them much more real and imo likeable. 

i loved the structure - the story escalated gradually and the plot thickened as it kinda examined and critiqued the society and it made me feel pretty smart while reading it. i love books that boost my ego. Atwood just has this way of providing information unhurriedly, so it feels like a natural expansion and never like infodumping.

so, in summary, go read The Handmaid’s Tale 💗💕



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eryncaroline's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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? No

5.0

I started watching the TV show as the seasons have been coming out and I had never read the book, which I knew I needed to correct. I love and appreciate this show and was so excited to finally read the book. It was a surprise to me that "June" in the book is nameless, and that hits much harder than I expected. I was also shocked that this only covers the first season of the show, but what a fantastic story. The storytelling and the perspective of the book really envelop you. I felt closer to the characters because of the show and genuinely felt myself wishing this book was much longer. The ending really surprised me, and I read that final chapter with my mouth wide open. Fantastic storytelling.

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samshort's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Great book.

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