Reviews tagging 'Blood'

The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood

44 reviews

lilacwhisker's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

Been getting more into classics recently and I thought this was great! The important part of this is to remember that these issues are still experienced today, and are not just made up problems for Offred to face. A book dealing heavily in women’s issues throughout time— loved it!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Genocide, Sexism, Classism, Confinement, Cursing, Grief, Infertility, Kidnapping, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Death, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Infidelity, Suicide, War, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Gun violence, and Sexual content

Minor: Alcohol, Drug use, Addiction, Abortion, and Antisemitism

rushh's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual violence, Emotional abuse, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Rape, Body horror, Classism, Colonisation, Infertility, Pregnancy, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Confinement, Sexual content, Violence, and War

Moderate: Suicide, Death, Miscarriage, Domestic abuse, Murder, Death of parent, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Abortion, Blood, Drug use, Vomit, Cursing, and Alcohol

jneverland's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry, Sexism, Body horror, Blood, Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Rape, Abandonment, Ableism, Infertility, Violence, War, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Antisemitism, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Gaslighting, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Deportation, Death, Racism, Domestic abuse, Murder, Miscarriage, Genocide, Hate crime, Sexual assault, Gore, Medical content, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Suicide attempt, Grief, Homophobia, Incest, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Trafficking, and Suicide

sunnybugz's review against another edition

challenging dark slow-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Misogyny, Violence, Sexism, Classism, Death, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, and Rape

Moderate: Homophobia, Racism, and Blood

vedpears's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative 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? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

It is unsettling how sentiments and rhetoric shared in this story are echoed in today's political climate in the USA. 
I checked this out from the public library, but this may be a book that I have to purchase for my own personal library. There are warnings in here that should be heeded. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Trafficking, Abortion, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Death, Emotional abuse, Murder, Pregnancy, Self harm, Sexual content, Medical trauma, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Torture, Infertility, Infidelity, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Classism, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Rape, Sexism, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Injury/injury detail, Alcohol, Violence, Ableism, and Blood

zams's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

It seemed to be a very slow read and super slow-paced in the beginning, but picked up the pace A LOT towards the end. A gruelling outlook on how life could be in society, and a brutal reality already for countless people on the planet.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Self harm, Infertility, Emotional abuse, Confinement, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Slavery, Misogyny, Mental illness, Sexual violence, Classism, Death, Child death, Ableism, War, Violence, Religious bigotry, Kidnapping, Police brutality, Suicidal thoughts, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Sexism, Rape, Murder, and Miscarriage

Minor: Abortion, Alcohol, Death of parent, Infidelity, and Blood

lauren_e_d's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Although I had to read this book for school, it was one that I was looking forward to reading. I had heard so much about it and it lived up to my expectations. I really enjoyed drawing the parallels between the novel, written back in the 1980s, and the modern day. It is  concerning, terrifying, and fascinating that this novel is still so powerful and poignant today.

Spoiler

I will admit, it took me until the very end of the book to realize that the structure of the novel is that the narrator is telling it like a story after the fact, so for almost of the book, the switches between past and current tense really confused me which made it slightly more difficult to understand. I did really enjoy the historical notes section though because I think it’s a great commentary on how we think of history and how it’s such a reality for so many people, but in the future, it is trivialized, made into jokes, and studied, but the reality and impact on real people is not always fully understood. The trauma is not understood. However, I really liked the ending and the ambiguity that it gives. It’s a fascinating way to have the reader hopefully for the entire novel just to be left guessing at the very end, something I think Atwood has a mastery of. Overall, AMAZING. I fully understand the hype now. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Deportation, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Rape, Trafficking, Violence, Classism, Death, Gore, Infertility, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, and Grief

mikala'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? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexism, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Slavery, Religious bigotry, Confinement, Death, Hate crime, and Infertility

Moderate: Transphobia, Alcohol, Sexual content, Biphobia, Abortion, Forced institutionalization, Miscarriage, Blood, Lesbophobia, Homophobia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Toxic relationship

meganpbennett's review against another edition

dark tense slow-paced

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

3.0

For as disturbing and terrifying a story as The Handmaid's Tale was, I found it boring and very slow. It was very disturbing because of just how simple it would be for us to end up in this society, and just how many people seem to want us to end up in this society. 

As for the story itself, I found the narrator to be very unreliable, and the non-linear narrative was very hard to follow at times, making it hard to tell when various events were taking place. Very similar to 1984, but in a different direction. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infertility, Kidnapping, Murder, Pregnancy, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Violence, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Classism, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Police brutality, Sexual violence, Slavery, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Hate crime, Lesbophobia, Miscarriage, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Torture, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Trafficking, and Self harm

karoliiine's review against another edition

dark 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Suicide, Slavery, Sexual assault, Sexism, Misogyny, Child abuse, Violence, Trafficking, Infertility, Toxic relationship, Torture, Rape, Religious bigotry, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Bullying, Body shaming, Deportation, Mental illness, Blood, Emotional abuse, and Forced institutionalization

Minor: War, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Racism, and Antisemitism