Reviews with content warning for Animal death - The Handmaid's Tale

Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

37 reviews

alliekaye23's review against another edition

dark sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
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

4.5

Open ending, not my favorite. I prefer cut and dry. Enjoyed the process of getting there. More modern and relevant to today than I was expecting.

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readerorwateva's review against another edition

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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? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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bookish_bry's review against another edition

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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

3.75

This is a difficult book to rate. I liked it well enough, though it was a bit slow. The narrator had a pretty good voice and I didn't find her annoying even if I disagreed with her a lot. Honestly, it was good that she wasn't a perfect person. At the same time I struggled to really get into the book and plot. I would have liked to have seen a little more about our narrator from before as we only got brief flashes. I feel like that would have cemented her personality and its changes in my mind a little better.

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alexandrabelze's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

this is considered a classic in my eyes. this is technically my second time reading this book; the first time i read the handmaid’s tale was the summer before my sophomore year of high school. it definitely made an impact on me. now that i’m older, i respect atwood so much more. she truly is an amazement.

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giulianalb99's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective slow-paced

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

4.0

Al principio me pareció un poco aburrido y me ha costado leerlo. Está bien, pero esperaba más. Todavía no he visto la serie y tengo muchas ganas pero creo que esperaré a leerme el segundo libro.

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elijah__'s review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense 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? No

4.0

Wonderful book, frighteningly real. One little detail (which may be me overanalyzing) that I thought was really interesting was the main character's name -- Offred is, of course, Of-Fred, but can also be split into Off-Red, and she is dehumanized and reduced to the red garments she wears by Gilead; the book humanizes her, takes off the red. This is, terrifyingly, the most realistic and tangible dystopia I've ever read, and I love how Offred's flashbacks paint her life before and the very realistic descent into dystopia.
There are a few very small things that made me go 4/5 instead of 5/5; the biggest (while still minor) is the lack of distinction of the dialogue in memory or flashback scenes, of which there are many. I get what she was going for -- it feels more stream-of-consciousness, like Offred is idly thinking back on these events -- but if Atwood didn't want to use quotation marks, italics also would've gone a long way to clarify which bits were spoken by characters. Also, while her one-changed-word perversion of a Marx quote ("from each according to *her* ability, to each according to *his* needs") is very effective and completely alters the meaning with a single swapped pronoun, a right-wing American theocratic dystopia inserting Marx into its amended bible just seems like a stretch, considering the right's hatred of communism. Again, those are fairly small nitpicks; everyone should read this book. It's truly horrifying that it's as real now as it was when it was published (perhaps even moreso.)

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sapphicpenguin's review against another edition

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5.0

Others can analyze the actual politics and repercussions of this book, especially regarding race and how TERFs use it. But for me, as a book--five stars. You can tell Atwood is a poet on every single page--the writing is absolutely stunning. (Not for those who dislike run-on sentences, I will say.) Like many dystopias, not necessarily plausible, but that's not the point. The worldbuilding is masterful.

I think a lot of people, especially coming from the TV show, want a rebellion narrative from this book. They want an action hero. And you don't get that. You get a flawed, thoughtful, broken woman, who just exists in a horrible world. A lot is implied or mentioned or considered, but this is rarely action-packed. Whole chapters are pondering, recollecting, processing. Living through dystopia is not exciting most of the time.

And so many people dislike the main character--I would say we don't need to like her. We just have to listen.

Spoiler

This book also uses one of my favorite storytelling devices--fake historical framing! Everyone clap for the academic lecture analyzing the historical events in the book from the future as the epilogue!

Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Cursing, Murder, Pregnancy, Rape, Religious bigotry, Suicidal thoughts, Trafficking, and Violence

Moderate: Infidelity, Alcohol, Drug use, Grief, Medical content, and Suicide

Minor: War, Animal death, Excrement, Homophobia, Abortion, Infertility, Miscarriage, and Torture

The worst of it in my opinion is implied/alluded to, or told through moments/observations rather than actions. Nowhere near as traumatic as the TV show, but uncomfortable throughout. I tried to describe the things you need to know below. I'm sure I'm forgetting things--please be cautious. Sexual Violence:

Spoiler

Sexual assault is, of course, present throughout. The main feature of the world is women being forced into sexual slavery. There's actually only one on-page clear sexual assault. It's matter-of-fact and doesn't include active struggle/physical force--she's enslaved, and refusing/fighting would result in punishment/death. She's pretty emotionally distant during it, and finds humor in parts of it. There's another assault that's less ritual and more casually coerced (with extreme power dynamic--she definitely couldn't say no), but only the build-up to it is described, not the actual event. The MC also has (semi-coerced) sex with another man--detailed in "Infidelity." There's also a really upsetting scene where a character opens up about an assault she experienced and the rest of the women are forced to chant that it's her fault.

Suicide:

Spoiler

An unnamed character's past suicide by hanging is referenced and reacted to occasionally. A character we know commits suicide (off-page non-explicitly). The MC multiple times considers suicide and what method she would use. She never attempts or makes any plans.

Pregnancy/Medical:

Spoiler

Pregnancy is a main theme, and it's talked about throughout. Explicit childbirth scene, but not gross/gory. Traumatic, though--forced pregnancy, and mother not allowed to keep baby. It takes place in a home, so no doctor/hospital elements. There is an medical appointment scene, including a pap smear/fertility related checks. The doctor offers to have sex with the MC (while she's nude and uncomfortable), but she declines and he leaves.

Child Endangerment:

Spoiler

The MC often worries about her young daughter's safety and remembers being separated from her. We learn the daughter was forcibly adopted and is presumably experiencing "normal" life with that family, but we don't know specifics of her life/future. More generally, in this world, girls enter arranged marriages as young as 14.

Infidelity:

Spoiler

Infidelity isn't clear-cut in this book. Assault of enslaved women is required by law, and both the husband and wife at various times seem uncomfortable with this. What's legally considered infidelity is separate from people's emotional relationships. Besides being assaulted by a married couple, the MC on multiple occasions has sex with another man. Iffy situation because of power dynamics/whole situation--the first time is definitely coerced, but the others it seems that she's at least partly seeking it out, but partially as a tool to become pregnant, which she will be rewarded for. She does talk about the possibility of caring for him, though, and needing intimacy, and feels guilty because she has/had a husband--she's not sure if he's alive or where he is. There's no conclusion to this experience--we don't learn his fate or whether they meet again.

Violence/Torture/Drugs:

Spoiler

Violence is mentioned often, mostly by the state. Basically all characters are at constant threat of state violence. Lots of violence is referenced. The MC considers ways she could murder another character. Multiple characters, including the MC, are drugged to keep them calm. Characters are hanged not-too-graphically. One is executed by mob. Executed bodies are described hanging from a wall. Only aftermath of torture is described.

Animal Death:

Spoiler

The MC's husband has to kill their cat when they flee their home. This is off-page and we don't know the method.