Reviews tagging 'Genocide'

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

44 reviews

bookwitch's review against another edition

challenging 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

3.25

First time ever reading this classic, and without having seen the show beforehand. The way that Atwood explains that she created this story using examples of things that already exist, and have already happened in our (or other's) history, make this even more unnerving than originally thought. It is perfectly fine to point at this dystopian novel and say "we don't want things to ever get to this point." But unlike saying that about books like Divergent or The Hunger Games, The Handmaid's Tale doesn't make up laws or situations that have not existed before, instead, they show you exactly how things can unravel (realistically I might add) to this point, or a point that looks like this. That in turn, makes a story like this much more realistic, and something of true concern, especially looking at the political cesspool of late. 

The writing style, while by the end of the book makes more sense, was tough at times to keep up with. It was a bit broken up, and hard to piece together into a cohesive narrative. It was difficult to always be completely immersed in this world and this story, based on the way it was told, although, like I said, it makes more sense at the end. 

While books like this are incredibly unnerving and make me want to scream from the rooftops for people look and listen, and heade these warnings; this is not why I rated the book so low. Like I mentioned, the writing style of the story was hard for me to stay fully immersed in throughout the reading experience, and I personally despise open endings, so those are the reasons for my rating.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Genocide, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Trafficking, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Pregnancy

bethlevalley's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional slow-paced

4.0

It's objectively a great book, well-written and meaningful. However, I had a hard time actually reading it due to the subject matter and therefore found myself avoiding picking it up. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Infertility, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Murder, and Sexual harassment

katie0528's review against another edition

dark sad 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

3.5

I've never actually picked up this book until now, despite being an advid watcher of the TV show. The book follows "Offred" as she serves as a "Handmaid" in an alternate timeline. While some aspects of the book still really hit home in 2024, I think I was just expecting more. Offred's knowledge of the world around her is very limited, at least that she is willing to share in the story, and while that makes sense, I just wish we could see more of the world and the resistance or lack thereof. The fall of America is only briefly alluded to despite Offred living through it, and the epilogue set in the far future with mock historians discussing the book offers little additional clarity to the settings or characters.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Infertility, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Murder, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Genocide, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, and Police brutality

kiesha's review against another edition

emotional reflective tense slow-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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Genocide, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, and War

rchulin1's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Deportation, and Pandemic/Epidemic

greenan26's review against another edition

challenging dark tense slow-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexism, Pregnancy, and Classism

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Mental illness, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, and War

Minor: Rape, Self harm, and Suicidal thoughts

riverofhorton's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal death, Biphobia, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Acephobia/Arophobia, Murder, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Outing, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Dysphoria, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Deportation

lhorner06's review against another edition

dark inspiring reflective relaxing medium-paced

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

4.75

I didn't much like the ending seemed a little rushed and not quite to quality of the rest of the book, though I'm hoping that The Testaments will clear that up. Easy to read and very enjoyable.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Genocide, Homophobia, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Abortion, Murder, and Pregnancy

apatheticastronaut13's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicide, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Colonisation, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic

ieotter13's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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? Yes

4.25

this book has been on my TBR list for a while and it was definitely something I’m glad I read - all criticism of the book (diversity, etc) is extremely valid, but Atwood is still able to write a compelling story that in some ways seems not too far off from our current political system. i listened to this book via audiobook and given the “historical notes” at the end it actually felt more accurate to the story to read it that way. regardless, worth the read! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Antisemitism, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism