Reviews tagging 'Slavery'

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

154 reviews

batcavebooks's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Violence, Trafficking, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Body shaming

vulcajes's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

1.0

Hated this book so damn much. I understand what Atwood was going for, and I understand why she made Offred so insane, but my god. What the hell is going on. Why does Offred want to fuck an egg.

Also Atwood said that she never intended for Offred's name to be June, which doesn't matter but pisses me off personally. Literally why else were there so many June references throughout the entire book. June is the only name in Chapter 1 that we don't see repeated. The month June is in the book. Aunt Lydia tells the handmaids to stop mooning and June-ing. Margaret what the fuck.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Religious bigotry, Murder, Pregnancy, and Lesbophobia

Moderate: Miscarriage, Sexual content, Slavery, and Suicide

curlscout's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

It was a good listen. Very difficult subject matter. The story is also somewhat difficult to follow because the narrator skips around in the story. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape, Slavery, Blood, and Pregnancy

itsredandread's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Racism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Pregnancy

Minor: Miscarriage, Vomit, and War

heisiiri's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective 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? Yes

4.75

The Handmaid’s Tale is a masterclass in writing dystopia, and in writing a character-focused narrative. You truly experience every facet of this world right there with the main character. The way the narrative jumps like a stream of consciousness between memories, fantasy, introspection, and the quiet terror of the current moment is executed flawlessly. The writing style is GORGEOUS. If I hadn't been borrowing this from the library, I would have highlighted so many sections.

The side characters are excellent, too. Moira was a particular favorite of mine, I loved the way her and the main character contrasted each other. But all of the characters serve their narrative purpose well, and they feel both like products of this horrendeous reality and like real people. 

The ending works really well. I read this for our book club, and last week we also watched the 1990 film version at a movie night. Oh my god, they botched the story and the main character so badly. I'm looking forward to watching the TV show, though!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infertility, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Slavery, and Religious bigotry

lorie266's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Classism

bootsmom3's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Infertility, Infidelity, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Antisemitism, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, and Classism

Moderate: Homophobia, Suicide, Violence, and Alcohol

Minor: Miscarriage and Abortion

alyssapusateri's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infertility, Infidelity, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Ableism, Body shaming, Confinement, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Racism, Slavery, Torture, Blood, and Lesbophobia

Minor: Gun violence, Excrement, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and War

peachybee53's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.0

The Handmaid's Tale is surprisingly witty and blunt for its complex subject matter. I didn't feel particularly attached to any character, though I found Offred and Moira to be relatable at times. 

Slow but intriguing, it carefully balances monotony with memory, manipulation and soft rebellion. It tackles difficult topics such as misogyny, fertility, tyranny and religion in a way that makes this kind of dystopia feel eerily possible from our current reality. I appreciated the dark humour, the way that society was manipulated into Gilead law so easily, and the way the writing comforted you into feeling certain practices were normal when they were, in reality, extremely troubling.

I grew more hooked the further into the novel I read and believe the epilogue tied it all together in an extremely clever way. I'm looking forward to reading The Testaments.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, and Violence

Moderate: Confinement, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Body horror, Gore, Self harm, Suicide, Blood, Antisemitism, Grief, and Suicide attempt

magimiel's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-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? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Miscarriage, Suicide, Pregnancy, War, and Deportation