Reviews with content warning for Suicide - The Handmaid's Tale

The writing style was unique, and not my favorite, but it was still cool. A lot of elements rang true in comparison to societies around the world, and I think it does a good job at being a dystopian that’s society out for its shit. It was a little hard to get into at times because the character isn’t the most interesting, but once you got into it you were in it and enjoying it.

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peachybee53's review against another edition

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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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emequalsme's review against another edition

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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

4.0

A terrifying and timely story of Christian ideology and right-wing extremism in government. This is my second or third time reading this book, and I enjoy it every time.

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tramuntana's review against another edition

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dark reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character

5.0

Each re-read of this gets harder, and while I agree that it is an excellent dystopia showing the dangers of a possible future, I feel even more drawn in by its critique of the present. Margaret, you intelligent, clever woman!

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lisbethleftwich's review against another edition

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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? No

5.0

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magimiel's review against another edition

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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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ellisinthetardis's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense fast-paced

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

3.75

when i saw that the handmaid’s tale and the kite runner were my two set texts, i thought for sure I’d enjoy the former most. im a feminist who grew up worshipping at the alter of suzanne collins (and really any other dystopia i could get my hands on), so it seemed like the perfect mix. however, i found the writing style (while intentional, as those who have finished the book will know) to be a bit of an obstacle to immersing myself in margaret atwood’s AMAZING world building. nevertheless, this book is obviously a classic and one that is undoubtedly required reading for feminists and dystopia-lovers.
i think i would’ve definitely enjoyed this book more had i read it before it’s premise became so well known, because a lot of it is dedicated to explaining how things work in Gilead; obviously this is not a thing either i or Atwood could have controlled, but it still impacted how much i enjoyed it.

all in all, defo give it a read! however much you think you know about the premise, there’s for sure more to find out, and it’s only 320 pages. but this wasn’t my absolute, 5-star, blow-my-socks-into-the-pacific favourite read of the year.

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