Reviews tagging 'Islamophobia'

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

18 reviews

lorraine19's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I read this book after I started the show. (See spoiler for connection between show and book.) It is very tense and covers extremely sensitive subjects in a brutal way. 

For this reason, I'd advise against reading if you are sensitive or have trauma that is easily triggered. 

However, it does highlight some very relevant issues and is something I think many people should read. It will make you uncomfortable. You might have to put it down for a couple days to process it or take a breather. But it is worthwhile and will make you recognize small signs of sexism and discrimination. It shows how small things can escalate. It is also very heavy on religion and politics, but I view the main character as someone wanting to reclaim her religion from extremists - for this reason I do not believe it is anti-religious but anti-extremism. 

I do wish they went more into some of the other characters impacted (which I believe she does in the sequel) but it also did a good job of explaining the world strictly from the main character's POV. 

<SPOILER> The book only covers what is basically the first season of the show but the plot is also a bit different. This leaves it open ended as well. <SPOILER>

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Biphobia, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, 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, Transphobia, Violence, Xenophobia, Vomit, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Acephobia/Arophobia, Murder, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, Abandonment, War, and Classism

Ritualistic rape, religious extremism, political abuse

lilahs_literacy_corner's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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: Hate crime, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Death, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Islamophobia, Pregnancy, and Cultural appropriation

reddeddy's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Classism

Moderate: Biphobia, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Homophobia, Xenophobia, Vomit, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, Kidnapping, Grief, Abortion, Murder, Lesbophobia, Abandonment, and War

Minor: Animal death, Cancer, Child death, Fatphobia, Pedophilia, Racism, Torture, Blood, Excrement, Police brutality, Trafficking, Mass/school shootings, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

sunny_not's review against another edition

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

4.0

Incredibly brutal and awful. It was emotionally draining to some extent since it was so heavy. Idk if I will read the second book since this was quite challenging. If the questions that are left in this are answered then I might read it. Overall not a good time dystopia of dystopias kind of vibe. Still very thought provoking and interesting, that's why I gave this a high rating however this is nowhere close to being a light read in my opinion. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, Medical content, Grief, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and War

q17'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? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Hate crime, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Slavery, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Ableism, Child abuse, Death, Mental illness, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, Medical content, Grief, Abortion, Acephobia/Arophobia, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, and Classism

annoyedhumanoid's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad 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? Yes

4.0

definitely a slow burn but i liked the way it built tension somewhat exponentially with the narrator at the center of three mini rebellions—

seeing the Commander, defecting with Ofglen and Mayday, and conspiring with Serena Joy and Nick

—but in the end it didn't really amount to all that much. i love the inclusion of the "Historical Notes," they're terrible and perfect.
it's definitely white feminism, with racism in this religious-extremist totalitarian regime only mentioned once, in passing, at the very end. compared to another modern classic published just two years later, Beloved, it's kind of embarrassing.
cover design review: ★★★★☆. instant one-star deduction for having author's name larger than the title (sorry Margaret Atwood), and this is especially egregious; the title is relatively tiny. we all know minimalism has become excessive but i really like this one. the centering of the title is very satisfying, with approximately equal overhang of "HANDMAID'S" on either side of the dress. and the best part, get ready for your mind to be blown: see that dot in front of the Handmaid's head? it's the eye of a face in profile looking to the left hidden in the negative space. genius

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infertility, Infidelity, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Trafficking, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Classism

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Drug use, Homophobia, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Blood, Antisemitism, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Body shaming, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Physical abuse, Racism, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Medical content, Abortion, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and War

kyrab's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, and Sexual harassment

unsaturated_phat's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-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

5.0

Best audiobook narration

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Police brutality, Islamophobia, and Religious bigotry