Reviews tagging 'Medical content'

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

62 reviews

chloe_bocci_07's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, and Classism

cpardub's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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

5.0

Wow wow wow so good. I flew through this. The dystopia Atwood describes is visceral. I loved the narrator’s tone and flaws. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Forced institutionalization, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Infertility, Misogyny, Sexual content, Suicide, Torture, Medical content, Murder, Pregnancy, and Classism

Minor: Animal death, Miscarriage, Antisemitism, and Pregnancy

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

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

sarahbroccoli's review against another edition

dark reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Misogyny, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, and Religious bigotry

renorsomethin's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful medium-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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual violence, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Confinement, Homophobia, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Rape, Suicide, Violence, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, Medical content, Trafficking, Abortion, and Pandemic/Epidemic

elanele's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective 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? No

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Infertility, Misogyny, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Bullying, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Grief, Pregnancy, and Deportation

Minor: Rape, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicide, Abortion, and War

readwithsophsx's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual content, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy, and Deportation

lexithelion's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

3.75

Margaret Atwood's writing skill is impeccable, there is absolutely no doubt about that. However, I can acknowledge when a book is simply not for me. Nothing much plot-wise happens in this book as it is more meant, I feel, to embody the bleakness of Offred's situation and the world she is living in. This book is dreary and bland, as the lives of the handmaids are, thus it is an incredible book in that it completes its purpose and makes you feel as though you are living in Gilead. This book is pretty boring, but that seems to be the point. It took me longer than usual to finish this book but if you enjoyed reading it, you would probably also enjoy the TV show.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Infertility, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Blood, Medical content, and War

mgcalder's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative 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

3.25

Whilst Margret Attwood is clearly an excellent writer, and the concept of the book is fascinating, I found the story itself to be somewhat lacking. The open ending also seemed at odds with the rest of the book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy, War, and Classism