Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

220 reviews

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

This was so incredibly powerful! I really liked it. Very reflective of your our society still to this day, unfortunately. I liked the ambiguous ending. The whole story was significantly different than I expected, primary because I’ve been a few episodes of the action packed show. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
dark emotional tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
dark emotional sad tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character

It's difficult to review this book because I feel that everything that could possibly be analyzed about it has already been said, especially with the popularity of the television show. I really enjoyed reading it, although the scenario described was repulsive. Atwood cleverly set up a dystopia that seems closer to actuality with each passing day, although the book was originally published decades earlier. Demonization of sex work and women in the workforce spirals into a world ruled under Biblical fundamentals, where wealthy men still behave in ways that spit on their own supposedly held values. Offred's devastating descriptions of her time as a Handmaid and worsening mental state reveal how even someone who once had agency in the world are bludgeoned by systems of bigotry that seem inescapable. Atwood illustrates this world with a nuance that deftly critiques Biblical values, gender-based exploitation and violence, and the shortcomings of modern feminism. I definitely recommend this book to other readers, and wish I could have read it in a literature course to gain even more insight into its messages. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
dark reflective tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Complicated

Margaret Atwood is brilliant.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
dark informative reflective fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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>

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
dark slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

Very hard to read because it is so dark 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
dark emotional sad tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Expand filter menu Content Warnings