Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

182 reviews

shoshin's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

Terrifying, and becoming more possible in the U.S. by the day. Happening right now to women in many places--Afghanistan, for example, and that's on us.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexism, Kidnapping, and Religious bigotry

kiapin28's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and War

Moderate: Body shaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Abortion, Gaslighting, and Classism

memily_73's review

dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, and Sexual assault

spag's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Murder, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Suicide, and Kidnapping

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

emiliaelko's review against another edition

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

4.0

Very hard to read because it is so dark 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Homophobia, Infertility, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting

k_galloway's review against another edition

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? It's complicated

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infertility, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Murder, Gaslighting, and Classism

lilac_ruiz's review

dark emotional reflective 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

james1star's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.75

The Handmaid’s Tale was my first Atwood novel and I am so excited to read more, this was truly a masterpiece in psychological and descriptive writing. We are transported to Gilead via incredible world building which is reinforced and added to throughout the book and Offred’s life. Her accounts are disjointed and horrific but can be conceived to be true. This is because the novel is a dystopian ‘speculative fiction’ based on real life events that Gilead worked into a synthesis to create their totalitarian theocracy. This was done so the events can be thought of as possibly happening which is super scary especially in July 2022 with the recent US’s overturning of Roe v Wade ‘banning’ abortions as a method of powerful men to have control over woman’s bodies - in the novel (Caucasian from the historical notes) low fertility and growing power of woman is a reason for implementing the regime. Additionally, in the story pre-Gilead world is dealing with nuclear contamination and political stalemates due to superpowers and in the notes it states no country was willing to interfere - Russia Ukrainian war? Scary stuff 

My favourite theme within the Handmaid’s Tale is how Offred is shown to bring up this separation of the mind and the body. She does this in a society where women are defined and characterised by their bodily attributes and abilities and so she takes ownership of her own mentality and in doing so showcases her rebellion. This spirit and drive does wither and her internal monologue is characterised by disjointedness expressing the impact that her circumstances has had on her. Her flashbacks to the past and telling of her story is mixed but you are very hooked on it and Offred is portrayed as a very real person. 

Unlike some I actually really liked the ending because it is super ambiguous where she enters ‘into the darkness within; or else the light’ so we will never know what happened to her. There is a sense of hope but also tragedy. However the main point Atwood puts forward is unknowing and this is reinforced by the historical notes where they’re questioning the accuracy and credibility of her account by historians of the future at a convention on Giledean studies. Despite teetering on her Tale being true, I mainly got a sense of distrust and ‘brushing off’ of the events which Offred so courageously shared. Towards the end of her account she is shown to be in psychology pain thinking about what she’s endured, it’s hard for her to tell these things and she wants to get them right but undoubtedly it’s hard because of the traumatic nature of the circumstances. And for historians (academic professionals who specialise in the subject and we trust to interpret it) to in a way belittle her efforts is such an injustice. But true, we’ve done that to past accounts of people in horrific situations, further emphasising a need to not repeat the past. 

I do want to mention I did watch the show long before reading the book (only got into reading the past 5 months) and I do enjoy it so I did have my own opinions and idea of the storyline. However, I definitely enjoyed the book way more and I imagined and realised Offred more vividly in my head then seeing her physically real. Also I love how in the book we know Offred knows her name, but she has power in withholding it from us and her being the property ‘of’ the commander ‘Fred’ we’re constantly reminded she is property, her value is merely in her bodily functions for Fred and his household (yes she does pose mental stimulation in the book but under the Gileadan regime, as a Handmaid that is her function) and the show outright giving her a name in a way diminishes the significance of Atwood not revealing her name in the book. A thought. 

To conclude I did really enjoy this novel, I initially was listening to as an audiobook but this was removed from YouTube so got the book and actually much more enjoyed reading it myself, it took me a long time to get through it and I think that’s because of the method in which I took it in. It is hard to read in parts but is okay exceptionally well written and really hooks you in. Bring on The Testaments. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Violence, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Genocide, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Police brutality, Trafficking, Grief, Abortion, Pregnancy, War, and Classism

its_van_vulpen's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious 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? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, War, and Classism