Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

109 reviews

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

kennie's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective tense medium-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Child death, Homophobia, Emotional abuse, Lesbophobia, Body shaming, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Infidelity, Infertility, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, and Sexual assault

Minor: War

violetsonata93's review against another edition

dark reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.0

Honnêtement, j’ai vu la série télé en premier. L’idée à la base du roman est vraiment brillante et pousse à la réflexion, mais il y a pas mal de longueurs. Je ne recommanderais pas la traduction que j’ai trouvé boiteuse par endroits, je regrette de ne pas avoir commencé directement par lire la version originale. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism

Moderate: Death, Violence, Sexual violence, Gun violence, and Suicide

Minor: Torture, Murder, Hate crime, Abortion, Alcohol, Miscarriage, Infertility, Infidelity, and Confinement

ivorynovature's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

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

3.75

There’s very interesting worldbuilding going on here and I especially liked the historian’s little speech at the end, I just ended up wishing the entire time that Moira was the main character.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Infertility, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Sexual content, Blood, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder

Moderate: Child death, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Sexual assault

Minor: Kidnapping, Abortion, Infidelity, Torture, and War

cupidsarroww's review against another edition

dark reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Torture, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence

Moderate: Rape, Abortion, Child death, Infertility, Infidelity, Pregnancy, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Homophobia

malaikawrites's review against another edition

dark reflective tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• 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, Rape, Sexism, and Misogyny

Moderate: Violence, Miscarriage, Infertility, and Death

Minor: Abortion, Suicide, Infidelity, and Medical trauma

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

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

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

laurajordensharris's review against another edition

challenging emotional slow-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Classism, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Murder, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, and War

allym's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• 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: Rape, Pregnancy, Misogyny, and Infidelity

darbo's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I’ll be fully honest, I needed my girlfriend to explain some things to me as we buddy-read this. It was, at times, hard for me to understand and follow what was going on - especially so in some night chapters - but in the end I managed to get the full picture of it and I ended up really enjoying this. It’s a very well written dystopian novel that follows our main character, Offred, through her daily life and thoughts as she goes along, through what can only be described as tyranny. I thoroughly enjoyed this, with the exception of one particular chapter - although relevant to story. I highly recommend this to any dystopia fans out there, and I personally am looking forward to reading its sequel.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism and Misogyny

Moderate: Police brutality, Pregnancy, Death, Sexual assault, Slavery, Emotional abuse, Murder, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Trafficking, and Violence

Minor: Blood, Colonisation, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Grief, Miscarriage, and War