Reviews tagging 'Child death'

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

58 reviews

dev921's review against another edition

dark emotional lighthearted sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Medical content, Rape, Death, Deportation, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Blood, Miscarriage, Sexism, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Child death, Confinement, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Self harm, and Sexual violence

pandalesque's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Sexual violence, Violence, Gaslighting, Antisemitism, Infertility, Child death, Racism, Miscarriage, and Slavery

4riareads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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

4.75

A beautiful dystopian book about existing as a woman in a patriarchy. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Child abuse, Rape, and Child death

Moderate: Suicide, Medical trauma, Medical content, and Suicidal thoughts

puckeverlasting's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Sexual assault, Religious bigotry, Suicide, Rape, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Child death, Pregnancy, Death of parent, Infertility, Lesbophobia, Genocide, and Grief

stephsbookedout's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Abortion, Child death, Murder, and War

dannilmp's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad 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? No

2.75

If you fancy a non-horror based dystopian novel then The Handmaid's Tale would be a good choice for you. Full of scenarios that really get you thinking about women's rights and how different things could be. With the current state of our world some of the topics covered in this book might hit a little too close for comfort though.

One thing I can heavily praise about The Handmaid's Tale is the way in which language is used to truly convey Offred's emotions, thought patterns, hopes and despairs. I felt I could really connect to these emotions and could feel how they affected the character. Additionally the fact the book lingered with me if I put it down to give myself time to think and contemplate on what I was reading made the book feel so much more engaging than just reading a story.

Consequently, while Offred felt sometimes as quite a flat character, I understand that this really helped delve into the mindset of  these women and the world they are in, it does make some sections feel more like a chore to read when something interesting isn't going on. The fact the content of the novel is so sad and the idea that something like this is not outside the realm of possibility even for our world can make this a depressing read. 

I would recommend this to anyone looking for a novel to make you think, anyone interested in women's rights (or I suppose the lack of rights and inequality for women) but be prepared to feel some negative emotions during your reading journey. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Misogyny, and Sexism

Moderate: Suicide, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Pregnancy

Minor: Child death

galerieanna25's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape, Pregnancy, Violence, Sexual violence, Torture, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Misogyny, Suicide attempt, and Child death

jneverland's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry, Sexism, Body horror, Blood, Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Rape, Abandonment, Ableism, Infertility, Violence, War, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Antisemitism, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Gaslighting, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Deportation, Death, Racism, Domestic abuse, Murder, Miscarriage, Genocide, Hate crime, Sexual assault, Gore, Medical content, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Suicide attempt, Grief, Homophobia, Incest, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Trafficking, and Suicide

hannah_lou's review against another edition

dark reflective 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual content, Violence, Torture, Child death, Death, Infertility, Pregnancy, and Rape

Minor: Alcohol and Animal death

zams's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

It seemed to be a very slow read and super slow-paced in the beginning, but picked up the pace A LOT towards the end. A gruelling outlook on how life could be in society, and a brutal reality already for countless people on the planet.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Self harm, Infertility, Emotional abuse, Confinement, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Slavery, Misogyny, Mental illness, Sexual violence, Classism, Death, Child death, Ableism, War, Violence, Religious bigotry, Kidnapping, Police brutality, Suicidal thoughts, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Sexism, Rape, Murder, and Miscarriage

Minor: Abortion, Alcohol, Death of parent, Infidelity, and Blood