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lily1304's review against another edition
- Strong character development? No
4.0
It's interesting that the narrator seems to downplay the racist aspects of Gilead - we learn more about that from the epilogue than the narrator. I only saw a few episodes of the Amazon TV series, but half the reason I watched it was for Samira Wiley as Moira. I guess there's a trade-off - if Amazon wanted a racially diverse cast, they had to ignore the way that racism and sexism are intertwined, & would have to be intertwined in an American regime like Gilead. But Amazon didn't seem to care that much about fidelity to the novel anyway.
I also noticed more the way the narrator's mother is sort of complicit with the coup leading to Gilead. Her mother is a feminist but shares some of the same broad goals as Gilead - pornography is evil, women shouldn't be sexualized, every child should be a wanted child, women should be free from sexual harassment. The scene where
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Hate crime, Infertility, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Rape, Torture, Antisemitism, Religious bigotry, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Minor: Animal death, Miscarriage, Abortion, Alcohol, and War
rory_john14's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Biphobia, Confinement, Death, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Antisemitism, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Abortion, Suicide attempt, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Lesbophobia and Alcohol
Minor: Child death, Racism, Death of parent, Murder, and War
rettasbookshelf's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Gun violence, Infertility, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Grief, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
staceyinthesticks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
It took me a while to get into as a couple of things bothered me - the overuse of commas and the lack of speech marks for certain bits of dialogue - but after a while I started to get used to it.
I neither loved nor disliked the story and writing - it was kind of average I guess. I would have liked some more insight into how the situation of Gilead came about, as it seemed like it happened practically overnight and was hard to imagine.
Again, the characters were neither here nor there - I think the one I liked most was Moira, from the snippets we heard of her! I was also left wondering what Offred's real name was, as we were told pretty much everyone else's.
The ending was a bit abrupt and I was left thinking, "Oh is that it?". But I'm hoping the TV show, and perhaps The Testaments (which I'll get around to reading st some point!) will tell us what actually happened after.
Overall, an okay story which is now marked off my list of books I should definitely read in my lifetime.
3.5*
Graphic: Rape
Moderate: Death and Kidnapping
Minor: Infertility, Infidelity, Violence, Medical content, Pregnancy, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic
0l1v1a's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Trafficking, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment
evilyn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Ableism, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
chiara_dose's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Moderate: Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Child death, Confinement, Infertility, Torture, Violence, and Pregnancy
aliceloyallaleon's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Medical content, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail
greendorito's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Confinement, Infertility, Infidelity, Sexism, Sexual content, and Pregnancy
ibook816's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
Graphic: Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Sexual harassment, and War