Reviews tagging 'War'

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

123 reviews

puseyhawk's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

5.0

OMGOODNESS!!! This was STUNNING! The writing… delectable. The story…  challenging. The world building… encapsulating. The questions raised… confronting. The future portrayed… terrifying. 

This was such a dark, difficult, disturbing, yet gripping read. I was so taken aback by the writing style, the voice, the main character, the themes, the world building, the complex issues and ideas being addressed, the narrative structure, and even the narrative framing device used at the end. This is a complex and layered yet very primal emotional read. Just a harrowing tale to read. Honestly… I just loved it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual content, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, Suicide attempt, Miscarriage, Murder, Slavery, Racism, Suicide, Gaslighting, Homophobia, Infertility, Classism, Islamophobia, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, War, Lesbophobia, Police brutality, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Alcohol, Antisemitism, and Abortion

samshort's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense 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? Yes

5.0

Great book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Child death, Murder, Religious bigotry, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Abortion, Infertility, Medical trauma, Body horror, Animal death, Grief, Misogyny, Animal cruelty, Infidelity, Confinement, Kidnapping, Antisemitism, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Violence, Slavery, Rape, Alcohol, Sexism, Sexual violence, Blood, Death, Medical content, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, War, and Trafficking

apatheticastronaut13's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Animal cruelty, Miscarriage, Racism, Sexual assault, Religious bigotry, Gun violence, Abortion, Colonisation, Homophobia, Suicide, War, Rape, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Self harm, Misogyny, and Pandemic/Epidemic

chdeaver's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? Yes

3.75

Extremely slow to start. A lot of prose to the point that it felt excessive. Once it got going and revealed the plot, it was a lot more interesting and I finished it quickly, though I started skipping over some of the iterative prose that probably has some Deep Meaning, but that I didn't really feel like deciphering because I wanted to know what was happening.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Abortion, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Rape, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Suicide, and War

oystersauce's review against another edition

dark reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism, and Rape

Moderate: Suicide, Death, Infertility, and War

annabelle6969's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Suicide, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Pregnancy, and Violence

Moderate: War

Minor: Schizophrenia/Psychosis

morganthecarrot's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Violence, Rape, Trafficking, Sexual assault, Sexism, Death, Grief, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Infidelity, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Pregnancy, Sexual content, Racism, Infertility, War, and Torture

ieotter13's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• 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

4.25

this book has been on my TBR list for a while and it was definitely something I’m glad I read - all criticism of the book (diversity, etc) is extremely valid, but Atwood is still able to write a compelling story that in some ways seems not too far off from our current political system. i listened to this book via audiobook and given the “historical notes” at the end it actually felt more accurate to the story to read it that way. regardless, worth the read! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Trafficking, Toxic relationship, Torture, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Infidelity, Death, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Miscarriage, Infertility, Genocide, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Racism, Religious bigotry, Rape, Pregnancy, Suicide, Misogyny, Kidnapping, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, and Antisemitism

verysillygoose's review against another edition

dark reflective sad 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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Misogyny, and War

Moderate: Abortion, Miscarriage, Medical content, and Death

ppp's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry, Trafficking, War, Infertility, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Death, Grief, Misogyny, Rape, and Sexual assault