Reviews with content warning for War - The Handmaid's Tale

as i do with most books, i'm writing this review after several months of reflection.

so... i really wanted to love this, especially after watching the incredible (at least till s4/5) show. i do think this story has some powerful messages, an interesting concept, it's good at making you feel tense, and it really makes you reflect on how women's rights are like in this age- gilead brings to mind many current events that have occurred (particularly in 2022). i thought the ending was very thought-provoking too. but overall it just didn't do it for me. it's a nice enough book, but to me it wasn't very outstanding, and a bit dull in some parts. i appreciate this nevertheless, for its impact on modern lit and discussion of feminism.

edit: did a reread, 23/05/24
this is definitely better than i remember. the prose is actually so wonderfully written, if very confusing at times. the story of offred is so compelling, her story is one of the most human stories i've read in a while. i've boosted the rating in reflection of that.

Content Warnings

lily_kruse's review against another edition

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dark reflective tense slow-paced

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

5.0

Content Warnings

mmkiel's review against another edition

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dark slow-paced

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

3.25

Content Warnings

bertieboop's review against another edition

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challenging dark 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

5.0

Content Warnings

alexander1776's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

Just sensational.

Content Warnings

bookish_bry's review against another edition

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dark slow-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

3.75

This is a difficult book to rate. I liked it well enough, though it was a bit slow. The narrator had a pretty good voice and I didn't find her annoying even if I disagreed with her a lot. Honestly, it was good that she wasn't a perfect person. At the same time I struggled to really get into the book and plot. I would have liked to have seen a little more about our narrator from before as we only got brief flashes. I feel like that would have cemented her personality and its changes in my mind a little better.

Content Warnings

pixelited's review against another edition

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emotional reflective 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? It's complicated

4.0

Content Warnings

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