Reviews tagging 'Racism'

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

39 reviews

leena24_69's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense 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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexism, Misogyny, Sexual content, Death, Pregnancy, Rape, Torture, Suicide, Sexual violence, and Infertility

Moderate: Miscarriage, Homophobia, and Lesbophobia

Minor: Racism and Antisemitism

georgiesutton's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective medium-paced

3.5

I kind of expected more from The Handmaid’s Tale. I haven’t seen the TV show but I expected the book to have a bit more plot. I didn’t feel the weight of the stakes and the ending felt rushed after a quite slow and detailed start. I did like the references to the time before which I feel is often ignored. 
Overall I think as a dystopia it was solid but as a story it was lacking for me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Trafficking, Racism, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Infertility, Rape, and Toxic relationship

maisieflorence's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad slow-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

This was so incredibly powerful! I really liked it. Very reflective of your our society still to this day, unfortunately. I liked the ambiguous ending. The whole story was significantly different than I expected, primary because I’ve been a few episodes of the action packed show. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Sexual assault, Religious bigotry, Homophobia, Sexual violence, Slavery, Police brutality, Miscarriage, Mental illness, Infidelity, Genocide, Suicide, Sexism, Confinement, Kidnapping, Infertility, Gun violence, Drug use, Death, Rape, Torture, Child death, Pregnancy, Murder, Racism, and Abortion

eni_iilorak's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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, Suicide, Slavery, Sexual assault, Sexism, Misogyny, Child abuse, Violence, Trafficking, Infertility, Toxic relationship, Torture, Rape, Religious bigotry, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Bullying, Body shaming, Deportation, Mental illness, Blood, Emotional abuse, and Forced institutionalization

Minor: War, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Racism, and Antisemitism

lorraine19's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I read this book after I started the show. (See spoiler for connection between show and book.) It is very tense and covers extremely sensitive subjects in a brutal way. 

For this reason, I'd advise against reading if you are sensitive or have trauma that is easily triggered. 

However, it does highlight some very relevant issues and is something I think many people should read. It will make you uncomfortable. You might have to put it down for a couple days to process it or take a breather. But it is worthwhile and will make you recognize small signs of sexism and discrimination. It shows how small things can escalate. It is also very heavy on religion and politics, but I view the main character as someone wanting to reclaim her religion from extremists - for this reason I do not believe it is anti-religious but anti-extremism. 

I do wish they went more into some of the other characters impacted (which I believe she does in the sequel) but it also did a good job of explaining the world strictly from the main character's POV. 

<SPOILER> The book only covers what is basically the first season of the show but the plot is also a bit different. This leaves it open ended as well. <SPOILER>

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Islamophobia, Hate crime, Infertility, Abandonment, Acephobia/Arophobia, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Death, Grief, Homophobia, Infidelity, Murder, Pregnancy, Trafficking, Biphobia, Child abuse, Rape, Xenophobia, Transphobia, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Vomit, Pedophilia, Lesbophobia, Classism, Antisemitism, Confinement, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Genocide, Violence, War, Abortion, Sexual assault, Kidnapping, Mental illness, and Miscarriage

Ritualistic rape, religious extremism, political abuse

k_galloway's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Racism, Trafficking, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Grief, Gun violence, Blood, Genocide, Homophobia, Infertility, Torture, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Rape, Sexism, Slavery, Classism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, and Toxic relationship

kmayatte's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Sexism, Confinement, Rape, Kidnapping, and Misogyny

Moderate: Blood, Death, Grief, Hate crime, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Infertility, Miscarriage, Death of parent, Racism, Abortion, Infidelity, and Murder

Minor: Antisemitism, Lesbophobia, Homophobia, and Trafficking

leirben's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Torture, Slavery, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicide, and Racism

the_readingfox's review against another edition

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Sexual violence, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Racism and Pregnancy

Minor: Homophobia, Trafficking, and Slavery

jessthanthree's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, and Sexism

Moderate: Sexual content, Sexual assault, Classism, and Racism