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bookloverjenn's review against another edition
dark
hopeful
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.5
andreajay's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
tense
medium-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? Yes
3.5
rosewater_'s review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
fedak's review against another edition
3.0
Fan service novel after people pestered Atwood for 30 years about what happened after the Handmaid's Tale. Quite good for about the first 3/4 with a couple big reveals (one of which I saw coming a mile away, one I didn't)
In the last part, Atwood clearly wanted to bring two of the protagonists together and clearly couldn't think of a way to do it. So we ended up with a nonsensical plot sequence for the latter third.
It was also disappointing that Atwood basically added nothing to Gilead that wasn't in the first novel- and I was hoping to see more about how the US devolved to the point where the Gilead revolution was possible.
In the last part, Atwood clearly wanted to bring two of the protagonists together and clearly couldn't think of a way to do it. So we ended up with a nonsensical plot sequence for the latter third.
It was also disappointing that Atwood basically added nothing to Gilead that wasn't in the first novel- and I was hoping to see more about how the US devolved to the point where the Gilead revolution was possible.
kdawn999's review against another edition
4.0
It’s been several years since I read The Handmaid’s Tale, but I do remember the intentional and maddening loose ends of that novel, that we never got to know what happened to Offred, that the societal structure and the powers behind it were only sketched and hinted at. This sequel fills in almost all of those gaps. It’s told in a similar historical document fashion, but this time there are three women’s voices, whose plots entwine. In this telling, the handmaid’s story is necessary background, but the focus is on the complicated feelings of young girls growing up within and without the totalitarian Gilead regime. Atwood reveals that there were women matriarchs, too, who survived by cunning, carving out a space to plot revenge against the patriarchal stranglehold. This book is more hopeful than the last—positioned for our current American society reeling from the loss of civil rights. The message is that regimes fall, often from hard work and resistance within. I really liked listening to this story and was riveted pretty much the whole way through. Things were perhaps too tidy at the end, but on the whole I’m pleased that this book aims to illuminate the mysterious parts of its predecessor.
selhans's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.0
stitchcraft's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
joelcharig's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
fitzzula's review against another edition
4.0
I held off reading this for what felt like forever, from a mixture of fear that it could never live up to 'The Handmaid's Tale' and a perverse desire to keep anticipating reading it if it was as good as I hoped. I couldn't see how a sequel, especially one written so long after the original could hold up and was a bit dubious.
Thankfully, I was proven wrong - I thoroughly enjoyed reading this, particularly from Aunt Lydia's POV and I liked the 'testimonial' formats. My only quibbles were with Daisy's chapters - I know she is meant to be a contrasting, modern teen perspective but at points she was irritating and didn't seem to behave in a believable way given her situation. However despite this, I thought Agnes and Aunt Lydia's chapters more than made up for it, particularly when looking at the structures of Gilead and growing up indoctrinated and forbidden to read.
I think how this book affects you depends on your expectations. Any sequel to 'The Handmaid's Tale' was always going to pale in comparison and cast light on the ambiguities of its predecessor. I haven't seen any of the TV show yet so can't comment on how it compares. I think Atwood has done a good job of creating an alternative glimpse into the world of Gilead from completely different perspectives and I really liked the different attitudes that accompanied it. It lacks some of the subtlety that made the original so good but is nonetheless worth reading.
Thankfully, I was proven wrong - I thoroughly enjoyed reading this, particularly from Aunt Lydia's POV and I liked the 'testimonial' formats. My only quibbles were with Daisy's chapters - I know she is meant to be a contrasting, modern teen perspective but at points she was irritating and didn't seem to behave in a believable way given her situation. However despite this, I thought Agnes and Aunt Lydia's chapters more than made up for it, particularly when looking at the structures of Gilead and growing up indoctrinated and forbidden to read.
I think how this book affects you depends on your expectations. Any sequel to 'The Handmaid's Tale' was always going to pale in comparison and cast light on the ambiguities of its predecessor. I haven't seen any of the TV show yet so can't comment on how it compares. I think Atwood has done a good job of creating an alternative glimpse into the world of Gilead from completely different perspectives and I really liked the different attitudes that accompanied it. It lacks some of the subtlety that made the original so good but is nonetheless worth reading.