Reviews

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

maddiewarren's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

mmsnz's review against another edition

challenging dark tense

4.25

karism576's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective 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

4.5

Loved the writing style and world building! I think it was a good choice to have an open ending but I still docked half a star from my rating because I’m a sucker for a "satisfying" ending. 

whimsicalmeerkat's review against another edition

5.0

After enjoying [b:Oryx and Crake|46756|Oryx and Crake|Margaret Atwood|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1303565743s/46756.jpg|3143431] so much, I had high expectations of [b:The Handmaid's Tale|38447|The Handmaid's Tale|Margaret Atwood|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1294702760s/38447.jpg|1119185]. They were largely fulfilled. [a:Margaret Atwood|3472|Margaret Atwood|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1282859073p2/3472.jpg] weaves a horrifying image of a society in which religious fundamentalism and fear of Caucasian infertility are taken to their furthest extremities. The rights of women are a particular area of focus. While reading this book, I began to think about the similarities between it and [b:The Children of Men|77223|The Children of Men|P.D. James|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170900002s/77223.jpg|1142]. Both deal with the concept of infertility and a totalitarian, terrorizing state. Additionally, both are written by women and were released within a small time span. Based on this, I am planning to write a piece comparing and contrasting the two books. Obviously, this is truly a thought-provoking work.

ghuchet's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective tense fast-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

trentl14's review against another edition

challenging emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

elizabethbilawey's review against another edition

challenging dark 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? It's complicated

5.0

georgia_rkh's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

4.5

Ummm... Wow. I spent a lot of that book aware of how totally dystopian it was and that confusion from the readers perspective was fully intended right up until the last minute. But what I surprisingly loved was the fact that even though there is more of an explanation at the end, there are still so many unknowns. Typically, I am not the sort of person that agrees with the over-analysis of books and other literature but I can understand how you could read this book a thousand times and still discover something new each time

spaceemacee's review against another edition

5.0

I. Am. Speechless.
By far going down as one of my favorite books. Very reminiscent of some of the things we are experiencing now in the U.S. and potentially (but not hopefully) in the future. Atwood does amazing at making everything flow in a lyrical way in such a dark novel. Almost reads like poetry at times. Very excited to see this played out on the screen by the amazing Elisabeth Moss! READ IT! And then make your husband, boyfriend, girlfriend, mother, sibling, grandmother, cousin, uncle, EVERYONE read it! It will not disappoint!

erasmios's review against another edition

5.0

I've never read anything like The Handmaid's Tale before. I'm not talking about the story as the novel's world isn't the first dystopian world ruled by a fascist religious government, although to be honest Atwood puts her own nefarious twists into it. I'm talking about the narrator, the handmaid. I hadn't realised stories could be told like this. It's difficult to explain what it feels like to read Offred's thoughts. To whom is she talking to? It doesn't read like a diary, it feels like I'm in her head, that I'm there with her. I think The Handmaid's Tale is an exceptional novel. It doesn't have a lot of hope, it's as distressing as a book can be, and its characters are lonely, sad and cruel. But everything it has to offer is true, important and extremely topical. Read it.