Reviews tagging 'Slavery'

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

138 reviews

strwbrrymlklvr's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

Really liked it, despite how hard it could be to read emotionally. It is sad how relatable the content could be, yet also eye-opening. It was easy enough to read technically even though it was text dense and moved from one idea to the next without much of a transition. Some pages took me a couple of reads in order to fully grasp what was being said, but I feel that it didn’t take away from the experience. The final chapter felt like a true kick in the gut for our dear Offred. Every time she believed one thing or another, there was always a man to pull his power over her. 

There were things I wish could’ve been answered or done, but I realize that the way it was written was intentional and purposeful, yet my reader’s heart wants tidy ends. What happens to Offred, truly? And to her daughter, to Luke, to Nick? Why was Gilead really put in place?  

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape, Trafficking, Murder, Miscarriage, Death, Suicide, Slavery, Infidelity, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Misogyny, Infertility, Homophobia, Grief, and Forced institutionalization

moonchild_cos's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Slavery, Infertility, Pregnancy, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Kidnapping, Alcohol, and Death

Minor: Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Lesbophobia, Medical trauma, Religious bigotry, and War

goldenslug's review against another edition

challenging slow-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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry, Forced institutionalization, Slavery, Pregnancy, and Trafficking

Moderate: Murder

Minor: Sexual content

vedpears's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

It is unsettling how sentiments and rhetoric shared in this story are echoed in today's political climate in the USA. 
I checked this out from the public library, but this may be a book that I have to purchase for my own personal library. There are warnings in here that should be heeded. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Trafficking, Abortion, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Death, Emotional abuse, Murder, Pregnancy, Self harm, Sexual content, Medical trauma, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Torture, Infertility, Infidelity, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Classism, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Rape, Sexism, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Violence, Ableism, and Blood

directorpurry's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Trafficking, Transphobia, Violence, Death, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Islamophobia, Misogyny, Murder, Pregnancy, Racism, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Gaslighting, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Confinement, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, Medical content, Medical trauma, Sexual harassment, Torture, Forced institutionalization, and Infertility

Moderate: Islamophobia, Miscarriage, and Antisemitism

Minor: War and Animal death

livlovread's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Rape, Slavery, Sexual assault, and Suicide

margaret_s_library's review against another edition

dark hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Infidelity, Slavery, Misogyny, Classism, Physical abuse, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Rape, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Antisemitism, Pregnancy, Deportation, Ableism, Emotional abuse, and Suicide

Minor: Infertility, Homophobia, War, Xenophobia, Transphobia, and Physical abuse

vivivi's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-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

5.0

Hooolyyyyyyyy snaps! 

As I've said a few other times before, this was rather disturbing. Sickening how twisted society became (twisted — not created from nothing, but from our current society: twisted, bent, pressed, and reformed into the Gileadean era). But I had to finish the book! I kept cheering for her and wanting to know if she escapes. 

I think my rage at the professor in the end shows just how invested I was in her story and how much of it I believed. I'm also creeped out by the professor's tone. Maybe it's just me, but it sounds like he tries to be all reasonable and aimeable while every other sentence sows distrust in her record.

I didn't expect it to end the way it did, but it definitely reads like a diary that was secretly recorded by a survivor, so I'm not too surprised. There's a lot to unpack in this book, and it's one of those that stays in your head even after you've finished it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Forced institutionalization, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Violence, and Misogyny

Moderate: Infertility

Minor: Animal death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Miscarriage

happybookishsoul's review against another edition

challenging dark sad medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Confinement, and Slavery

Moderate: Death

elenayasmin's review against another edition

dark inspiring mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

Beautifully written with incredible world-building, Margaret Atwood combines her understanding of successful totalitarian regimes with her explosive imagination, making The Handmaid's Tale a believable future for patriarchal societies. I would however liked to have seen the experiences of minority races in the Gilead period, and although this was mentioned in a couple of sentences, this seemed insufficient considering the huge population of ethnic minorities in USA. Nevertheless, I enjoyed reading this book and found it hard to put down.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual content, Slavery, Body shaming, Sexism, Violence, Pregnancy, Classism, and Misogyny