Reviews tagging 'Vomit'

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

21 reviews

luziesofie's review against another edition

dark reflective sad medium-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Miscarriage

Minor: Vomit

seapotatohowisitalrtaken's review

dark emotional reflective sad fast-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Sexism, and Violence

Moderate: Bullying, Death, Infertility, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Blood, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Abortion, and Classism

Minor: Miscarriage, Rape, Vomit, and War

lexib13's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring reflective sad 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

5.0

wow. the parallels between Gilead and America in 2023 are insane. this book restored my faith in humanity while simultaneously crumbling it

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, War, and Injury/Injury detail

rushh's review

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Grief, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, and Classism

Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Death of parent, and Murder

Minor: Cursing, Drug use, Blood, Vomit, Abortion, and Alcohol

emfass's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I have no idea why the heck I felt inspired to re-read The Handmaid's Tale at a time with lots of other hard things going on in my life, but there you go. 

Loved Claire Danes' narration, as well as the expanded materials at the end that Atwood wrote. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, and Classism

Moderate: Body horror, Homophobia, Sexual content, Torture, Police brutality, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Lesbophobia, and Deportation

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Gun violence, Vomit, Antisemitism, Medical content, Death of parent, and War

lorraine19's review

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

Ritualistic rape, religious extremism, political abuse

esther_5's review

dark emotional 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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Vomit, Medical trauma, Murder, and War

reddeddy's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Classism

Moderate: Biphobia, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Homophobia, Xenophobia, Vomit, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, Kidnapping, Grief, Abortion, Murder, Lesbophobia, Abandonment, and War

Minor: Animal death, Cancer, Child death, Fatphobia, Pedophilia, Racism, Torture, Blood, Excrement, Police brutality, Trafficking, Mass/school shootings, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

annoyedhumanoid's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad 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

4.0

definitely a slow burn but i liked the way it built tension somewhat exponentially with the narrator at the center of three mini rebellions—

seeing the Commander, defecting with Ofglen and Mayday, and conspiring with Serena Joy and Nick

—but in the end it didn't really amount to all that much. i love the inclusion of the "Historical Notes," they're terrible and perfect.
it's definitely white feminism, with racism in this religious-extremist totalitarian regime only mentioned once, in passing, at the very end. compared to another modern classic published just two years later, Beloved, it's kind of embarrassing.
cover design review: ★★★★☆. instant one-star deduction for having author's name larger than the title (sorry Margaret Atwood), and this is especially egregious; the title is relatively tiny. we all know minimalism has become excessive but i really like this one. the centering of the title is very satisfying, with approximately equal overhang of "HANDMAID'S" on either side of the dress. and the best part, get ready for your mind to be blown: see that dot in front of the Handmaid's head? it's the eye of a face in profile looking to the left hidden in the negative space. genius

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infertility, Infidelity, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Trafficking, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Classism

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Drug use, Homophobia, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Blood, Antisemitism, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Body shaming, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Physical abuse, Racism, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Medical content, Abortion, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and War

cdt96's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

A dark yet scarily relevant book. Atwood said herself she never included anything that hasn't happened to women before. Now more than ever women should read this book as if it is a warning. This book shows a time before Gilead which unfortunately resonates with today's political and cultural landscapes. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Trafficking, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Colonisation

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail