Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

182 reviews

zams's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense 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

3.75

It seemed to be a very slow read and super slow-paced in the beginning, but picked up the pace A LOT towards the end. A gruelling outlook on how life could be in society, and a brutal reality already for countless people on the planet.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, War, and Classism

Minor: Infidelity, Blood, Abortion, Death of parent, and Alcohol

dynamitea's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, and Emotional abuse

krystlethegreat's review against another edition

challenging reflective slow-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? No

4.25

A must read. Should be another classic. 
What makes a society successful? And who sacrifices for that success?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Rape, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Death, Infertility, Sexual content, Suicide, and Torture

Minor: Homophobia and Abortion

lauren_e_d's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.5

Although I had to read this book for school, it was one that I was looking forward to reading. I had heard so much about it and it lived up to my expectations. I really enjoyed drawing the parallels between the novel, written back in the 1980s, and the modern day. It is  concerning, terrifying, and fascinating that this novel is still so powerful and poignant today.

I will admit, it took me until the very end of the book to realize that the structure of the novel is that the narrator is telling it like a story after the fact, so for almost of the book, the switches between past and current tense really confused me which made it slightly more difficult to understand. I did really enjoy the historical notes section though because I think it’s a great commentary on how we think of history and how it’s such a reality for so many people, but in the future, it is trivialized, made into jokes, and studied, but the reality and impact on real people is not always fully understood. The trauma is not understood. However, I really liked the ending and the ambiguity that it gives. It’s a fascinating way to have the reader hopefully for the entire novel just to be left guessing at the very end, something I think Atwood has a mastery of. Overall, AMAZING. I fully understand the hype now. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infertility, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Classism, and Deportation

jlohnes's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful sad medium-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? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Forced institutionalization, and Classism

Moderate: Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, and Alcohol

marionesq's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Unreliable narrator.
Margaret Atwood succeeds in writing that leaves more to our imagination, but doesn't leave you short-changed. You can trust your brain to connect the pieces. She does it by writing not simply visually, but cinematically. And the way everything unfolds is just brilliant.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Trafficking, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

chaoticnostalgia's review against another edition

dark emotional tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infertility, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, and Classism

Moderate: Ableism, Animal death, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Suicide, Police brutality, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Sexual content, Medical content, Abortion, Death of parent, and Alcohol

seawarrior's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.0

It's difficult to review this book because I feel that everything that could possibly be analyzed about it has already been said, especially with the popularity of the television show. I really enjoyed reading it, although the scenario described was repulsive. Atwood cleverly set up a dystopia that seems closer to actuality with each passing day, although the book was originally published decades earlier. Demonization of sex work and women in the workforce spirals into a world ruled under Biblical fundamentals, where wealthy men still behave in ways that spit on their own supposedly held values. Offred's devastating descriptions of her time as a Handmaid and worsening mental state reveal how even someone who once had agency in the world are bludgeoned by systems of bigotry that seem inescapable. Atwood illustrates this world with a nuance that deftly critiques Biblical values, gender-based exploitation and violence, and the shortcomings of modern feminism. I definitely recommend this book to other readers, and wish I could have read it in a literature course to gain even more insight into its messages. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infertility, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Religious bigotry, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Miscarriage, Sexual content, Suicide, and Trafficking

meganpbennett's review against another edition

dark tense slow-paced

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

3.0

For as disturbing and terrifying a story as The Handmaid's Tale was, I found it boring and very slow. It was very disturbing because of just how simple it would be for us to end up in this society, and just how many people seem to want us to end up in this society. 

As for the story itself, I found the narrator to be very unreliable, and the non-linear narrative was very hard to follow at times, making it hard to tell when various events were taking place. Very similar to 1984, but in a different direction. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, and Classism

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: Child abuse, Confinement, Infertility, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Trafficking, Religious bigotry, and Pregnancy

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

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