Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

51 reviews

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

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

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

lily1304's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

• Strong character development? No

4.0

Rereading made me wonder if Atwood studied totalitarian regimes before writing this, or not. I like to think that there would be more solidarity between women than what's portrayed, but I'm not sure.

It's interesting that the narrator seems to downplay the racist aspects of Gilead - we learn more about that from the epilogue than the narrator. I only saw a few episodes of the Amazon TV series, but half the reason I watched it was for Samira Wiley as Moira. I guess there's a trade-off - if Amazon wanted a racially diverse cast, they had to ignore the way that racism and sexism are intertwined, & would have to be intertwined in an American regime like Gilead. But Amazon didn't seem to care that much about fidelity to the novel anyway.

I also noticed more the way the narrator's mother is sort of complicit with the coup leading to Gilead. Her mother is a feminist but shares some of the same broad goals as Gilead - pornography is evil, women shouldn't be sexualized, every child should be a wanted child, women should be free from sexual harassment. The scene where

the narrator's mother takes her to burn books and pornography with a protest crowd

struck me in particular.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Hate crime, Infertility, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Violence

Moderate: Antisemitism, Rape, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Torture

Minor: Abortion, Alcohol, Animal death, Miscarriage, and War

rory_john14's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Antisemitism, Biphobia, Death, Grief, Homophobia, Medical content, Medical trauma, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Abortion, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Infertility, Infidelity, and Misogyny

Moderate: Lesbophobia and Alcohol

Minor: Death of parent, Racism, War, Child death, and Murder

rettasbookshelf's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Torture, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Violence, Suicide attempt, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Religious bigotry, Rape, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Infidelity, Infertility, Gun violence, Grief, Death, and Alcohol

graceanna's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Sexual content, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, and Misogyny

Moderate: Body horror, Sexual assault, Kidnapping, and Infertility

Minor: Abortion, Alcohol, Suicidal thoughts, Racism, and Miscarriage

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

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

labohemeperdue's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Abortion, Addiction, Alcohol, Blood, Cancer, Body shaming, Death, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Gore

yua's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective 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? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny and Death

Moderate: Suicide, Violence, Sexual content, Sexism, Rape, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, and Miscarriage

Minor: Abortion, Cursing, and Alcohol

morgan_07's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective 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

4.75

A well written and intriguing novel. As someone who loves dystopian novels and learning about women's issues, this book was right up my alley - especially since Atwood has said that the events of the novel all take precedents in real world events.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Misogyny, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Death, Grief, Infidelity, Medical content, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Suicide, and Violence

Minor: Alcohol, Death of parent, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Sexual harassment, and Suicide attempt

creepypiespice's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual content, Violence, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Forced institutionalization, Death, Confinement, Religious bigotry, Murder, Medical content, Medical trauma, Grief, Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, and Blood

Moderate: Abortion, Miscarriage, Torture, Homophobia, Sexual harassment, Self harm, Lesbophobia, Sexual violence, Kidnapping, Infidelity, Infertility, and Cursing

Minor: Suicide attempt, Antisemitism, and Alcohol