Reviews tagging 'Antisemitism'

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

53 reviews

czoltak's review against another edition

dark sad 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? It's complicated

3.0

“Better never means better for everyone. It always means worse, for some.”
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Such a powerful story that still resonates today. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Miscarriage, Rape, Suicide, Sexism, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Classism, Infertility, Religious bigotry, Torture, and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Antisemitism and Racism

violet_viper's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective 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

5.0

A short book but not a single word wasted. I would recommend this to anyone. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infertility, Miscarriage, and Misogyny

Moderate: Torture, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, and Violence

Minor: Antisemitism and Homophobia

ieotter13's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective 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? Yes

4.25

this book has been on my TBR list for a while and it was definitely something I’m glad I read - all criticism of the book (diversity, etc) is extremely valid, but Atwood is still able to write a compelling story that in some ways seems not too far off from our current political system. i listened to this book via audiobook and given the “historical notes” at the end it actually felt more accurate to the story to read it that way. regardless, worth the read! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Trafficking, Toxic relationship, Torture, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Infidelity, Death, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Miscarriage, Infertility, Genocide, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Racism, Religious bigotry, Rape, Pregnancy, Suicide, Misogyny, Kidnapping, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, and Antisemitism

tacochelle's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-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

3.0

Finally read this for the first time, and it's alright. Remains relevant now more than ever, to a certain extent. It is very much white feminism only, with all the minorities written out of the narrative with a few sentences. All black people shuttled out to one of the Dakotas, Indigenous people are slaughtered, the Jewish kinda got a choice to leave for Israel but not really. To be fair, if we're going with the idea that the far right evangelicals are orchestrating this takeover of America, that absolutely tracks. It's still a noticeable absence in the narrative.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny and Sexism

Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Classism

Minor: Antisemitism and Racism

salem0's review against another edition

dark inspiring reflective 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

4.25

as i do with most books, i'm writing this review after several months of reflection.

so... i really wanted to love this, especially after watching the incredible (at least till s4/5) show. i do think this story has some powerful messages, an interesting concept, it's good at making you feel tense, and it really makes you reflect on how women's rights are like in this age- gilead brings to mind many current events that have occurred (particularly in 2022). i thought the ending was very thought-provoking too. but overall it just didn't do it for me. it's a nice enough book, but to me it wasn't very outstanding, and a bit dull in some parts. i appreciate this nevertheless, for its impact on modern lit and discussion of feminism.

edit: did a reread, 23/05/24
this is definitely better than i remember. the prose is actually so wonderfully written, if very confusing at times. the story of offred is so compelling, her story is one of the most human stories i've read in a while. i've boosted the rating in reflection of that.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Suicide, Sexual content, Rape, and Violence

Minor: War, Torture, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, and Antisemitism

alexander1776's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

Just sensational.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Infertility, Classism, Violence, Torture, Medical content, Rape, Misogyny, and Murder

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Antisemitism, Homophobia, and Abortion

Minor: War

theimposter's review against another edition

emotional 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Misogyny, Alcohol, Antisemitism, Classism, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Kidnapping, Rape, Sexual violence, Homophobia, Slavery, Torture, Murder, Sexual content, and Suicide

claireswale's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.5

I read this book because I know it’s somewhat of a classic and I never watched the TV series so I wanted to know what it’s all about. I didn’t really like the main character as she seemed a little weak to me but she kind of admits that herself. The pace is slow because you don’t really find out what’s actually going on until the last chapter which is a little frustrating. Even then there are a lot of unanswered questions. I had to google for an explanation of the ending because I needed to see what other people got out of it that I might have missed! It’s also pretty eerie to read in a post Roe v Wade world…

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Suicidal thoughts, Infertility, and Suicide

Moderate: Death, Antisemitism, and Miscarriage

pandalesque's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad 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? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Sexual violence, Violence, Gaslighting, Antisemitism, Infertility, Child death, Racism, Miscarriage, and Slavery

annoyingtwig's review against another edition

dark reflective 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Sexism, and Misogyny

Moderate: Infidelity, Sexual harassment, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Pregnancy, Suicide, Islamophobia, Alcohol, Antisemitism, War, and Gore