Reviews tagging 'Cursing'

The Testaments by Margaret Atwood

18 reviews

ericarao's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Pedophilia, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Death, Gaslighting, Religious bigotry, Gun violence, Misogyny, and Murder

Moderate: Kidnapping, Body shaming, Pregnancy, Confinement, Bullying, Child abuse, Suicide, and Cursing

Minor: Child abuse and War

lily1304's review

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.5

This is very different from the Handmaid's Tale. One of the strengths of the Handmaid's Tale is its lack of detail - lots of aspects of Gilead are shadowy and vague, which makes it feel like a bad dream, and the fact that the narrator has no idea what's happening politically inside or outside Gilead makes her even more hopeless and powerless.

The Testaments was clearly written partly to satisfy fans' questions about Gilead, and it has a much more traditional dystopian-adventure style than the Handmaid's Tale. You can see the three womens' stories and motivations slowly weaving together to a distinct climax. It's both a strength and a weakness - it's probably more of a page-turner than the Handmaid's Tale, but it doesn't have the same power.

The Testaments introduces the Pearl Girls / "Pearls of Great Price", or Gilead missionaries to Canada and other countries. They seemed like an intentional dig at Mormons, who are known for their pairs of missionaries around the world, and who have a book of scripture called the Pearl of Great Price. I'm not a fan of many aspects of Mormon practice and culture, but it seems extreme and unnecessary to associate them with Gilead.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Infidelity, Misogyny, Murder, Pregnancy, Rape, Self harm, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Trafficking, and Violence

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Grief, Infertility, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Alcohol, Cancer, and Cursing

chronicallyplotting's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Phenomenal tribute/ending to the Handmaid’s Tale. I love the closure Atwood has given us. The surprises with each character. You will find yourself wondering where things are going until the very end. Hard to put the book down. You will morn characters. Cheer for characters. Hate characters. So many emotions. Fans of the Handmaid’s tale you won’t regret reading this. And The Hulu series has not touched anything this book is covering as it is 15 years after the Handmaid’s Tale book left June.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, Rape, and Sexual content

Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Self harm, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, and Vomit

bradypus's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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? It's complicated

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Child abuse, Violence, Suicide attempt, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, and Homophobia

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Infertility, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, and Pedophilia

Minor: Abortion

therobinjoyce's review

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

"As they say, history does not repeat itself, but it rhymes"

Margaret Atwood does it again with this thrilling sequel to The Handmaid's Tale.

I have no words to express how much I loved this book. The chopping between testaments from Aunt Lydia, Jade, and Agnes was wonderfully done and really invested me in the tales from Gilead and the lives of the women withing it.

The plot twists were epic and had me reeling, and the whole book from start to finish was gripping, chilling, and dastardly dark. Showing the true power of man's reach and the possibilities of what could happen if the world we live in is allowed to mimic history.

A well-deserved five star rating for such an exceptional book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Cursing, Death, Forced institutionalization, Gun violence, Violence, Trafficking, Toxic relationship, Police brutality, Murder, Misogyny, and Miscarriage

Moderate: Homophobia, Infertility, Self harm, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Emotional abuse, and Confinement

Minor: Child death, Death of parent, Medical trauma, Infidelity, Sexual content, Pedophilia, and Rape

vicanarc_'s review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-paced

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

2.5

This is not a prequel book. And that's not the author fault but rather the marketing's, because i've started this book thinking  it would go into how Gilead started, and while it is mentioned, that's not the point of the book. So, if you're looking for Gilead's lore, you'll be disappointed.
After all, this is not too different from "The Handmaid's Tale", except we see differents POVs.
The book was okay, but while I want to love Atwood with all of my heart for being such a crucial feminist writer, this is my third book I read from her and they were all just mediocre for me. I hate to admit she's not the auther for me.

We get a redemption arc for aunt Lydia I didn't like. Can some characters just be evil, please? Can i just hate dangerously mysogynystic people without feeling bad?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Infertility, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Trafficking, Violence, and Xenophobia

valyn_grebe's review against another edition

challenging dark informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Death of parent, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Suicide

Minor: Bullying, Murder, Child death, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, and Violence

bookworm_nic's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective tense slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death of parent, Death, Domestic abuse, Forced institutionalization, Infertility, Infidelity, Misogyny, Miscarriage, Religious bigotry, Rape, Sexism, and Suicide attempt