Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

The Testaments by Margaret Atwood

20 reviews

adastrame's review against another edition

dark reflective tense 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

4.25

A very interesting peek into Gilead, this time from the perspective not of a Handmaid, but of three other types of women - an Aunt, a future Wife, and a teenage girl from the other side of the border (Canada). This way way more suspenseful than I anticipated, allover an expertly crafted narrative, but I expected no less from Margaret Atwood.

My only complaint is that it didn't quite make sense to me why SpoilerNicole had to go to Gilead herself. She seems absolutely unfit, and literally anyone else could have done what she did.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Sexual assault, Religious bigotry, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, and Misogyny

kyrstin_p1989's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

5.0

It took a minute to realize there were three POV but when I did, the story started coming together so nicely. I really didn’t want to put this down. I’m a sucker for a dystopian, corrupt-government tale, and this, much like The Handmaid’s Tale, didn’t disappoint. I really enjoyed getting a peek into Aunt Lydia’s mind. Atwood’s work continues to be timely and relevant and this sequel to the 1985 Handmaid’s Tale was equal parts fascinating and horrifying. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Classism, Gore, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Infidelity, Medical content, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Rape, War, Trafficking, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Incest, Infertility, Sexism, Violence, Toxic friendship, Suicide attempt, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, and Child death

kileyjojo's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful tense fast-paced

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

4.5

This is a pretty good follow up to The Handmaid’s Tale. It wouldn’t make much sense as a stand-alone novel so if interested in reading it, the first should be read.
I didn’t expect to have a lot of sympathy for some of these characters and I didn’t at the beginning of the book, but Margaret Atwood surprisingly makes that possible. This goes the opposite way as well, though. This book is a triple perspective one and I found myself disliking characters that are meant to be flawed but liked. Overall, it’s a great follow up to the first book and definitely worth a read if you’re a fan. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Trafficking, Gaslighting, Infertility, Religious bigotry, Suicide, Kidnapping, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Sexism, Suicide attempt, Torture, and Cursing

Moderate: Abortion, Grief, Infertility, Death of parent, Miscarriage, Confinement, Colonisation, Blood, Self harm, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, and Toxic friendship

balamaqab's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse and Sexism

Moderate: Misogyny, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Suicide, Abandonment, and Abortion

theimposter's review

adventurous mysterious 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: Death of parent, Physical abuse, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Genocide, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Murder, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Incest, Suicide, Death, Sexual violence, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Bullying, Confinement, and Classism

avocadotoastbee's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful tense medium-paced

3.5

The Testaments is not really what I was hoping for.
In the acknowledgements, Atwood says that The Testaments answers questions left by The Handmaid's Tale and shows what happened after the novel. In my opinion, however, it doesn't do that at all.
Don't get me wrong, there was definitely more information about Gilead and what led to its downfall, although it is never really said how Gilead collapsed.
Another thing that really bothered me was that it basically stuck to the extended storyline and characters from the Hulu series The Handmaid's Tale. I would have liked the book much more if it had been narrated by other characters and abandoned the plot of The Handmaid's Tale's nameless narrator (June) completely, or at least partially.
All in all, I think Margaret Atwood did a great job of building this dystopian world (some of which, unfortunately, isn't that far from the reality we're living in right now), but The Testaments didn't meet my expectations and was predictable, and kind of unnecessary.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual assault, Torture, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Sexual harassment, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Pedophilia, Suicide attempt, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Incest, Classism, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Infertility, and Infidelity

Minor: Murder

leonormsousa's review against another edition

adventurous inspiring mysterious slow-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Sexism, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Violence, Abandonment, Abortion, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, War, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Deportation, Domestic abuse, Grief, Torture, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Rape, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Infertility, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, and Sexual violence

jlohnes's review

dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Physical abuse, Gaslighting, Classism, Torture, Slavery, Sexual content, Violence, Sexual assault, Misogyny, Emotional abuse, and Domestic abuse

thejuliette's review

adventurous dark medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexism, Trafficking, Torture, Suicide attempt, Sexual assault, Murder, Misogyny, Gaslighting, Adult/minor relationship, Violence, Rape, Physical abuse, Gun violence, Suicide, Pregnancy, Pedophilia, Miscarriage, Medical content, Infertility, Death of parent, Death, Cursing, Child death, and Mass/school shootings

jaylaccey's review

adventurous dark hopeful inspiring 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? It's complicated

5.0

Margaret Atwood is truly a phenomenal writer. She grips you into the world of Gilead and challenges you to think about how this society could possible come to be from the basis of our own. History cannot repeat itself, and it were, we could be looking at a society similar to Gilead. A perfect sequel to the Handmaid's tale, a book that ends with a slight glimmer of hope. The Testaments hand you a glowing jar of hope at the end, begging you to hold onto it, so that it may inspire you to not let an evil dystopia take it away.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence

Moderate: Death, Child death, Murder, Religious bigotry, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Classism, Misogyny, Self harm, Pregnancy, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, and Suicide attempt