Reviews tagging 'Abortion'

The Testaments by Margaret Atwood

13 reviews

evaeyre's review against another edition

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

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

5.0

an amazing sequel! It’s not directly after the Handmaid’s tale and not in her perspective either, but in turn you learn about a newer cast of characters who are equally interesting — including Aunt Lydia! such a complex and inspiring character.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Grief, Pedophilia, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Sexism, Medical content, Trafficking, Torture, Sexual content, Misogyny, Violence, Suicide, Sexual violence, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Abortion, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Death, War, Domestic abuse, and Adult/minor relationship

Minor: Vomit and Transphobia

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

beckallanpoe's review against another edition

dark reflective 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

2.25

doesn’t do anything the original book doesn’t do, if anything it ruins the world building that the Handmaid’s Tale establishes. I fear that the dogshit tv adaption put dollar signs in Atwood’s eyes and that’s why we had to suffer this boring backtrack of a book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Infertility, Abortion, Sexual assault, Miscarriage, Violence, Rape, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Sexual violence, Torture, Sexism, and Injury/Injury detail

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

kateburgers's review

inspiring reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Pregnancy, Police brutality, and Suicide

Minor: Gore, Miscarriage, Violence, Hate crime, Rape, Police brutality, Terminal illness, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Forced institutionalization, Misogyny, Abortion, Sexism, Pregnancy, and Religious bigotry

ahixon1's review

dark reflective fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Trafficking, Child death, Adult/minor relationship, Rape, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Murder, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Domestic abuse

Minor: Biphobia, Abortion, and Homophobia

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

james1star's review

challenging dark hopeful reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.25

Did The Handmaid’s Tale (THT) need a sequel? No 
Was this my vision / the best sequel? No 
Was it a satisfactory sequel? Yes 
Is it a good book? Yes 

Margaret Atwood once agains transports us back to Gilead, and Canada, via her incredible use of descriptive and psychological writing. This was an encapsulating novel and entertaining read with great world-building, character studies with a good plot. 

Thankfully we don’t have Offred as a character which really wouldn’t have bode well with me - we left her entering the darkness… or perhaps the light, this ambiguity is one of my favourite parts of THT and picked up on in the historical notes with the icon line of ‘are there any questions?’ Yes we have many! Instead the testaments follows the stories of three women: aunt Lydia, Agnes (this we believe to be Offred’s first child Hannah who was taken from her when captured trying to escape) and Nicole/Daisy (this ‘is’ Offred and Nick’s child who was smuggled to Canada as a baby) and how they each played a role in the downfall of Gilead. The plots and storylines are well written, entertaining and makes you want to read on but they do lack the psychological pull THT had. Additionally, some of the plot twists are kind of telegraphed and the stories all fit together a bit too well and cleanly… made for a tv adaptation? Maybe? I missed the messiness and uncertainty and inner fear that Offred experiences in THT. 

Another difference is how the Testaments is more action-focused and hopeful than the original - it’s the suffragettes to THT’s suffragists if you get what I mean. I liked this for sure and it’s entertaining but I did miss the inner pull and heartache, this separation of mind and body with Offred taking ownership of her mental body is her rebellion in a society where all that matters is her body and this is her power. Whereas information and smuggling is the power here, among other things. This actionness also makes the events and characters less realistic to THT but still ‘speculative’ in ways. 

Of the three perspectives, aunt Lydia’s is by far the best and most encapsulating. That’s not to say Agnes and Nicole’s aren’t - they are and Atwood writes teenaged so well and lifelike for someone in their 80s. I wanted, I needed, I should have hated aunt Lydia. She is horrible and vindictive and did so many immoral things in THT and the Testaments but I couldn’t. I loved her. She’s so cunning, so knowledgeable, so focused, so powerful. She’s a badass. I don’t only like her for her crucial role in Gilead’s downfall but also her demeanour and personality despite being a villain in a sense. But also we got to see her story, how she was forced into this position - this or death and she chose to live, to thrive in fact, to hold power behind the scenes in a country where women lost all the power they had. 

Overall, I definitely enjoyed this book and would totally recommend it. It’s a good book for sure and an adequate sequel to such an amazing literary classic but doesn’t compare in impact - how could it?  

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Pedophilia, Violence, Grief, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Death of parent, Rape, Sexual violence, Sexism, Infertility, Infidelity, and Sexual harassment

chamaeleontis's review

dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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: Pregnancy, Sexism, Terminal illness, Abandonment, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Classism, Domestic abuse, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Death of parent, Homophobia, Medical content, Misogyny, and Pedophilia

sapphic_reads's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault, Abortion, Sexism, Sexual violence, and Pedophilia

Minor: War