Take a photo of a barcode or cover
kayanoelle 's review for:
The Handmaid's Tale
by Margaret Atwood
challenging
dark
reflective
medium-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I have a lot of thoughts and they will contain SPOILERS! This is not going to be eloquent at all, just my thoughts straight from my brain to my phone.
First of all, I really really admire the world building. I loved the way the story was structured into the “night” and other parts and how everything seemed kind of messy. She was always thinking about her past and then drawn back into the present.
I did find it kind of boring sometimes but I understand that this is more about describing the world and giving the reader a feeling for the circumstances (I feel terrible calling something so devastating “boring”). The boredom made that kind of realistic because June had nothing to do for most of her day and reflected a lot.
That’s what I liked, too, how she analyzed things a lot but you could tell that she was - maybe unwillingly - at least partially brainwashed by the regime. Take, for example, the disgusted way she thought about women wearing shorts or tops “before”.
I also liked the symbolism with “faith” stitched into the pillow and how at the very end she said that it was ONLY THAT and nothing else.
Her feelings felt realistic, too, how she felt shame and guilt and disgust over her behavior (sometimes over things that are not inherently bad) while at the same time trying to find even the smallest sparks of ANY feeling (very understandable).
I also really liked the end because it felt perfect for the story. Maybe she got out, maybe she died. And she didn’t even care anymore.
There’s a lot of points that I feel could be discussed about this book.
1) The way that June tends to hate the women even though they are all just complicit in the new regime and all a different level of victim in this situation.
2) I found it interesting what specific things seemed horrid to me in a world where everything is terrible and dystopian (for instance the scene with June and the Commander in the hotel room).
3) The anonymization and estrangement that taking away their names achieved. Even if they wanted to get into contact with a specific person, they couldn’t have because all they ever were were the men’s property and once they weren’t anymore, they were no one.
4) How absolutely opaque everyone’s motives were. It leaves much room for speculation and I found it so interesting to imagine what Serena Joy, the Commander, Cora, Rita, Ofglen, Janine, Moira were truly thinking and what drove them.
So while I did find this very good, objectively, and just a brilliant piece of literature, I still didn’t feel the need to pick up the book and sometimes had to force myself to keep reading, thus the star ranking. Would recommend this unconditionally, though, because it’s thought provoking and inspired a lot of other works.
First of all, I really really admire the world building. I loved the way the story was structured into the “night” and other parts and how everything seemed kind of messy. She was always thinking about her past and then drawn back into the present.
I did find it kind of boring sometimes but I understand that this is more about describing the world and giving the reader a feeling for the circumstances (I feel terrible calling something so devastating “boring”). The boredom made that kind of realistic because June had nothing to do for most of her day and reflected a lot.
That’s what I liked, too, how she analyzed things a lot but you could tell that she was - maybe unwillingly - at least partially brainwashed by the regime. Take, for example, the disgusted way she thought about women wearing shorts or tops “before”.
I also liked the symbolism with “faith” stitched into the pillow and how at the very end she said that it was ONLY THAT and nothing else.
Her feelings felt realistic, too, how she felt shame and guilt and disgust over her behavior (sometimes over things that are not inherently bad) while at the same time trying to find even the smallest sparks of ANY feeling (very understandable).
I also really liked the end because it felt perfect for the story. Maybe she got out, maybe she died. And she didn’t even care anymore.
There’s a lot of points that I feel could be discussed about this book.
1) The way that June tends to hate the women even though they are all just complicit in the new regime and all a different level of victim in this situation.
2) I found it interesting what specific things seemed horrid to me in a world where everything is terrible and dystopian (for instance the scene with June and the Commander in the hotel room).
3) The anonymization and estrangement that taking away their names achieved. Even if they wanted to get into contact with a specific person, they couldn’t have because all they ever were were the men’s property and once they weren’t anymore, they were no one.
4) How absolutely opaque everyone’s motives were. It leaves much room for speculation and I found it so interesting to imagine what Serena Joy, the Commander, Cora, Rita, Ofglen, Janine, Moira were truly thinking and what drove them.
So while I did find this very good, objectively, and just a brilliant piece of literature, I still didn’t feel the need to pick up the book and sometimes had to force myself to keep reading, thus the star ranking. Would recommend this unconditionally, though, because it’s thought provoking and inspired a lot of other works.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism, Religious bigotry
Moderate: Rape, Pregnancy
Minor: Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Medical content, Suicide attempt, War