Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - The Handmaid's Tale

Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

297 reviews

marissasa's review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No

2.0

I read this classic not knowing anything about it other than that it had a dystopian setting that was very oppressive to women, and I feel like that short description sums up the extent of its social commentary. I wasn't really impressed or moved by the narrative, and while there were a few interesting moments and characters, for the majority of the book I was just bored. I felt like there were a lot of questions and not a lot of answers in this story, and even the answers that were given didn't feel compelling or deep. I am writing this review about a month late after I finished the book and the fact I can barely remember details about it just emphasizes how little this book impacted me or left any kind of memorable impression.

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britbratstreetrat's review against another edition

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dark emotional 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

4.0

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rubyrush's review

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challenging dark emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.75

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bradenchu's review against another edition

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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? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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llamaburger32's review against another edition

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5.0

This book is literally incredible. The dystopian elements combined with the general prose combine to make a brilliant story of feminist dystopia which devoured in a couple days.

The ambiguous ending was slightly frustrating (and all it really did was make me immediately buy the second book)

but the rest of the book definitely makes up for it and I am so glad that I got to enjoy this piece of literature.

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lexithelion's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-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

3.75

Margaret Atwood's writing skill is impeccable, there is absolutely no doubt about that. However, I can acknowledge when a book is simply not for me. Nothing much plot-wise happens in this book as it is more meant, I feel, to embody the bleakness of Offred's situation and the world she is living in. This book is dreary and bland, as the lives of the handmaids are, thus it is an incredible book in that it completes its purpose and makes you feel as though you are living in Gilead. This book is pretty boring, but that seems to be the point. It took me longer than usual to finish this book but if you enjoyed reading it, you would probably also enjoy the TV show.

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lislune's review against another edition

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Too disturbing, I didn’t want to finish it because I already know gender theory and there wasn’t a need for me to trigger myself over ideas I am already familiar with

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