Reviews

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

cyberhex's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

5.0

pin's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

5.0

I have tried to read the Handmade’s Tale now 3 times and finally finished it.

It would feel wrong to give it anything other than 5 stars and yet I hate this book.

Not because of the story or how it is written (Atwood has in my opinion an amazing style of writing)

But because it feels too close to home, it feels too realistic 

And that is likely in big part due to what Atwood mentions in her intro about the book

She wanted to write a story based on things that have happened or were happening at the time and not inventing anything new

And even though the book has been published for almost 40 years now, it is staggering how much of it rings true

I am glad for the way the book ends, it eased the nausea had throughout at least a little

This will stick with me for a long time, of that I am sure

errski's review against another edition

4.0

This book is probably the most horrifying thing I've read in a long time... but don't let that scare you, it's a really great read. The writing style is different and keeps you invested throughout. The true horror of this book is how relevant it is and has been since it was written and continuing well into the future. Atwood created a dystopia that may (unfortunately) stand the test of time, we can keep looking back and wondering about this one... She bases a lot of her ideas about Gilead in logic that is very real in some people's minds, whether they can see the full intentions of their thoughts/opinions/actions or not. Anyway this book is worth a read (and a re-read if you can stomach it) in your lifetime.

alixopa's review against another edition

3.0

نویسنده اون وضعِ ویران‌شهری رو آروم‌آروم به خواننده نشون می‌داد و کم‌کم می‌فهمیدی با چه فضایی طرفی.
ترجمه‌ش افتضاح نبود، ولی به نظرم ترجمه‌ی موفق و دل‌نشینی هم نبود؛ «آن» نداشت به‌اصطلاح.
روابطِ بینِ شخصیت‌ها اصلاً خوب پرداخته نشده بود، به‌ویژه رابطه‌ی «عاشقانه»ی تهِ کتاب.

remilauren's review against another edition

3.0

Throughout reading, I kept waiting for something to happen. I don't know what really I was expecting but the end didn't really make sense to me. Now, is the sequel for that? Or am I not understanding this well enough, am I missing something, I won't know.

All the great reviews saying the book would stay with me, um, as of now I doubt that would happen. On the other hand, the not-so-happy reviewers' comments on quotes, it really didn't bother me much.

On the whole, I don't hate this book, it was worth reading. But it didn't impact me anyhow. Will read the sequel and see if it does something.

Update: I read the Historical Notes chapter after seeing some of the reviews. It's definitely helped me understand the other characters. It's given a justification to the ending. But I wish this could have been incorporated as a part of the story rather than having a single chapter. I felt as if this chapter told me much more than what the entire book had to tell.

colombots's review against another edition

adventurous dark sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

sarahmaae's review against another edition

4.0

this was so impactful. although I had to read this for school, I loved it. I felt sick reading it in the best way. I wanted to punch every single one of these characters. I wanted to scream and cry for the women in this book. I hated every second of it. It was amazing. All of this built up to an emotional, enraging story that all simply fell flat. I felt like I was running alongside it, keeping pace with it, until it suddenly stop running, said goodbye and started heading the other way. ive never loved a book and despised an ending so much so rating this was rather difficult. there is no way I can give it a 5 so a 4 suffices.

zantyu2's review against another edition

4.0

Very cool and different ending 

yannafr04's review against another edition

3.0

actual rating is 3.5 stars. i did enjoy this book, however it wasn’t everything i thought it was going to be. i think the world itself is absolutely terrifying and something that isn’t too far off from what could be reality one day, but the world building itself wasn’t hitting for me. i think that i might’ve missed some things however because of this particular writing style. it was hard to keep up with where we were at and at what period in time. but nevertheless this book is something that should be read by everyone. this story does an amazing job of showing what happens when you don’t pay attention, when you live blissfully in your ignorance. it’s truly horrific. yet we continue to turn a blind eye. we’ve learned nothing.

rachel_young24's review against another edition

challenging dark informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0