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A review by margotgabriella
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
3.0
(MANDATORY GROUP READING FOR ENGLISH)
OVERALL
This book was as confusing as one can be. We liked the concept of the story, but it was so slow-paced and sentences took forever to end that we found it really hard to read this book. There isn't much happening in the book either. And to be honest, the ending is what annoyed us the most. We know nothing.
STORYLINE & WORLD CREATING
The storyline and the world Atwood has created seemed such a good book idea, before we read it. It was a great start and this felt like it would be a 5 star book. Then, Atwood's storyline just seemed to fade away and when half done with the story, it didn't feel like there was any storyline at all. The world however, was such a great and good invented one. The state of Gilliad could've been a real life place. The similarities to our world are quite accurate. The sexism towards females, the patriarchy, the system where children are less worth than grown ups: it all resembles to our societies. So, overall, we didn't feel like there was a good plotted or even a visible storyline, but she could've done so much with the world she created.
CHARACHTERS
Offred, our main protagonist, was BORING. She wasn't really in the resistance, she did nothing against the system she so desperately hated and she definitely didn't do anything exciting for the reader to enjoy. Her thought-process (it is written in 1st person) was also not the most interesting or exciting 1st person We've ever read. The only really "exciting" thing we could find were her secret Srabble meetings with Fred, the commander, and that wasn't even so exciting.
Offglen, a.k.a. our favourite character in this book, was a rebel. She was mysterious to Offred at first and then when she dropped the 'word' she became this amazing and exciting character that we wanted to know so much more about. We felt like the end she was given by the writer, was not fitting nor wanted in this book.
Fred & his wive were both mediocre characters. Fred definitely had a mysterious side to him and his wife had some secrets too. BUT WHY DO WE NOT TALK ABOUT THOSE THINGS IN THIS BOOK? Don't look at me; ask the writer.
Overall, second characters were mostly boring and flat. There wasn't much to them and so no, they weren't as enjoyable as we expected them to be.
WRITING
When booktubers talk about this book and its writing, it is mostly positive. We have the opposite opinion. Right from the get-go, the sentences were half a page long and were full of words that we had no idea on how to pronounce nor understand them. The writing is also very slow and it takes forever to get on with the story. She consantly talks about the loss of her family and how she feels sorry for herself. We get it, you're sad and grieving but you don't have to constantly repeat that. There were also a lot of information drops that had no added value to the story. Like none. All of these defaults made it hard to follow the book and so one of us had to read it on audiobook because she couldn't keep her attention to the book while physically reading it.
We don't get it, is this supposed to be a character driven story or a plot driven story? 'Cause neither are good.
BUT, there were a few nice quotations in this book that we enjoyed. The light touch of feminism in this book is also appreciated and loved.
TO READ OR NOT TO READ
Yes, it's a classic. No, that doesn't mean you need to enjoy it. We didn't and there is nothing wrong with that. Having read and annotated the book, we understand why this is a mandatory read for many schools and universities, especially when studying linguistics or English Literature. But reading it for fun, is NOT something we recommend. The book asks a lot of attention en concentration from you and therefore isn't an enjoyable read. The characters are dull and the storyline is non-existent. The writing is slow and takes a while to get into. But if that is what you enjoy, go for it!
OVERALL
This book was as confusing as one can be. We liked the concept of the story, but it was so slow-paced and sentences took forever to end that we found it really hard to read this book. There isn't much happening in the book either. And to be honest, the ending is what annoyed us the most. We know nothing.
STORYLINE & WORLD CREATING
The storyline and the world Atwood has created seemed such a good book idea, before we read it. It was a great start and this felt like it would be a 5 star book. Then, Atwood's storyline just seemed to fade away and when half done with the story, it didn't feel like there was any storyline at all. The world however, was such a great and good invented one. The state of Gilliad could've been a real life place. The similarities to our world are quite accurate. The sexism towards females, the patriarchy, the system where children are less worth than grown ups: it all resembles to our societies. So, overall, we didn't feel like there was a good plotted or even a visible storyline, but she could've done so much with the world she created.
CHARACHTERS
Offred, our main protagonist, was BORING. She wasn't really in the resistance, she did nothing against the system she so desperately hated and she definitely didn't do anything exciting for the reader to enjoy. Her thought-process (it is written in 1st person) was also not the most interesting or exciting 1st person We've ever read. The only really "exciting" thing we could find were her secret Srabble meetings with Fred, the commander, and that wasn't even so exciting.
Offglen, a.k.a. our favourite character in this book, was a rebel. She was mysterious to Offred at first and then when she dropped the 'word' she became this amazing and exciting character that we wanted to know so much more about. We felt like the end she was given by the writer, was not fitting nor wanted in this book.
Fred & his wive were both mediocre characters. Fred definitely had a mysterious side to him and his wife had some secrets too. BUT WHY DO WE NOT TALK ABOUT THOSE THINGS IN THIS BOOK? Don't look at me; ask the writer.
Overall, second characters were mostly boring and flat. There wasn't much to them and so no, they weren't as enjoyable as we expected them to be.
WRITING
When booktubers talk about this book and its writing, it is mostly positive. We have the opposite opinion. Right from the get-go, the sentences were half a page long and were full of words that we had no idea on how to pronounce nor understand them. The writing is also very slow and it takes forever to get on with the story. She consantly talks about the loss of her family and how she feels sorry for herself. We get it, you're sad and grieving but you don't have to constantly repeat that. There were also a lot of information drops that had no added value to the story. Like none. All of these defaults made it hard to follow the book and so one of us had to read it on audiobook because she couldn't keep her attention to the book while physically reading it.
We don't get it, is this supposed to be a character driven story or a plot driven story? 'Cause neither are good.
BUT, there were a few nice quotations in this book that we enjoyed. The light touch of feminism in this book is also appreciated and loved.
TO READ OR NOT TO READ
Yes, it's a classic. No, that doesn't mean you need to enjoy it. We didn't and there is nothing wrong with that. Having read and annotated the book, we understand why this is a mandatory read for many schools and universities, especially when studying linguistics or English Literature. But reading it for fun, is NOT something we recommend. The book asks a lot of attention en concentration from you and therefore isn't an enjoyable read. The characters are dull and the storyline is non-existent. The writing is slow and takes a while to get into. But if that is what you enjoy, go for it!
Nolite te bastardes carborundorum.