The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
Synopsis:“Offred is a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead. She may leave the home of the Commander and his wife once a day to walk to food markets whose signs are now pictures instead of words because women are no longer allowed to read. She must lie on her back once a month and pray that the Commander makes her pregnant, because in an age of declining births, Offred and the other Handmaids are valued only if their ovaries are viable. Offred can remember the years before, when she lived and made love with her husband, Luke; when she played with and protected her daughter; when she had a job, money of her own, and access to knowledge. But all of that is gone now…” -Goodreads
I read this book, because I had read a few short stories and poems by the author before and really enjoyed them and because this book was highly discussed about, praised by many authors I adore and placed in numerous “best” lists.
Thoughts
- deals with current and important topics such as human rights, gender equality, freedom of speech
- confusing writing style: lots of flashbacks and no quotation marks, sometimes hard to figure out who is speaking
- explicit use of language, swearing
- detailed descriptions
- eery atmosphere
- thought provoking
4/5 ⭐
Daddy long legs by Jane Webster
Synopsis:”When Jerusha Abbott, an eighteen-year-old girl living in an orphan asylum, was told that a mysterious millionaire had agreed to pay for her education, it was like a dream come true. For the first time in her life, she had someone she could pretend was “family.” But everything was not perfect, for he chose to remain anonymous and asked that she only write him concerning her progress in school. Who was this mysterious gentleman and would Jerusha ever meet him?” -Goodreads
Thoughts
- weird , because the letter only consists of letters from one person.The recipient never answers and again the book ONLY consists of letters, so no dialogues and basically no scenes at all! So, the entire book is basically a huge monologue.
- boring, since the reader only sees things from this character’s point of view. All in all she is pretty much the only character the reader really gets to know.
- confusing and illogical: The protagonist is sending letters to a man she knows nothing of(not even his NAME!). She is asked to send him letters only once a month and yet she sends him letters on an almost daily basis, although he never responds! I really can’t understand why she does such thing. I mean, yes she is an orphan and is lonely, but she has found many good friends at the university she can talk to. So, why send letters to a man, she know ABSOLUTELY nothing(except the fact that he is tall)about. In addition to that, he never responds, which means she doesn’t even know if he reads the letters or not. It is basically like writing to air!
- At some point he actually responds to her, but how? Via a messenger. And what does he say? That he forbids her to do the things or go to the places she wanted to do or go to and all of this without explaining why. So, he basically bosses her around.
- Fortunately, she is better than that and doesn’t let him control her life and makes her own decisions.
- Sofa little recap: This man apparently claims at the beginning that he despises girls. He isn’t ready to give Jerusha his name and gives her a random name instead. He doesn’t respond to her letters and when he does, it is to tell her that he disapproves of her decisions. Instead of simply sending her direct and personal letter, which is all she desires he attempts to spoil her with gifts and money. In the end he reveals himself as a man who is 14 years older than her and the uncle of her friend. And what happens? They MARRY! 😩😳👀
- Sorry, but I truly can’t understand these characters!
- In my opinion this book is definitely overhyped.
1/5 ⭐
I really don’t mean to offend anyone by my reviews. These are just my opinions, So, feel free to let me know what you think of these books. Which books are overhyped in your opinion?