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Eleanor (1463 KP) rated The Handmaid's Tale in Books

Feb 12, 2020  
The Handmaid's Tale
The Handmaid's Tale
Margaret Atwood | 1998 | Essays
6
8.3 (112 Ratings)
Book Rating
It’s rare that I prefer a film or TV series to the book it is based on but I think this may be the exception. Having only seen the 1st series on TV I thought I’d give the book a go and although the world-building lives up to what I’d expect the story itself is slow and not as tense.

It’s scary and an all believable world that Atwood creates but the telling seemed bogged down in details over the mundane.

I probably spoiled myself seeing the TV series first but I’d recommend that to all. I feel the theme has been gone over plenty so won't rehash but it's a worthwhile story however you decide to consume it.
  
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Hazel (1853 KP) rated A Place Called Winter in Books

May 28, 2017  
A Place Called Winter
A Place Called Winter
Patrick Gale | 2015 | Fiction & Poetry
8
9.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Loosely based on truth
This eBook was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Loosely based upon a true story, one of Patrick Gale’s ancestors in fact, A Place Called Winter follows the life of Harry Cane during the early 1900s. The book begins with Harry being transferred from a mental asylum to a therapeutic community called Bethel Ranch. The story then backtracks to Harry’s life as a young, nervous, motherless boy and the time he met his future wife, Winnie.

Throughout the book the reader is trying to guess the reason Harry eventually finds himself at Bethel Ranch. Gale describes Harry’s marriage, his discovery of homosexuality and his move to Canada to his final stop at a homestead in a place called Winter. Does Harry develop a mental illness or is it something to do with his scandalous desires? Or, does something else happen later in the book?

After moving to Canada, Harry does not exactly have it easy and the reader feels for him as he perseveres with his new life style. We watch him grow from a timid young man into someone with his own farm and independence. It makes it all the more upsetting to read when certain things take a turn for the worse.

In this historical novel, Patrick Gale emphasizes on the way homosexuality was regarded in society. Entire families cut people out of their lives at the slightest hint of a scandal. Gale also touches on the techniques used within mental asylums during this period as well as racial discrimination.

Occasionally, the story was difficult to read as it alternated between being really interesting and then slightly dull. Overall, regardless of how much was based on actual events, it was a good storyline, and once you have started reading you feel the need to continue to find out what happens to Harry. I have only read one other book by Patrick Gale – Notes From an Exhibition – that I struggled with a little. A Place Called Winter, however, was a lot better than I was expecting.