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    Quilter's World

    Quilter's World

    Lifestyle and Magazines & Newspapers

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    App

    30-DAY RISK-FREE TRIAL - Download and read the current issue for FREE for 30 days. Cancel within...

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ClareR (5632 KP) rated The Testaments (The Handmaid's Tale #2) in Books

Sep 22, 2019 (Updated Sep 23, 2019)  
The Testaments (The Handmaid's Tale #2)
The Testaments (The Handmaid's Tale #2)
Margaret Atwood | 2019 | Dystopia, Fiction & Poetry
10
8.6 (13 Ratings)
Book Rating
This was well worth the wait!
The Testaments is the book that many people have been waiting for since the TV series first aired (me!). It seems that everyone likes a sequel. Well, most people anyway, because for every person that I’ve seen rave about how good this book is, I’ve seen as many say that it doesn’t live up to the original. Personally, I’m glad that it’s not written in the same style as the first book. The Handmaid’s Tale was written at a different time. 1985 is a lifetime away. We were entering a time then, where women felt hope for the future - equality seemed achievable. I’m really not so sure that we feel the same way in 2019. Certain developed countries are making it more difficult for women to have abortions, more US states are making it illegal, female children are still being married to adult males in many developing countries; climate change is having a huge impact on the poorest countries and as Margaret Atwood has said, with any disasters, natural or otherwise, it’s always the women and children who suffer the worst deprivation. So Margaret Atwood had all of these things at her disposal when she wrote The Testaments. Everything that happens to the women in Gilead has happened, or is happening, somewhere in the world.

The Testaments is written from three different perspectives. I was delighted to see the return of Aunt Lydia - and she seems to have hit her stride. She’s much more sure of herself here, even though she is still having to watch her back. Gilead may be ultra-religious, but that doesn’t stop the literal back-stabbing. Aunt Lydia shows just how high the poison has spread. We see more than the subservient Aunt that she seems to be in front of The Eyes, and her backstory is fascinating.

Then there is Agnes, a child brought up in Gilead in a high profile family. We see how girls are ‘educated’ in a world where women and girls aren’t allowed to read and write. Agnes is contrasted with Daisy, a teenaged girl living in Canada, who was smuggled out of Gilead by her mother as a baby. There are obviously some pretty big differences. I don’t actually want to say too much, because I hate having my own reading experience ruined.

I loved this book. I really liked that by the end we couldn’t actually be sure whether Aunt Lydia’s records were genuine or fabricated. The symposium at the end (just as there was at the end of The Handmaid’s Tale) casts doubt on the authenticity of the papers that were found. Just like any written records found in this situation, historians have to be open minded about who could have written them. So we’re left wondering at the end whether what we’ve just read is actually what happened.

So does this deserve to be on the Booker Prize 2019 shortlist? Yes, I think it does. I believe it’s well written, I finished feeling thoroughly entertained and emotionally exhausted! I liked the open end too. Whether Atwood does anything with this open ending is up to her really, isn’t it. But I won’t be disappointed if she decides to leave the world of Gilead here. This book is a great way to end the story.
  
    Forbes Indonesia

    Forbes Indonesia

    Business and Magazines & Newspapers

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    Forbes Indonesia is a world-class business magazine of uncompromising quality and scope, providing...

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Eleanor Luhar (47 KP) rated Adventure Time Vol. 5 in Books

Jun 24, 2019  
Adventure Time Vol. 5
Adventure Time Vol. 5
Ryan North | 2014
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Just a quick review of this, as it's pretty similar to all the previous volumes.

Familiar characters dominate the stories as usual, including Jake, Finn, BMO, Princess Bubblegum, Ice King, Marceline and even Lemongrab. The relationships between the characters are nice in this, especially regarding PB and Marceline.

The stories are funny, weird and super enjoyable, full of humour and colour and adventure (duh). The fourth wall is, of course, practically nonexistent, as the commentary along the bottom of the pages addresses the audience directly. It really immerses you in the world of Finn and Jake, as well as adding another layer of humour. The commentary makes these comics unique from most others.

The art is awesome. I still love looking through the gallery of covers at the end. The colours are so vivid and the styles are all so wonderful. It's one of the nicest comics to just look at.

Of course, it is kinda childish. But it's an easy and relaxing read, and there are some very subtle jokes and comments that only older readers will understand.

4 stars. It's a really fun read, and I love all the characters so much!