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— 3.5 stars —
Well, this reread didn't changed my opinion on this book.
Re-reading The Handmaid's Tale allowed me to see new things (especially the humour in some parts), understand some others better. I managed to distance myself from other dystopian novel I've read (last time, I read this one a couple of weeks after 1984 by George Orwell and that wasn't the best idea ever). The topic is really interesting. This world is absolutely crazy.
Nonetheless, it's still not a favorite, but I understand the hype around it. Each re-read brings something new.
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(original review)
3/5 —
Très long à se mettre en place, et ayant lu 1984 d’Orwell il y a moins d’un mois, j’y ai forcément vu des similitudes dans les thèmes abordés.
Je n’ai pas réussi à m’attacher à Offred, qui pourtant était un personnage très intéressant et pleins de doutes et de questionnements.
Beaucoup de mes questions restent en suspend. J’ai eu comme l’impression qu’il me manquait une partie assez importante du livre, mais non.
Quand à l’écriture en elle-même, j’ai eu un peu de mal à m’y faire. La manière dont certains dialogues sont présentés, l’absence de ponctuation par moments, m’a déstabilisée. J’imagine que c’était l’effet recherché.
Assez déçue finalement (au vu de sa popularité actuelle, j'en attendais peut-être plus), bien que les thèmes abordés furent très intéressants et terrifiants d’une certaine manière (je pense qu’un peu plus de développement aurait été pas mal, mais c’est seulement mon avis).
Well, this reread didn't changed my opinion on this book.
Re-reading The Handmaid's Tale allowed me to see new things (especially the humour in some parts), understand some others better. I managed to distance myself from other dystopian novel I've read (last time, I read this one a couple of weeks after 1984 by George Orwell and that wasn't the best idea ever). The topic is really interesting. This world is absolutely crazy.
Nonetheless, it's still not a favorite, but I understand the hype around it. Each re-read brings something new.
—————————————◆ buddy read with the Rosende Reads book club.
********************************************************
(original review)
3/5 —
Très long à se mettre en place, et ayant lu 1984 d’Orwell il y a moins d’un mois, j’y ai forcément vu des similitudes dans les thèmes abordés.
Je n’ai pas réussi à m’attacher à Offred, qui pourtant était un personnage très intéressant et pleins de doutes et de questionnements.
Beaucoup de mes questions restent en suspend. J’ai eu comme l’impression qu’il me manquait une partie assez importante du livre, mais non.
Quand à l’écriture en elle-même, j’ai eu un peu de mal à m’y faire. La manière dont certains dialogues sont présentés, l’absence de ponctuation par moments, m’a déstabilisée. J’imagine que c’était l’effet recherché.
Assez déçue finalement (au vu de sa popularité actuelle, j'en attendais peut-être plus), bien que les thèmes abordés furent très intéressants et terrifiants d’une certaine manière (je pense qu’un peu plus de développement aurait été pas mal, mais c’est seulement mon avis).
— 3.5 stars —
Well, I needed time to digest everything I’ve read and overall, I didn’t really liked it. The thing is, yes, it wasn’t my favorite book, but I’m glad I read it.
But let me explain.
The writing was confusing. It felt like a lot was said, for few interesting things. The lack of description of the world in which Montag lived was unsettling. In my opinion, it made everything so much closer to us, so much more relevant than it should be. And sometimes, the way events are explained in the book made me angry and sad.
But it left me with hope. Why? Because there are people who actually read books, even in a world where, according to Chief Beatty, « people chose to stop reading them ». There are people who absorb and learn those books. Yes, they still burn them, but they also protect them within their own minds to teach and pass it on to future generations.
It seems like the society, at the end, is on the verge of being reborn.The bombing, creating this clean slate, this tabula rasa, almost feels like the start of something new. Yes, the government is still in power. Yes, bombing one city is not going to change a lot of things. But for me, the symbolism remains the same, and the books and stories will be passed on as they used to be, through the voices of people.
The characters were also really interesting.
- Montag: the example of the awakening of someone's consciousness. Thanks to Clarisse, he realized, but mainly accepted that something was wrong with his job and what he was asked to do. The rebellion that started to grow in his mind and actions before this meeting intensified to become something life changing for him.
What strikes me the most about him was that he didn't seem to be the typical "hero". For me, he always seemed to be excessive in his actions, and some of them where definitely not the wisest. He seemed to have no control of himself sometimes.he burnt a man alive, and I think killed two other guys before, or knocked them out. I can't remember right now...
- Beatty: the man who uses his knowledge of books to prove his point. I really liked this character, though I found him to be very contradictory.
- Clarisse: pure and innocent in a world where being like her is dangerous and can get yourself killed. I was really sad that she really died (or disappeared)
- Mildred & Faber: for me, they are the representation of two people in the society. Faber is the guy who wants to rebel, but doesn't go as far as he probably wished he would. He stays as much as possible under the radar, waiting for someone else to take action. Mildred, on the other hand, is the representation of the conformism. She'll do anything to not draw attention on her, or to avoid problems at all costs. She represents the normalcy that the society has established: denounce the sinners, do as you're told to.
- and finally the bookmen: for me, they're a lot like Faber, but slightly different. They know that what they're doing is not right. They live "outside" the society, creating they're own system. But they still live in conformity. They don't own books literally, but they still own them within their minds.
It has a strong message, which needs to be heard.
Reading is important, but so is speaking up when there's something wrong, and even more: don't wait for someone to do it. Do it yourself, because if you don't, you'll be guilty as well. As individuals, we have the power to change things. It might not seem enough, but we need to do it. Because at some point when we'll all come together, a small spark can become an intense fire.
Or, if you prefer, it only takes a small spark for a fire to be born.
This book was scary by his relevance today, confusing on many aspects (at least for me), but also captivating, because I had to force myself to put it down and think about what I had just read. This is why it wasn’t my favorite, why I didn’t really like it, but still, I’m really glad I read it.
[I apologize if there is any grammatical mistakes. English is not my first language and I'm trying to better myself by writing a lot in English]
Well, I needed time to digest everything I’ve read and overall, I didn’t really liked it. The thing is, yes, it wasn’t my favorite book, but I’m glad I read it.
But let me explain.
The writing was confusing. It felt like a lot was said, for few interesting things. The lack of description of the world in which Montag lived was unsettling. In my opinion, it made everything so much closer to us, so much more relevant than it should be. And sometimes, the way events are explained in the book made me angry and sad.
But it left me with hope. Why? Because there are people who actually read books, even in a world where, according to Chief Beatty, « people chose to stop reading them ». There are people who absorb and learn those books. Yes, they still burn them, but they also protect them within their own minds to teach and pass it on to future generations.
It seems like the society, at the end, is on the verge of being reborn.
The characters were also really interesting.
- Montag: the example of the awakening of someone's consciousness. Thanks to Clarisse, he realized, but mainly accepted that something was wrong with his job and what he was asked to do. The rebellion that started to grow in his mind and actions before this meeting intensified to become something life changing for him.
What strikes me the most about him was that he didn't seem to be the typical "hero". For me, he always seemed to be excessive in his actions, and some of them where definitely not the wisest. He seemed to have no control of himself sometimes.
- Beatty: the man who uses his knowledge of books to prove his point. I really liked this character, though I found him to be very contradictory.
- Clarisse: pure and innocent in a world where being like her is dangerous
- Mildred & Faber: for me, they are the representation of two people in the society. Faber is the guy who wants to rebel, but doesn't go as far as he probably wished he would. He stays as much as possible under the radar, waiting for someone else to take action. Mildred, on the other hand, is the representation of the conformism. She'll do anything to not draw attention on her, or to avoid problems at all costs. She represents the normalcy that the society has established: denounce the sinners, do as you're told to.
- and finally the bookmen: for me, they're a lot like Faber, but slightly different. They know that what they're doing is not right. They live "outside" the society, creating they're own system. But they still live in conformity. They don't own books literally, but they still own them within their minds.
It has a strong message, which needs to be heard.
« I saw the way things were going, a long time back. I said nothing. I'm one of the innocents who could have spoken up and out when no one would listen to the "guilty", but I did not speak and thus became guilty myself. »
Reading is important, but so is speaking up when there's something wrong, and even more: don't wait for someone to do it. Do it yourself, because if you don't, you'll be guilty as well. As individuals, we have the power to change things. It might not seem enough, but we need to do it. Because at some point when we'll all come together, a small spark can become an intense fire.
Or, if you prefer, it only takes a small spark for a fire to be born.
This book was scary by his relevance today, confusing on many aspects (at least for me), but also captivating, because I had to force myself to put it down and think about what I had just read. This is why it wasn’t my favorite, why I didn’t really like it, but still, I’m really glad I read it.
—————————————◆ buddy read with the Rosende Reads book club.
[I apologize if there is any grammatical mistakes. English is not my first language and I'm trying to better myself by writing a lot in English]
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— 2.75 stars —
I just don't understand the hype to be honest. I know a lot of people liked this book, had to read it in school, but I'm definitely not a part of those groups.
I didn't hated it though, but there are so many things that bothered me or annoyed me and I guess that—for that own purpose—it did its work. It annoyed me, but made me question things ; and that's something I like in a book. I also felt like a lot of short cuts were taken and I didn't really like that.
But it was terrifying, reading the 'adventures" of kids falling in violence andmurders . I'm surprised there are not more dead people to be honest, but that was scary, especially the way some of them entirely put aside and forgot that what they did was a crime.
Maybe I didn't get the point of this book. Maybe I just unintentionally avoided what really mattered in Golding's work and writing. A lot of things made me uncomfortable, made me frown or rolled my eyes... Maybe I should re-read it in the future, I don't know. I'm so conflicted and confused.
I like that this story made me think, and talk about it, but that book wasn't for me.
I just don't understand the hype to be honest. I know a lot of people liked this book, had to read it in school, but I'm definitely not a part of those groups.
I didn't hated it though, but there are so many things that bothered me or annoyed me and I guess that—for that own purpose—it did its work. It annoyed me, but made me question things ; and that's something I like in a book. I also felt like a lot of short cuts were taken and I didn't really like that.
But it was terrifying, reading the 'adventures" of kids falling in violence and
Maybe I didn't get the point of this book. Maybe I just unintentionally avoided what really mattered in Golding's work and writing. A lot of things made me uncomfortable, made me frown or rolled my eyes... Maybe I should re-read it in the future, I don't know. I'm so conflicted and confused.
I like that this story made me think, and talk about it, but that book wasn't for me.
—————————————◆ buddy read with the Rosende Reads book club.
— 4 stars —
This was a quick, captivating, kinda weird read but I found it funny.
The social satire, mixed with humour, was thought-provoking and interesting. I liked the way Vonnegut explained things in a more simplistic, almost naive way. Somehow, it allows us to have a better and a clearer view of the qualities and flaws of the society and the topics he decided to highlight and criticize.
There might be things that I didn't really get but I surprisingly really enjoyed reading it — way more than Slaughterhouse Five.
(still bad at wording my thoughts, and even more in English... sorry)
« Our awareness is all that is alive and maybe sacred in any of us. Everything else about us is dead machinery. »
This was a quick, captivating, kinda weird read but I found it funny.
The social satire, mixed with humour, was thought-provoking and interesting. I liked the way Vonnegut explained things in a more simplistic, almost naive way. Somehow, it allows us to have a better and a clearer view of the qualities and flaws of the society and the topics he decided to highlight and criticize.
There might be things that I didn't really get but I surprisingly really enjoyed reading it — way more than Slaughterhouse Five.
—————————————◆ buddy read with the Rosende Reads book club.
(still bad at wording my thoughts, and even more in English... sorry)
— 4.5 stars —
Wow.
Wow.
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#MagicalReadathon2019 // #OWLsReadathon ◆
My pick for the Charms class - age line: read an adult work
My pick for the Charms class - age line: read an adult work