Wildly inaccurate whale facts? Lol. They were going off what they knew at the time. I hear you though, I dnf’d it years back for those exact reasons, but I’m so glad I went back and finished it. An abridged version just wouldn’t be the same. Sometime after I finished the novel, I saw a YouTube video about a Nantucket whaling vessel and the person in the video was going over all the trinkets and what worker did what and where on the boat, and while watching I literally could call out everything the person said before they said it. It was kinda cool, I didn’t really appreciate the lil things in the novel at first, but it’s really like a snap shot of a time and place.

I can understand not liking parts of Moby Dick, it can be quite meandering, but what about the first chapters or Ismaels meeting with Quequeg? That imo was pretty top notch and a treat to read. There’s a lot of parts where the narrator bangs on about old archaic whaling terms and instrumentation, but the tedium I don’t think was apparent all throughout the book.

The books not badly written, you just didn’t like it. There’s a difference. Complaining about being stuck with Offred doing day to day chores, instead of exploring the fictional world the author built, shows me that your kinda missing the whole point. Offred is the novel, she’s the handmaid. IT’S HER TALE! Haha Jesus.

Mmmmm. I don’t know about that. Maybe for some men. But serious readers can empathize with a variety of different walks of life and enjoy a good writers story whatever the social commentary may be. I haven’t read the book, so I can’t speak specifically on its deeper meanings, but I have read Oryx and Crake, and while I can’t say Atwood isn’t a very gifted writer, I just wasn’t in love with her story telling. I liked it, I just didn’t love it. I would love for another of her books to change my mind. There’s a lot of female authors I adore. Shirley Jackson and Le Guinn are 2 of my all time favorites. I think maybe your on to something in terms of impact, that the subject matter might hit closer to home for women. But I think if a male reader loves Atwood’s other work, they’d love this one as well. Pls don’t downvote me for slightly disagreeing. Thank you.

Totally. 2 different stories.

Very nicely said. I loathe when people do this. You can dislike a book for what it is or isn’t, but attacking a writers ability, when the ability isn’t the issue is so juvenile.

To each their own is a good rule of thumb. Not everyone is gonna love the novels you love. It’s annoying for sure when someone takes to task a work you love, but when that happens I try to understand not everyone appreciates the things I found amazing about a book. But I never downvote a difference of opinion. Unless they give an unintellectual dismissive jape like, this book sucks. Lol

I got you. I find simply asking questions on Reddit get you downvotes sometimes. It’s really annoying. I rarely ever downvote posts. I mean if someone’s being exceptionally awful or snotty, I might feel obliged, but simply disagreeing with someone doesn’t merit the negative action in my book.

Good points. I think the tv show, and it’s differences led people to imagine or expect something totally different. They made the main charecter a resistance fighter, girl boss in the show. Whereas, the book offers a more grounded realistic take on what it would be like for a woman to be in that horrifying, oppressive situation. I haven’t read the book, but I heard it’s very different from the show, at least after the 1st season.

I’ve never read Handmaid, so I can’t speak to that specific book, but I have read another book by Atwood that just kinda missed the mark for me…. The first book in her genetic dystopian trilogy: Oryx & Crake. It wasn’t a bad novel by any means. I just wasn’t floored by what I was reading.