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El cuento de la criada

Margaret Atwood,

Elsa Mateo Blanco (Translator)

Discussion: 2017 Categorías - Archivo

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2017 Categorías - Archivo

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29. Un libro con un narrador no fiable
By Scarlet Cameo · 27 posts · 145 views

last updated Dec 31, 2017 04:15PM

36. Un libro escrito por alguien a quien admires
By Scarlet Cameo · 10 posts · 84 views

last updated Dec 31, 2017 02:23PM

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What Members Thought

Dec 02, 2020 Santiago rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: dystopia, audiobook, feminism, read-in-2020

Una lectura muy necesaria y dolorosa. Me costó mucho terminarlo, no porque fuera un libro dificil si no porque escuchar en audios el dolor de esas mujeres era desgarrador. Creo que todo el mundo debería leerlo en algún momento.

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Jan 02, 2020 eri b.❀ rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: aty-2019, cazacapitulos2020, stars-2

I wait. I compose myself. My self is a thing I must now compose, as one composes a speech. What I must present is a made thing, not something born.

Ah. So this happened.

First, I'd like to talk about the thing I did like: the clear message that it is incredibly, awfully wrong to govern over women's bodies. That this is not acceptable, in any case, and especially not because allowing one thing can easily evolve in others with worse consequences. This is the thing that made me give the book two stars instead of one, this message that was not given as a thought but as a clear warning of what could happen if we don't fight for our right to own our bodies.

According to the introduction, Margaret Atwood did not create any of the dystopian elements in this novel. What she did was taking all of the real horrors people have suffered throughout the ages but, and I must emphasize this, most of them happened to poc and, especially, woc. Instead, The Handmaid's Tale took a much safer approach, making our protagonist a white, cisgender woman in her thirties. By safer I mean easier, more coward; this was not trying to represent the perspective of the ones that, historically, had suffered the most. Instead, it acknowledged that this had happened and this had been awful but, imagine if all of it had happened to a white woman instead?

The author decided to take the easy way by not choosing to show the unrepresented social positions, giving all kinds of excuses to exclude them from the narrative. I heard that the tv show makes a better job of talking about the role race plays in this kind of dystopia and I'm willing to give it a chance.

I don't think I'm qualified to talk about this, but I highly recommend reading these articles that very well capture what I felt: In Its First Season, The Handmaid’s Tale’s Greatest Failing Is How It Handles Race and Both versions of The Handmaid’s Tale have a problem with racial erasure .

So this was a turn-off for me, definitely, but what mostly made this reading insufferable comes with the concept of suspension of disbelief. I learned about it /because/ I was reading this book, this is how bad I had it. Suspension of disbelief means, basically, "this is going bonkers but I signed up for it". First pages, I bought what the author was telling me, but as more information was coming trying to explain it the less I could believe it. I couldn't keep sacrificing my logic when everything that happened was so impossible to believe. Maybe it could have helped a little if we had read about a change that happened in 50-100 years instead of... 8?

The last thing I didn't like was the characters. They were bland, including the protagonist, nothing worth remembering. I especially disliked how this was supposed to be a "feminist" book, but we didn't see at any point women bonding? The law/world/everything was trying to make them against each other, this I know, but I'm surprised that it was succeeding in a book acclaimed by its feminist themes.

Overall, I'm glad the first point I talked about was so clear and that it is being made, but I was waiting for more of a book that has been acclaimed so much. ...more

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Feb 09, 2019 Mafer Barron rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

“...nadie muere por falta de sexo. Es por falta de amor por lo que morimos.” .
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“Intento conjurar, evocar mis propios espíritus, se encuentren donde se encuentren... Pero se niegan a permanecer quietos, se mueven, una sonrisa que desaparece enseguida, sus rasgos se curvan y se doblan como un papel que se quema, la negrura los devora.” .
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#bookquotes .
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Defred no es más que un objeto dentro una sociedad teocrática, cruel y retorcida. Ella, como muchas otras, están vivas sólo por su capacidad d ...more

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Jan 01, 2025 Rock Violet rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Es una lectura... Diferente. Me intrigó porque alguien me recomendó la serie, obviamente primero pensé en leer el libro, ahora no sé si quiero ver la serie, especialmente ciertas escenas que en el libro son bastante crueles.
Me gustó y a la vez me dejó con una sensación de que algo hizo falta, aunque el epílogo fue genial. Y esa sensación de que algo falta va acorde con la historia, Defred lo menciona varias veces, ella no es una heroína, ella no va a salvar a nadie, incluso no busca salvarse a s ...more

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Nov 12, 2018 Evey rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: dystopia, stand-alones, read-in-english, 2018-reading-challenge

Loved the idea behind the book, disliked the way the story was told. I tried, and I tried as hard as I could, but I couldn't connect with the narrator's voice and the writing style was not one I could enjoy. Besides, the hype surrounding this book (what with the tv show and all) sky-rocketed my expectations... And they weren't met. The lack of a solid world building and background didn't help with my overall "meh" feeling, which ultimately made finishing this book a task, and not a pleasant expe ...more

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Sep 22, 2019 Alguien rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 1001-books, ebooks, read-2019

"Todas las noches, cuando me voy a dormir, pienso: Mañana por la mañana me despertaré en mi propia casa y las cosas volverán a ser como eran. Esta mañana tampoco ha ocurrido..." ...more

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