Jayson’s Reviews > The Handmaid's Tale > Status Update
Jayson
is on page 199 of 320
Notes:
(1) When I said before that the inciting incident didn't come until a third of the way into the book, I was wrong. That was a false start. It actually comes halfway through the book.
- It's been all world-building until then.
- In a twist on convention, "the rebel" isn't so clear cut.
(2) Part of the reason why I don't read much literary fiction is precisely because plot often plays second fiddle to symbolism.
— Jan 04, 2023 10:10AM
(1) When I said before that the inciting incident didn't come until a third of the way into the book, I was wrong. That was a false start. It actually comes halfway through the book.
- It's been all world-building until then.
- In a twist on convention, "the rebel" isn't so clear cut.
(2) Part of the reason why I don't read much literary fiction is precisely because plot often plays second fiddle to symbolism.
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Jayson’s Previous Updates
Jayson
is on page 299 of 320
Notes:
(1) I don't know what to make of this book. Going into the last few short chapters, I thought to myself that this better end with some oomph because there's been very little of that so far.
- I can't say it ultimately did, though I can't say it was disappointing either.
(2) The ending's meant to be ambiguous, which I can appreciate. Though the epilogue tells you what happened, which takes some steam out of it.
— Jan 06, 2023 08:45AM
(1) I don't know what to make of this book. Going into the last few short chapters, I thought to myself that this better end with some oomph because there's been very little of that so far.
- I can't say it ultimately did, though I can't say it was disappointing either.
(2) The ending's meant to be ambiguous, which I can appreciate. Though the epilogue tells you what happened, which takes some steam out of it.
Jayson
is on page 259 of 320
Notes:
(1) Even this far into the book, I don't know that I can identify a definite plot.
- This whole book has been the main character either telling things or learning things.
(2) This may possibly be the most passive protagonist I've ever read.
- More noticeable since it's a dystopian story.
- She doesn't actually rebel at all, except perhaps in her head. Really, she's coerced into breaking rules by everyone else.
— Jan 05, 2023 09:40AM
(1) Even this far into the book, I don't know that I can identify a definite plot.
- This whole book has been the main character either telling things or learning things.
(2) This may possibly be the most passive protagonist I've ever read.
- More noticeable since it's a dystopian story.
- She doesn't actually rebel at all, except perhaps in her head. Really, she's coerced into breaking rules by everyone else.
Jayson
is on page 151 of 320
Notes:
(1) "All I can hear now is the sound of my own heart, opening and closing, opening and closing, opening"
- This last line of Chapter 24 doesn't end with a punctuation, which is interesting, as well as perplexing.
- To me, it could either mean that her heart stayed open after that third round, or that, since the sentence has no end, the pattern keeps repeating indefinitely. I suppose either theory is plausible.
— Jan 04, 2023 01:00AM
(1) "All I can hear now is the sound of my own heart, opening and closing, opening and closing, opening"
- This last line of Chapter 24 doesn't end with a punctuation, which is interesting, as well as perplexing.
- To me, it could either mean that her heart stayed open after that third round, or that, since the sentence has no end, the pattern keeps repeating indefinitely. I suppose either theory is plausible.
Jayson
is on page 103 of 320
Notes:
(1) Around 100 pages in, and finally we have the inciting incident.
- In dystopian stories, it's usually the main character daring to undertake an act of rebellion, risking their life in the process: think Winston writing in his diary or Katniss volunteering as Tribute.
- Here's it's a pair of chapters where you have the expected/shocking duty of a handmaid, contrasted with the aforementioned act of rebellion.
— Jan 03, 2023 05:30AM
(1) Around 100 pages in, and finally we have the inciting incident.
- In dystopian stories, it's usually the main character daring to undertake an act of rebellion, risking their life in the process: think Winston writing in his diary or Katniss volunteering as Tribute.
- Here's it's a pair of chapters where you have the expected/shocking duty of a handmaid, contrasted with the aforementioned act of rebellion.
Jayson
is on page 50 of 320
Notes:
(1) This threw me for a bit of a loop with its use of selective quotation marks.
- Only words spoken in the immediate present get quotation marks. Anything else, be it written or a recollection, doesn't get them.
(2) Chapters 1-8 involve a trip to buy groceries.
- Definitely more about the journey than the destination.
- It does a great job at worldbuilding. Immersive and memorable, albeit somewhat uneventful.
— Jan 02, 2023 03:25AM
(1) This threw me for a bit of a loop with its use of selective quotation marks.
- Only words spoken in the immediate present get quotation marks. Anything else, be it written or a recollection, doesn't get them.
(2) Chapters 1-8 involve a trip to buy groceries.
- Definitely more about the journey than the destination.
- It does a great job at worldbuilding. Immersive and memorable, albeit somewhat uneventful.
Jayson
is starting
Notes:
(1) It's been New Year tradition for me to have either my first book of the year or the last book of the preceding year (some years both) be a super-popular novel.
- "The Handmaid's Tale" was on clearance!
(2) When I say "super-popular," I don't mean the YA novel de jour that practically no one outside Goodreads has even heard of. I mean books that everyone knows, possibly a classic or due to a hit adaptation.
— Jan 01, 2023 12:15AM
(1) It's been New Year tradition for me to have either my first book of the year or the last book of the preceding year (some years both) be a super-popular novel.
- "The Handmaid's Tale" was on clearance!
(2) When I say "super-popular," I don't mean the YA novel de jour that practically no one outside Goodreads has even heard of. I mean books that everyone knows, possibly a classic or due to a hit adaptation.
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Kadi
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Jan 05, 2023 12:28AM
Your second point is exactly why I also don’t like to read adult literary fiction or classics. They’re fantastic to analyse for English class but I wouldn’t say they’re the kind of books that you can just read and enjoy unless you’re thinking about the deeper meaning of everything.
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Kadi wrote: "Your second point is exactly why I also don’t like to read adult literary fiction or classics. They’re fantastic to analyse for English class but I wouldn’t say they’re the kind of books that you c..."I agree with that. This book, for example, I'd class more as narrative poetry than a novel. It isn't exactly airplane-reading material.
Don't get me wrong, I don't expect every book I read to take me on an adventure, I'd just prefer that there's some direction: some specific goal or problem to overcome. Even this late into the book, you don't really have that here. I'd much rather do laps in the shallow end than tread water in the deep end, if you catch my drift.
All that said, this is very well written, and I really do appreciate anything that's done well.
