so-so#UnpopularOpinion Yes, in this case you can call me a cynic but I‘m pretty sure what drove Margaret Atwood to finally pen a sequel to her brilliant dystopian novel, The HandMaid‘s Tale,is the wildly popular success of the Hula TV series adaptation. The Testaments reads like a made for TV screenplay. This book was FUN but it wasn‘t flawless. After 35 years, I was expecting a more refined novel & less of a YA caper #PraiseBe 🙏🏼 #GoodNotGreat
Cinfhen I get what you were saying now @KarenUK this was entertaining but not fully satisfying 5y
Martyn_J_Pass Ouch! This is the huge danger of being a victim of your own popularity, hence the recent chaos over GOT and JK Rowling‘s failed prequels. I‘m tempted not to read it now and avoid spoiling my love for Handmaid. 5y
Cinfhen @Martyn_J_Pass was I a little harsh?? 🙈it‘s just Margaret Atwood has written so many brilliant novels with stunning prose that my expectation were of a higher standard from this particular author. 5y
See All 28 Comments
Martyn_J_Pass @Cinfhen No, I totally agree with you. When the bar has been set so high, authors need to keep it there. I‘m a huge fan of Cormac McCarthy but ‘All the pretty horses‘ was terrible and it put me off reading any more. When you‘ve been through The Road and Blood Meridian, he cant be giving us less than his best ha ha ha 5y
TrishB I‘m not rushing anytime soon and I suspect I‘ll see a #99ponkindle offer and suddenly jump off the fence! 5y
Cinfhen @Martyn_J_Pass TRUTH!!! Although my review shouldn‘t stop you from reading The Testaments. I don‘t think the sequel “harms” the Handmaid‘s Tale and there is a sense of resolution. I also believe Atwood wanted to give us her version before Hula gave us theirs 😊😉 5y
Martyn_J_Pass @Cinfhen That‘s a good point! Shame George R R Martin didn‘t think the same way ha ha. Thanks for the helpful review! 5y
Cinfhen @TrishB I‘m thinking some nice Litten or your wonderful hubby will gift you this book as you have a bday very soon!!!! ❤️ 5y
TrishB @Cinfhen ♥️ it wasn‘t on hubby‘s pre-approved list! 5y
charl08 It would be super boring if we all liked the same things. (I just finished it, loved it!) 5y
Cinfhen My opinion is obviously not in sync with most of Litsy @charl08 so what do I know 🤷🏼♀️ 5y
AceOnRoam It's ok to just go with your gut feeling @Cinfhen - It got way too YA for me as well. 5y
Cinfhen Hi @AceOnRoam !!!! Thanks for the moral support 💕but luckily Litsy is a warm place where one can voice their opinion with ease 😁 5y
AceOnRoam @Cinfhen true true. Onward to your next great read hopefully 😘 5y
marleed I completely understand how you would feel that way. For me, I was thrilled, Ms Atwood was able to write her own conclusion - whatever that was. But about the YA thing, I get that. I felt that way about Where the Crawdad‘s sing. I love seeing opposing views as it makes me contemplate my own reading experience. 5y
Billypar Interesting- I remember being surprised about how much Maddadam seemed like purely entertaining fiction compared to her other stuff (though I liked that one, not a criticism). I wonder how much of a conscious decision the change in style was for both novels (I haven't read Testaments yet). 5y
Billypar @Martyn_J_Pass I'm with you on AtPH, but his follow-ups, The Crossing and Cities of the Plain are two of my favorites of his and favorite novels period. Even better than The Road and Blood Meridean imo, and I loved both of those too. (Sorry for the aside Cindy... Nothing to do with Atwood or The Testaments 😳). 5y
KarenUK Exactly! 👍 5y
Hooked_on_books Bravo to you for your honesty about a rabidly anticipated book by an author with a broad fan base. Truthfully, I‘m not even interested in reading this. 🤷🏼♀️ (edited) 5y
Cinfhen My criticism is my opinion as a reader but I would never speak for anyone else or try to persuade another to skip a book. This was just a case of my own expectations not being met @marleed @Billypar @Hooked_on_books @KarenUK but I absolutely understand why others are LOVING IT!! 5y
Hooked_on_books I completely agree and feel the same way about my own reviews. I just know it can be hard to express a dissenting opinion about a book/author everyone else seems to love. So I‘m glad you did that, as we all should when that‘s our opinion. I feel like I sometimes see apologetic reviews, and we shouldn‘t have to apologize for our opinions. Every book doesn‘t work for every person. 5y
Martyn_J_Pass @Billypar That‘s a bold claim lol. Now I‘m going to have to go back and take a look at them again! 5y
Cinfhen @Hooked_on_books Thanks so much, Holly!!! It is hard to sometimes disagree with the masses especially on a book that is being lauded by almost all readers. I do think most people on Litsy are very respectful of differing views so I felt comfortable #SpeakingMYTruth 😘😘😘 5y
alisiakae I fully admit that my 💜 for The Testaments is tied up in my love for HT and Atwood. It‘s definitely not her finest work, but I still enjoyed the ride. 😃 I think it helped that I went into it not looking or expecting the same level of literary writing I found in HT. 🙌🏽 to you for voicing an #unpopularopinion! (edited) 5y
Cinfhen Thanks @4thhouseontheleft I think expectations were not properly checked and I think I approached this novel with a bit of cynicism. But I‘m glad diehard Atwood fans are not feeling the sting 💕😁 5y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks We are so opposite that I‘ll probably love it!!! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 5y
Redwritinghood Totally agree, but I just really enjoyed reading it. 5y
Reviewsbylola The Litsy reviews on this have me a bit nervous. Then again, I‘d say my expectations are pretty low. 5y