Book Blog #289: The Testament by Margaret Atwood

 

Title: The Testament

Author: Margaret Atwood

# of Pages: 13 hours and 18 minutes (audiobook)

Genre: Adult, Science Fiction, Dystopia

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Synopsis: When the van door slammed on Offred’s future at the end of The Handmaid’s Tale, readers had no way of telling what lay ahead for her – freedom, prison or death. With The Testaments, the wait is over. Margaret Atwood’s sequel picks up the story 15 years after Offred stepped into the unknown, with the explosive testaments of three female narrators from Gilead.

Review: This is the sequel no one ACTUALLY asked for. 

The ambiguous ending of The Handmaid's Tale was GREAT. Just because it leaves readers wondering doesn't mean the author should actually "give the readers what they want." In fact, it's usually better to leave things up to interpretation. But what can you do? Giving people what they want sells (take the Star Wars movies by Disney for example). 

Honestly, I didn't listen too closely to this book. Once I realized there were three different POV, I became incredibly exasperated. There are two perspectives (Agnes and Daisy) who sound very similar (the only difference is one lives in Gilead and the other lives in Canada) at least in the audiobook. 

The plot was not interesting, the organization of the three POVs was poor. I would not recommend this book. 

Book Blog #288: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

 

Title: Gone Girl

Author: Gillian Flynn

# of Pages: 19 hours 11 minutes (audiobook)

Genre: Adult, Mystery, Thriller

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Synopsis: It is Nick and Amy Dunne's fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick's clever and beautiful wife disappears from their rented McMansion on the Mississippi River. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn't doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media - as well as Amy's fiercely doting parents - the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he's definitely bitter - but is he really a killer?

Review: Gone Girl is somewhere in between 3 and 4 stars. 

I think I am sometimes too lenient with audiobooks. Gone Girl "read" well as an audiobook; the two perspectives were not too confusing, and the mystery aspect of the plot is gripping. But after finishing this book and considered giving it four stars, I began reflecting on why I felt a tinge of annoyance toward this book. 

I attributed it mainly to, of course, the POV switching. This is something that I think I notice less when listening, but it has the same issues. Since Nick and Amy each have some non-overlapping information, it drove me insane knowing more than one of the main characters. I enjoy the mystery, but I don't enjoy one of the main characters being mystified by something that is not a mystery to me.

Overall, still a good story. Really invokes the feeling of helplessness. The ending was unsatisfying me, but I would still recommend this book.