Title: The Handmaid's Tale
Series: The Handmaid's Tale #1
Author: Margaret Atwood
Published: March 1998 (originally August 1985), Anchor Books
Pages: 314
Source: Gift
Format: Kindle
Rating: 4.5/5
Offred is a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead. She may leave the home of the Commander and his wife once a day to walk to food markets whose signs are now pictures instead of words because women are no longer allowed to read. She must lie on her back once a month and pray that the Commander makes her pregnant, because in an age of declining births, Offred and the other Handmaids are valued only if their ovaries are viable Offred can remember the years before, when she lived and made love with her husband, Luke; when she played with and protected her daughter; when she had a job, money of her own, and access to knowledge. But all of that is gone now...
Series: The Handmaid's Tale #1
Author: Margaret Atwood
Published: March 1998 (originally August 1985), Anchor Books
Pages: 314
Source: Gift
Format: Kindle
Rating: 4.5/5
Offred is a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead. She may leave the home of the Commander and his wife once a day to walk to food markets whose signs are now pictures instead of words because women are no longer allowed to read. She must lie on her back once a month and pray that the Commander makes her pregnant, because in an age of declining births, Offred and the other Handmaids are valued only if their ovaries are viable Offred can remember the years before, when she lived and made love with her husband, Luke; when she played with and protected her daughter; when she had a job, money of her own, and access to knowledge. But all of that is gone now...
The Handmaid's Tale is a terrifying dystopian story where women have no rights and are instead assigned a lifestyle (for lack of a better word). The main character, Offred, is a Handmaid whose role is to get pregnant with Commander's babies.
This book left me speechless. I honestly struggled with this review. And I certainly have not given the book justice. Saying that I'm probably one of the last people to read The Handmaid's Tale so nothing I can say won't have been said before...
The Handmaid's Tale was definitely a trailblazer for the more recent dystopian books that were popular in the early to mid-2010s. I could see so many basic similarities. But this was just so much better and scarier. There's a scary realness to the story. It's in no way an enjoyable read, but it's an important one and I did like it.
The story is told from the POV of Offred. I found this slightly confusing at times as there was a lot of back and forth between time periods without warning and a lot of tangents. Very similar to how someone would naturally think I suppose (with random thoughts cropping up midway through an initial thought) so I think it worked well despite my confusion. I just wanted to keep turning pages to find out what would happen to Offred.
The ending left me completely gobsmacked. I wanted to through my Tablet at the wall. I'll be thinking about Offred's story for a long time. It's definitely something that stays with you. I just felt for Offred so much and it had me close to tears.
As I said, I really liked The Handmaid's Tale even though it's quite a harrowing read and not enjoyable in the traditional sense. I think it's a very important message. I'd honestly recommend this book to everyone (and I have raved about it to my sister-in-law who despite not being a reader has started watching the show). I've also dived straight into the TV show and sped through it and I'm now almost at the point where I'm up-to-date with the release of new episodes. I've even bought myself a physical copy of The Handmaid's Tale for my bookshelf. It's been a long time since a book has left me thinking as much as The Handmaid's Tale has.
I've been wanting to read this for a while now. Your review is excellent.
ReplyDeleteThank you! I hope you get to read it soon!
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