Wonderful read... | The Handmaid's Tale: A Novel

Masterpiece | The Handmaid's Tale: A Novel | Margaret Atwood

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	• The Handmaid's Tale: A Novel Margaret Atwood Anchor, 1998 - 320 pages average customer review:based on 548 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

A timeless classic with a unique concept!

I'm fascinated by the reviews that indicate this book is now assigned in English Lit classes. That alone is testament for reading this book. I read it for the first time nearly twenty years ago. As an avid reader, and a re-reader - it stills stands out for it's unique concept and characters - regardless of your political beliefs (and given when it was written - I'd encourage even younger readers to be a bit less skeptical about it's political agenda).Well-executed "what if" concepts with characters you care about can be hard to come by.

This is a book that intrigued me from beginning to end--- twice. Having seen the movie (a huge dissappointment - that reflects 1/1000th of the book) and read other Atwood books (thinking - way back when - that I'd discovered a great new writer) I unequivocably recommend this book - and urge you to avoid the movie and not have such great expectations for her other works.

If you find you like delving into a unique, character driven "what if" scenario (though these will probably not get recommended for English Lit class) ---- I also recommend Through Violet Eyes, The Time Traveler's Wife] and [[ASIN:0316068047 The Host: A Novel.

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Wonderful read...

I have recommended this book to everyone around me. Though the story was only so-so, the beauty of how it was written made this a must-read.

What are you waiting for? Read it!!!

Masterpiece

Handmaid's Tale / 0-385-49081-X

This dystopia masterpiece, set in a modern world that still rings eerily familiar, years after the publication date, describes the daily life and desperation of a woman caught up in a social struggle that she cannot influence.

A state of emergency has been declared, the national borders have clamped closed, and martial law rules the country - a country that had previously been open, democratic, and free. Who is the enemy? That isn't always clear. A religious group, perhaps, or terrorists, but - maybe - the government is lying about the war, who they are fighting, and how it is going. Like the fictional author, a prisoner in the country she once loved, we only she what she is allowed to see. In this time of despair, terror, and lower fertility caused by modern chemicals in the water and air, the majority of citizens are willing to give up their rights in exchange for a fleeting feeling of security and protection.

When the state of emergency is declared, a fundamentalist Christian-based sect of the government takes over, using Biblical passages wildly out of context to justify denying basic rights of citizenship to women. Women are no longer allowed to work, hold property, carry money, or read or write. The men - husbands, fathers, and brothers - are given the women's former belongings and are charged with their safety. The new "work" for women is bearing children, or (for older, infertile, upper-class women) being "good" wives. Divorce is retroactively criminalized, and women in second-marriages are rounded up as criminals and put to work as private sex slaves, making heirs for the privileged and politically connected. This is the story of one of these women. She tells of her loss of freedom, her sorrow at her husband's death, the pain at having her daughter torn away from her, and the slow mental decay as she sleepwalks through her new life - the endless waiting for nightfall, the humiliation of her "work" in trying to conceive a child.

The story is a work of art, and a masterpiece. The pacing is slow, leisurely, and even. We are gently and carefully walked through the life of a handmaid, we see the horrors and pain, and - like our heroine - we are numbed by it. Shocked, saddened, and pained, yes, but mostly numbed. We see the signs outside the grocery stores - with simple pictures, only, because reading is illegal for women. We see the slow crawl of days, stripped of freedom, monitored even while she is bathing, lest she attempt suicide. We see the other women, the ones who have accepted their fate and have come to adore their captors and the ones who have rebelled, fought back, and lost their lives dying for reclaim what was once there own.

Even the epilogue, which Atwood has attached without a word of explanation, is a dash of sharp irony. Against all hope, the diary which we have been reading, written by this abused woman, has been found by later historians. These wise and 'modern' men are entranced by the diary, but not because they care about the horrors this woman has lived through. No, they are not here to 'judge' history, they only want to read her innermost thoughts, open her up, place her in history, date her and sign her and then delegate her to a nice shelf somewhere to quietly rot. Even in death, our lost lady has no name, no identity, no worth in herself, not because she is unimportant, but because the people who have power over her cannot appreciate her worth. Their priorities are wrong, and they can only consume others, without contributing anything worthwhile to society.

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Intriguing

I enjoyed this book. It could be deeply thought provoking or just a great story. I simply liked the "what could happen if..." prospective.

"Offred" tells the tale of many characters and how they find their way. It shows everyone has their unhappiness is life, but there are slices of happiness too.

Set in current times it has the feel of history....and maybe that's what swept me in.

A story without a story

If you are looking for a fascinating plot, The Handmaid's Tale might not be for you. In re-creating her dystopic, monotonous world, the typical event structure of novels is sacrificed. The setting and characters, however, are incredibly well-thought-out and detailed. From clothing to titles to shopping methods to coming-of-age ceremonies, Atwood has left nothing out. There is no real beginning, and no real ending either--just a slow march of pages (indeed, there are at least three chapters entitled "Night") that still keep you enraptured and horrified.

While a fascinating book, The Handmaid's Tale is an exercise in imagination and thus might not be for everyone. However, if you have an interest in women's issues, this book is almost required reading.

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In the world of the near future, who will control women's bodies?

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 only valued if their ovaries are viable.

Offred can remember the days 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....

Funny, unexpected, horrifying, and altogether convincing, The Handmaid's Tale is at once scathing satire, dire warning, and tour de force.

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