The Handmaid's Tale is a radical departure for Margaret Atwood. Set in the near future, in a locale that oddly resembles Cambridge, Massachusetts, it describes life in what was once the United States. Now, however, it has become the Republic of Gilead, a monolithic theocracy that has reacted to social unrest and a sharply declining birthrate by reverting to the repressive intolerance of the original Puritans, and has gone far beyond them. This regime takes the Book of Genesis absolutely at its word, with bizarre consequences for women, and for men as well.
The story is told through the eyes of Offred, one of the unfortunate "Handmaids" under the new social order. In condensed but eloquent prose, by turns cool-eyed, tender, despairing, passionate, and wry, she reveals to us the dark corners behind the establishment's calm facade, as certain tendencies now in existence are carried to their logical conclusions.
The …
The Handmaid's Tale is a radical departure for Margaret Atwood. Set in the near future, in a locale that oddly resembles Cambridge, Massachusetts, it describes life in what was once the United States. Now, however, it has become the Republic of Gilead, a monolithic theocracy that has reacted to social unrest and a sharply declining birthrate by reverting to the repressive intolerance of the original Puritans, and has gone far beyond them. This regime takes the Book of Genesis absolutely at its word, with bizarre consequences for women, and for men as well.
The story is told through the eyes of Offred, one of the unfortunate "Handmaids" under the new social order. In condensed but eloquent prose, by turns cool-eyed, tender, despairing, passionate, and wry, she reveals to us the dark corners behind the establishment's calm facade, as certain tendencies now in existence are carried to their logical conclusions.
The Handmaid's Tale is A Clockwork Orange as seen by women: unexpected, funny, horrifying, and altogether convincing. the book is at once a mordant satire and a dire warning. this is Atwood in top form.
I have not watched the TV series based on the book before reading it. I prefer it in that order.
I was caught up in the story from the first few pages. It describes a dystopian future regime in the former United States with very strict rules and control and abundant capital punishment for those who step a bit out of line.
The story has chilling similarities to some of what I read about present-day conservative America.
The Republic of Gilead is a military regime based on fundamentalist Christian values. There's no place for freedom, for choice, for self determination. Women in particular have been stripped of all their rights and are divided into castes. The narrator and main character, Offred, is a Handmaid and her only function is to breed.
This is a very good novel, and a pretty scary one, considering how the rights of women, particularly reproductive rights, are constantly under attack by the religious fundamentalists and right-wing politicians. The dystopian society depicted in this book is far too plausible, at least in some of its elements...
Świetnie wykreowany oryginalny świat. Fabularnie jednak pierwsza połowa nie zachwyca, za to druga nadrabia za pierwszą.
Zakończenie nie jest satysfakcjonujące - po co pisać całą książkę, skoro można pod koniec dać suplement historyczny i wyjaśnić o co w książce w ogóle chodzi.
Wielką wartość dostrzegam w ukazanej pasywnej reakcji na działania reżimu.
Kapitalny pomysł, który nie został tu wykorzystany, za to z wielkim potencjałem na całe uniwersum.
I found this book mostly fascinating and terrifying. With our current political and religious culture this could be a possible future.
I loved the prose and Claire Danes was perfect as narrator. I would absolutely read it again. Maybe with my eyes next time.
I did have to take a short break because it was so heavy emotionally. That's not to say there's much in the way of emotional writing because the narrator, Offred, is not emotive in her telling. She's sharing her story in a direct way. Well, direct in that she's giving facts and reasons behind her decisions. There are a few places where she gives her more personal feelings but she tries to keep it to a minimum. I think this forced me to experience my own emotions rather than feed off of hers.
Started off a little slow.... but the book really grabbed me about halfway through. I think I read the last 150 pages of the book in one sitting. Really interesting exploration of mono-theocracies and the social implications they bring. Not quite sci-fi, but definitely dystopian. I really enjoyed piecing together the new world of 'Gilead' based upon the bits of information Offred knew. Very unique twist to the 1984 and Brave New World versions of the future we've seen over and over again.
