308 pages
Published Feb. 1, 1993 by Heinemann Educational Publishers.
The Handmaid's Tale is a dystopian novel by Canadian author Margaret Atwood, published in 1985. It is set in a near-future New England, in a strongly patriarchal, totalitarian theonomic state, known as Republic of Gilead, that has overthrown the United States government. The central character and narrator is a woman named Offred, one of the group known as "handmaids", who are forcibly assigned to produce children for the "commanders" – the ruling class of men. The novel explores themes of subjugated women in a patriarchal society and the various means by which they resist and attempt to gain individuality and independence. The novel's title echoes the component parts of Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, which is a series of connected stories (such as "The Merchant's Tale" and "The Parson's Tale").The Handmaid's Tale won the 1985 Governor General's Award and the first Arthur C. Clarke Award in 1987; it was also …
The Handmaid's Tale is a dystopian novel by Canadian author Margaret Atwood, published in 1985. It is set in a near-future New England, in a strongly patriarchal, totalitarian theonomic state, known as Republic of Gilead, that has overthrown the United States government. The central character and narrator is a woman named Offred, one of the group known as "handmaids", who are forcibly assigned to produce children for the "commanders" – the ruling class of men. The novel explores themes of subjugated women in a patriarchal society and the various means by which they resist and attempt to gain individuality and independence. The novel's title echoes the component parts of Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, which is a series of connected stories (such as "The Merchant's Tale" and "The Parson's Tale").The Handmaid's Tale won the 1985 Governor General's Award and the first Arthur C. Clarke Award in 1987; it was also nominated for the 1986 Nebula Award, the 1986 Booker Prize, and the 1987 Prometheus Award. The book has been adapted into a 1990 film, a 2000 opera, a 2017 television series, and other media. The ebook version was published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.A sequel novel, The Testaments, was published in 2019.
Interesting world building, but impeded by navel gazing prose. Further sullied by an ending that was almost as bad as, "...but it was all a dream!"
After 20+ years, I re-read this book both because my book club is discussing it next week and because I wanted to re-read it in conjunction with the excellent Hulu miniseries. I highly recommend it for the latter purpose, as the ways in which the series diverges from the book are very interesting in themselves. Regardless of whether you are watching the series, this book is a must-read for all women in this extraordinary political climate, as an important reminder of where an autocracy enabled by a populace that embraces the erosion of civil liberties can lead.
Absolutely lived up to the hype.
4.5 stars
This is too damn scary, given the current political climate in the United States. As we swing toward a strong right-wing militaristic future, and male US senators silence their female counterparts, and men decide what rights and healthcare women may keep, this book strikes close to current events.
The Handmaid's Tale depicts a reality that I hope never comes to fruition. I take it as a reminder of what and why we must fight against oppression of women and minorities, relationships, and education. Another reminder that totalitarianism is not a happy and fuzzy place. It is hell, created by other people, that does not benefit but a small portion of society.
“Ordinary, said Aunt Lydia, is what you are used to. This may not seem ordinary to you now, but after a time it will. It will become ordinary.”
Let's not let the current climate become ordinary.
The religious right in America seizes control of the government by blaming terrorist acts on Islamic fundamentalists, throwing the country into disarray and confusion, and taking advantage of this to repeal laws giving women equal rights and control of their bodies, and instead dropping the nation into some kind of religious fundamentalist patriarchy where white men rule supreme and women's only purpose is to bear more healthy Caucasian children. This book was written in 1986, hard to believe in 2017 it suddenly seems so very relevant...
an exceptionally depressing account
So. Many. Open. Question! It was a nice book!
Written in 1985, I should’ve read this book ages ago. But, considering our current fraught and frightening political climate, now is actually a profoundly fitting time to delve into one of the most upsetting yet eerily plausible dystopian stories I’ve read yet. The Handmaid’s Tale is set in a not-so-futuristic United States in which the government has been overthrown by an extreme Christian movement that establishes a totalitarian theocracy under which human rights become severely limited and extreme class divisions are created. Women are stripped of all their rights (they aren’t even allowed to read) and, for the class known as “handmaids”, even their personhood is lost. These women are breeding stock, valued only insofar as their ovaries are viable, kept for reproductive purposes in order to aid the ruling class during a period of sharply declining births. Our titular Handmaid is a woman named Offred, who remembers what the …
Written in 1985, I should’ve read this book ages ago. But, considering our current fraught and frightening political climate, now is actually a profoundly fitting time to delve into one of the most upsetting yet eerily plausible dystopian stories I’ve read yet. The Handmaid’s Tale is set in a not-so-futuristic United States in which the government has been overthrown by an extreme Christian movement that establishes a totalitarian theocracy under which human rights become severely limited and extreme class divisions are created. Women are stripped of all their rights (they aren’t even allowed to read) and, for the class known as “handmaids”, even their personhood is lost. These women are breeding stock, valued only insofar as their ovaries are viable, kept for reproductive purposes in order to aid the ruling class during a period of sharply declining births. Our titular Handmaid is a woman named Offred, who remembers what the world was like before as she endures what it has become. Hers is a tale of survival, resilience, and resistance. Right now Offred’s story feels less like dystopian satire than a dire warning and a rallying call. Nolite te bastardes carborundorum.
I think I would have liked this book if I hadn't had my hopes up based on friends high praises. As is I feel quite lukewarm towards this book. I started reading it with the expectation of a hard topic and something serious to ponder and was met with "blue is for wife, red is for vessel..." etc. Besides the colour scheme which felt childish and silly I felt cheated by only having the one narrator. I kind of get that it fits with the uncertainty of the regime, but it still feels like I get what this poetic word-games loving woman conjured up, and not all the realities. My favourite thing is to get into other peoples heds using books, well, this book offered me just the one somewhat boring head to get into and hardly any insights into other people.
I know that The Handmaid's Tale is renowned and well loved by many.
I know that many are using it as an example of some of the potential slippery slope politics of today.
However, I have read a Margaret Atwood book before. I did not like it, and I do not like this one either. I don't like the way she writes and tells a story. I don't find her stories engaging. I just wanted the story to hurry up and end after awhile. They go nowhere for ages and then stop. They don't end, they just stop.
This book gave me a jolt out of it every time "recent" cultural touchstones were so clearly 1980s. And much of the back story was not well-formed.
I realize I am in the minority for my dislike of this book, but I'm just not a Margaret Atwood fan.
Astonishingly good.
I already knew I liked Margaret Atwood. The whole MaddAdam trilogy was brilliant, thought provoking and fun. So I went into the Handmaid's Tale ready to find more of her very strong, direct and raw storytelling.
I wasn't disappointed. The Handmaid's Tale paints a picture of a very distopian possible future, where (Chrsitian) religious zeal has taken over government, morality and politics. It centers on the situation women find themselves in as part of this overly puritanical and totalitarian regime. They are divided in what you could call "castes", and they fear and control each other.
Through this Tale, Atwood reflects about the realities of power, control, fear, and agency. The women are forbidden to access knowledge. The men are separated from them and the isolation and loneliness rules this world.
It felt a little bit like a woman-centric 1984 (and I think that's a good thing) and it really …
I already knew I liked Margaret Atwood. The whole MaddAdam trilogy was brilliant, thought provoking and fun. So I went into the Handmaid's Tale ready to find more of her very strong, direct and raw storytelling.
I wasn't disappointed. The Handmaid's Tale paints a picture of a very distopian possible future, where (Chrsitian) religious zeal has taken over government, morality and politics. It centers on the situation women find themselves in as part of this overly puritanical and totalitarian regime. They are divided in what you could call "castes", and they fear and control each other.
Through this Tale, Atwood reflects about the realities of power, control, fear, and agency. The women are forbidden to access knowledge. The men are separated from them and the isolation and loneliness rules this world.
It felt a little bit like a woman-centric 1984 (and I think that's a good thing) and it really brought home the impotence brought about by ignorance and disconnection from others. It is also mysterious in its own way, and, no spoilers, the epilogue makes a really important contribution to the context of the story.
It felt a very relevant read in these times of religious intolerance and huge discussions about human (and particularly women's) rights.
I also hear that a TV series is being cast and will be filmed soon, based on this book. I suspect it is going to become very popular soon. So join the cool kids and give it a read! :)
La servante écarlate, c’est le Petit chaperon rouge sous l’Inquisition, plus ou moins. La narratrice ne nous explique pas grand-chose de ce qui a conduit à l’avènement d’une société patriarcale et totalitaire, dominée par la religion. Ses allusions, ses souvenirs sont les seuls indices dont le lecteur dispose.[...]
[La suite sur mon blog, merci :)]
What an intense book. As dystopias go, this is one of the most oppressive, dark and inhumane ones in any book I have read.
