Atwood truly has an interesting way of deriving ideas and presenting them with potentially intriguing characters. Bundle that with her erudite prose and it's not surprising she's had a successful career.
In this novel, Just as you reconcile yourself with the idea that the nature of the narrative might be to disguise it's true intentions - just like all the major protagonists do - it breaks down into the simplistic reacquaintance with referred characters. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised that the (welcome) ending was spoiled by the superfluous historical note.