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 …
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.
I was warned this book is not a fun one. Indeed it is not.
You get to see the omnipresent fear and violence of a patriarchal surveillance state. You get to see how it got there, little by little, and how it got accepted. The disturbing part is that it is very much believable...
I hadn't seen since Orwell's "1984" the effect of a totalitarian system on an individual so well described, especially at an individual level. You get to see how a single mind resists or breaks when faced with such overwhelming brutal and oppressive environment.
It is definitely worth reading, especially when you keep in mind the fact that Atwood has been censored in several US states.
