The Handmaid's Tale
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Multiple editions, click to view covers:
Recommended By
Emily S., NSS, Deepti, Caitra, Rebecca Adler, RobynR, Windi Hornsby, Molly Peterson, Danette Ricks, MUtopia, bookcollector, DeeDee, Nikki, Aleks, Kamigaeru, bunnicula, ArtichokeHeart, Abby Bowman, birdseyeview, elise, Andre, simian, Erin, and Lin Snow.
Planning on Reading
Christian , mae, Meaghan Madge, Plebean, and redlily.
Suggested To
Chris Donaghey and Manda.
Book Details
Written by Margaret Atwood.
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($14.95)
Editorial Review (from Amazon.com)
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.
User Reviews (4) Login or create an account to write a review.
Danette Ricks thinks this book is Excellent.
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RobynR thinks this book is Excellent.
Good read, very imaginative - like how she chose to wrap the book up.
Rebecca Adler thinks this book is Excellent.
If you haven't read an Atwood book, I suggest you pick one up ASAP. Her books are amazingly well written. She tells the story in a way that keeps you wondering throughout and wanting to get to the end so you know everything. She tells you a little bit at a time, with only some of the details in the beginning so you have to wonder what happened in the world she's created.
In this story, men have taken over the United States and taken away all women's rights. They've also invoked the law of Rachel and Leah, which comes from the Bible, in which Rachel could not have children so she asked her husband to sleep with the handmaid so they could have a child of their own. The men in the book warp this bible reference to mean that it is women who are barren, not men who are sterile. If their wife cannot have children, not tests are done, it is assumed that the woman is the problem and the couple is given a handmaid for two years. If the handmaid does not become pregnant after being stationed with three different couples she is killed.
The book shows what it would be like if women's rights were taken away. It shows how people can be forced to believe in anything if there is enough fear. And it shows that there will always be a small few who are willing to risk their lives to change the status quo. It's an interesting tale and I especially loved the historical afterword.
Emily S. thinks this book is Excellent.
This was one of the few books I read that told of a future society that I found believable and not just a rehashing of ideas first presented in 1984. Well written, intriguing, with a good ending.