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The Handmaid's Tale

Book 1 in the series:The Handmaid's Tale

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'The Handmaid's Tale' by Margaret Atwood is a chilling dystopian novel that paints a vivid picture of a society where women are oppressed and used for reproduction. The story follows Offred, a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead, as she navigates her confined life under an oppressive regime. Through flashbacks, readers witness the downfall of society into a theocratic military dictatorship and the struggles of women who are reduced to mere objects for men's use. Atwood's writing style is starkly elegant, conveying the stultifying life of the central character and offering glimpses of her past existence before the world was turned upside down.

The narrative explores themes of totalitarianism, religious fundamentalism, and the exploitation of women, all set in a world where traditional values have been taken to terrifying extremes. Atwood's brilliant storytelling weaves together a thought-provoking commentary on morality, societal laws, and the consequences of a society built on repression and control. The non-linear storytelling, coupled with the first-person perspective, provides a compelling and disturbing insight into a dystopian future that feels eerily plausible.

Characters:

Characters include Offred, who embodies the struggle against oppression, the Commander, who navigates the limits of his power, and Serena Joy, who symbolizes the societal constraints placed on women.

Writing/Prose:

The writing style is deeply introspective and lyrical, utilizing a first-person narrative that weaves together Offred's memories and current experiences, allowing emotional depth and vivid imagery.

Plot/Storyline:

The plot follows Offred, a woman subjugated in the dystopian Republic of Gilead, exploring her past life, her role as a Handmaid, and the oppressive social structure enforcing gender roles.

Setting:

The setting is the dystopian Republic of Gilead, a theocratic regime that enforces strict roles for women amidst a post-apocalyptic environment.

Pacing:

The pacing is slow, focusing on internal thoughts and world-building, gradually unveiling the narrative through flashbacks leading up to significant but ambiguous events.
We slept in what had once been the gymnasium. The floor was of varnished wood, with stripes and circles painted on it, for the games that were formerly played there; the hoops for the basketball nets ...

Notes:

The Handmaid's Tale was published in 1985 and is considered a classic work of speculative fiction.
The novel is set in a dystopian future where a totalitarian regime has taken over America, renaming it the Republic of Gilead.
In Gilead, women's rights are drastically restricted; they can no longer own property, read, or work.
Handmaids, like the protagonist Offred, are women who are forced to bear children for elite couples who are unable to conceive.
The regime uses biblical justifications for its laws, taking literal interpretations of scripture to oppress women.
The story is narrated by Offred, who often reflects on her past life where she had a job and a family, contrasting it with her current situation as a Handmaid.
The society is depicted as a rigid caste system where women are classified as Wives, Marthas, Handmaids, Econowives, and Unwomen.
The book explores themes of female oppression, religious extremism, and the loss of individuality.
The Handmaid's Tale has been adapted into a popular television series, furthering its reach and relevance in contemporary discussions about women's rights.
Atwood emphasizes that her speculative fiction is based on real historical events and societal trends, making it eerily plausible.

Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings

Content warnings for The Handmaid's Tale include themes of sexual violence, oppression, forced labor, infertility issues, body autonomy violations, and public executions.

From The Publisher:

#1 New York Times bestseller

An instant classic and eerily prescient cultural phenomenon, from "the patron saint of feminist dystopian fiction" (New York Times). Now an award-winning Hulu series starring Elizabeth Moss.

In Margaret Atwood's dystopian future, environmental disasters and declining birthrates have led to a Second American Civil War. The result is the rise of the Republic of Gilead, a totalitarian regime that enforces rigid social roles and enslaves the few remaining fertile women. Offred is one of these, a Handmaid bound to produce children for one of Gilead's commanders. Deprived of her husband, her child, her freedom, and even her own name, Offred clings to her memories and her will to survive. At once a scathing satire, an ominous warning, and a tour de force of narrative suspense, The Handmaid's Tale is a modern classic.

Ratings (693)

Incredible (148)
Loved It (230)
Liked It (189)
It Was OK (71)
Did Not Like (45)
Hated It (10)

Reader Stats (1193):

Read It (704)
Currently Reading (8)
Want To Read (294)
Did Not Finish (25)
Not Interested (162)

12 comment(s)

Incredible
2 months

20 page papers i would write about

the handmaid's tale if i were still in grad school:

-luke: kind of an insensitive guy? and maybe pulled the trigger on running into the woods too soon?

-the intersection of politics and religion: not a place anyone wants to be

-women as commodity: feminism's darkest timeline

-historians: why do they think it's okay to laugh at slavery

-the unreliable narrator, or, offred is all of us

-why bob dylan should give his nobel prize to margaret atwood

 
Incredible
2 months

A must read for a good reason!

As cautionary a tale now as when it first was written. Evocative, heartbreaking, and terrifying. I was hooked throughout. The Claire Danes narration is fantastic.

 
Incredible
3 months

Every woman in the US needs to read this book and VOTE to preserve women's rights

 
Loved It
3 months

Excellent book that really makes you think. I don't particularly like the futuristic dystopia books, but this one was alright. I appreciated the Biblical themes. It is quite frightening when one considers the possibility of themes from this book coming true someday.

 
Did Not Like
5 months

Where's the rest of the book? Offred getting taken away is a plot twist not an end!

 
It Was OK
5 months

It’s an odd book. I understand the tone of the book, if women’s rights were taken away and they were subjected to be only breeding. But the book doesn’t really express the main characters feelings on her role in society. We do get glimpses like the handmaids thoughts of hurting the man she was paired with or how robotic or brainwashed she think the other handmaids are. This book is really a lot of nothing except for those points in the story.

 
Loved It
6 months

A classic

 
Hated It
6 months

I read this for school. I had to read it more than once for school. To be fair, the writing and plot is a solid 3 stars - but I hated this book so much. I really struggled to get through it. I found it scary and depressing and it made me angry. If you like serious dystopian style novels confronting serious issues - this is your book. But I would rather just burn it.

 
Incredible
10 months

I love the drama, the realism the characters and the writing style

 
Did Not Like
10 months

Not my genre or style of writing

 
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About the Author:

Margaret Atwood, whose work has been published in more than forty-five countries, is the author of more than fifty books of fiction, poetry, critical essays, and graphic novels.

 
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