The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
This is another of those books that I read because a friend told me to. I didn’t really look at the description, just opened it and started reading. Needless to say, I spent the first quarter of it a little confused. The writing is absolutely amazing, but the plot is a little all over the place. It doesn’t seem to flow. We find out at the end why. Part of me wants to re-read it because knowing what I know about it may change my perception.
Having said that, it was slightly disturbing and given what goes on in parts of the Middle East these days, a little close. I’m not sure I’d say I enjoyed reading it. It kept my interest, but I found myself dragging through parts of it waiting. The ending wasn’t wrapped up nicely which makes me a little nuts. I need to know what happened, I suppose.
Worth a read to say you read it, but not a beach read, a little on the heavy side.
Description: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.
Rating: 
