The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

Lynnie

Amy    
   

dystopian, fiction 


Lynnie's Review 

I first read this book in high school, shortly after it was released. I can't remember now whether it was assigned or if it was just a suggestion by my AP English teacher, but my reaction to it then was very similar to my reaction now- this is a book that makes me angry.

When I first read it, the very notion of women having their rights completely stripped away as government was taken over by religious extremists seemed so absurd to me. These days, however, as women's reproductive rights are systematically being challenged and in many cases removed, it seems much less the realm of fantasy and more like a possibility. I won't get into the interdependence of cultural and structural violence, but this book demonstrates exactly how that works- the culture believes that women are "less than," that they are literally only good for certain tasks and not to be trusted to make decisions for themselves or others, then reinforce that believe with the structural design and rules for the population, which reaffirms the cultural beliefs.

I have not seen the miniseries, and have no intention of doing so, but I think this book is an important work of fiction that demonstrates how quickly evil can spread under the guise of "what's best" and how people are likely to stand by, feeling helpless and watch it unfold.

Amy's Review

In The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, a woman’s life is stolen from her (along with her husband and daughter) and she is held hostage by an organized culture that forces her (and some unknown number of others) to be a baby-maker for a man and his wife who are unable to conceive.

I had expected something more compelling.  I mean, I wondered how things had gone wrong in this world and was curious enough to keep reading, although I was never grabbed by the story or the characters.Unfortunately, these grim details were unsatisfactorily and slowly doled out in almost casual thoughts that were given suddenly and out of context in many instances.  So, I often had to re-read a passage after asking myself if I had just read what I thought I’d read.  I normally don’t mind a jumping between time periods but this was done in a jerky, disorganized manner so I was often confused. 

This novel had been on my To Read list for years. I had heard mixed reviews about it so had not gotten around to actually reading it until it was a book club selection.  I never watched the television show because the premise did not interest me. Now that I’ve read the novel, I’m still not interested in the TV show.