Author: Margaret AtwoodDate Originally Published: 1985
Start Date: July 2nd
Completion Date: July 8th
After completing The Robber Bride last year upon recommendation from a bookish friend, I knew I had to read more Margaret Atwood. She deals with some pretty heavy issues, so I knew that reading The Handmaid's Tale wasn't going to be all fun and games.
I chose The Handmaid's Tale because it seems to be her most popular novel, at least here in America, and is also one that is typically read in high schools and colleges. I initially had no clue that the book deals with a dystopian America, so I was really surprised by her tone and the narrator's overall story at first.
Offred (Of Fred) is a handmaid in the Republic of Gilead. She was separated from her husband and daughter and placed in a camp of women who are young and fertile to learn the ways of being a concubine in order to boost the population's birth rate. Each member of society wears a different color so they can be distinguished in public. As a handmaid, Offred always wears red. Each handmaid is placed in a wealthy household run by a commander for the republic for a certain amount of time to attempt to produce a healthy baby for the family. If this does not occur, the handmaids are either transferred to another household, or sent to the colonies, which seem to be basically death traps. Commander Fred and his sterile wife, former evangelist, Serena Joy, along with other household members (the Marthas who keep house, etc.) run awkward and restricted lives with each person experiencing pain and sadness in different ways. As Offred continues with her story, she slips into different memories from the past, ranging from her childhood, to her marriage, to her handmaid schooling. She also begins to develop forbidden relationships with members of the household and find out that certain handmaids participate in a quiet resistance movement.
This book succeeds with it's message, like many other classic dystopian novels. There will always be a resistance and the black markets that come with it, there will always be sex, and innocent lives will always be taken for the "good" of the republic/country/land/cause. The Handmaid's Tale is interesting because it was written from a woman's point of view, which seems to give a little more emotion and heart to the story. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and plan to read even more Atwood in the future.
I chose The Handmaid's Tale because it seems to be her most popular novel, at least here in America, and is also one that is typically read in high schools and colleges. I initially had no clue that the book deals with a dystopian America, so I was really surprised by her tone and the narrator's overall story at first.
Offred (Of Fred) is a handmaid in the Republic of Gilead. She was separated from her husband and daughter and placed in a camp of women who are young and fertile to learn the ways of being a concubine in order to boost the population's birth rate. Each member of society wears a different color so they can be distinguished in public. As a handmaid, Offred always wears red. Each handmaid is placed in a wealthy household run by a commander for the republic for a certain amount of time to attempt to produce a healthy baby for the family. If this does not occur, the handmaids are either transferred to another household, or sent to the colonies, which seem to be basically death traps. Commander Fred and his sterile wife, former evangelist, Serena Joy, along with other household members (the Marthas who keep house, etc.) run awkward and restricted lives with each person experiencing pain and sadness in different ways. As Offred continues with her story, she slips into different memories from the past, ranging from her childhood, to her marriage, to her handmaid schooling. She also begins to develop forbidden relationships with members of the household and find out that certain handmaids participate in a quiet resistance movement.
This book succeeds with it's message, like many other classic dystopian novels. There will always be a resistance and the black markets that come with it, there will always be sex, and innocent lives will always be taken for the "good" of the republic/country/land/cause. The Handmaid's Tale is interesting because it was written from a woman's point of view, which seems to give a little more emotion and heart to the story. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and plan to read even more Atwood in the future.
2 comments:
Atwood is an interesting and thoughtful writer. She has a pretty dark vision and that can make her difficult to read. I'm glad to like the book though.
I'm glad you liked this one! This is definitely my favorite Atwood but I'd also recommend The Blind Assassin.
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