This book was well written and I'm glad I read it. I felt, as a Canadian, that it was part of my cultural education to read at least one Margaret Atwood book!
Over the years I've heard Atwood offer opinions on various subjects (for a time she was often interviewed by the CBC when they were seeking insight into different subjects) and she was well known to be an opponent of free trade with the USA. I usually found those interviews frustrating as I didn't like the way Atwood expressed herself - it wasn't about whether I agreed with her point or not, I just found her incredibly pompous and condescending. I need to say this because I'm not sure if these opinions are influencing my feelings about her writing.
Overall I found the writing to be pompous and the plot was unsatisfying. While the story was interesting and the characters reasonably well developed, the characters didn't grow or change.
The world described in this book is a feminist's nightmare and I consider myself a feminist (growing more and more radical with each passing year). I thought that I'd come away from this book motivated and inspired to continue to fight against the very patriarchy played out in this story. But I didn't. In the end I was disappointed and somewhat depressed.
While you can see this book as a cautionary tale of what can happen when women are oppressed, there was no corresponding encouragement to fight against such moves in our society.
Too bad, I'd hoped for better