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A review by melissasreads
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
4.0
*4.5 stars
wow!! I really enjoyed The Handmaid's Tale! I stepped outside of my comfort zone and am so glad I did :)
a future society that is not far fetched and very scary to think about!
a little hard to get into but once I was, I was hooked!!
Final Review:
The Handmaid’s Tale was a book that I decided to pick up for a number of reasons. At the time, I was trying to get into different types of books and to leave my comfort zone of YA. I had heard of the Handmaid’s Tale as being extremely powerful and and popular within the adult reading community as well as being labelled as a classic. At the time I purchased it, the TV series was also doing really well. I picked this one up with hesitation as it was surrounding a more serious topic that I am accustomed to and I had seen others talk about the writing style being a little difficult to follow. When I started the book, I had to re-read the first chapter like 3 times. I was a little lost in what was happening and the writing style was definitely something I wasn’t used to but by slowing down I was able to catch on much better. After the first 50 pages or so I was totally hooked.
Offred gets her name because she belongs to a man (and subsequently his wife I assume) named Fred. All of the handmaid’s (women with viable ovaries and eggs) belong to a “Commander”. These women must perform sexual acts with these men (while the wife is in the view of the man, not the handmaid) it hopes of getting pregnant. The handmaid’s whole purpose is to provide the family with a healthy baby and their worth is based on their ability to do so. The women have no say, and their babies are taken from them at birth and introduced to their “parents”, the Commander and his wife.
The novel follows Offred and her journey as the handmaid to the Commander and his wife Serena. It follows her struggles as she comes to terms with her new life and she remembers her previous life, full of happy memories of her husband and daughter. Offred comes across other handmaids, some of which aren’t as submissive or compliant with the way things are. We get glimpses of all aspects of her life, from the training camp she is at first, where all the handmaids learn to act like proper ladies, to the once a month night she must spend with the Commander, to the walks to takes to the stores with other handmaids in which subdued talks take place. We get to see every aspect of her journey.
I was so interested in Offred’s story, and was extremely connected to her well being. I found myself worried for her while also feeling very empathetic to her situation. The scary part about this book is that with everything going on in our real world, surrounding women’s rights, and the right to our own bodies and reproductive rights, I could see this truly being the way of the future. The book is a dystopia so of course I’m not saying within the next 10 years or even 50, but I didn’t find the plot far fetched and that’s what will bring a chill to your spine!
I was a big fan of the Handmaid’s Tale and I’m really glad I picked it up. I wouldn’t recommend it to people who may be upset by the loss of women’s rights or the belief that women are inferior to men. The subject matter can get pretty graphic and disheartening but the underlying message was very strong and important to me, and I believe others should also be offered a glimpse into a very scary but possible future.
wow!! I really enjoyed The Handmaid's Tale! I stepped outside of my comfort zone and am so glad I did :)
a future society that is not far fetched and very scary to think about!
a little hard to get into but once I was, I was hooked!!
Final Review:
The Handmaid’s Tale was a book that I decided to pick up for a number of reasons. At the time, I was trying to get into different types of books and to leave my comfort zone of YA. I had heard of the Handmaid’s Tale as being extremely powerful and and popular within the adult reading community as well as being labelled as a classic. At the time I purchased it, the TV series was also doing really well. I picked this one up with hesitation as it was surrounding a more serious topic that I am accustomed to and I had seen others talk about the writing style being a little difficult to follow. When I started the book, I had to re-read the first chapter like 3 times. I was a little lost in what was happening and the writing style was definitely something I wasn’t used to but by slowing down I was able to catch on much better. After the first 50 pages or so I was totally hooked.
Offred gets her name because she belongs to a man (and subsequently his wife I assume) named Fred. All of the handmaid’s (women with viable ovaries and eggs) belong to a “Commander”. These women must perform sexual acts with these men (while the wife is in the view of the man, not the handmaid) it hopes of getting pregnant. The handmaid’s whole purpose is to provide the family with a healthy baby and their worth is based on their ability to do so. The women have no say, and their babies are taken from them at birth and introduced to their “parents”, the Commander and his wife.
The novel follows Offred and her journey as the handmaid to the Commander and his wife Serena. It follows her struggles as she comes to terms with her new life and she remembers her previous life, full of happy memories of her husband and daughter. Offred comes across other handmaids, some of which aren’t as submissive or compliant with the way things are. We get glimpses of all aspects of her life, from the training camp she is at first, where all the handmaids learn to act like proper ladies, to the once a month night she must spend with the Commander, to the walks to takes to the stores with other handmaids in which subdued talks take place. We get to see every aspect of her journey.
I was so interested in Offred’s story, and was extremely connected to her well being. I found myself worried for her while also feeling very empathetic to her situation. The scary part about this book is that with everything going on in our real world, surrounding women’s rights, and the right to our own bodies and reproductive rights, I could see this truly being the way of the future. The book is a dystopia so of course I’m not saying within the next 10 years or even 50, but I didn’t find the plot far fetched and that’s what will bring a chill to your spine!
I was a big fan of the Handmaid’s Tale and I’m really glad I picked it up. I wouldn’t recommend it to people who may be upset by the loss of women’s rights or the belief that women are inferior to men. The subject matter can get pretty graphic and disheartening but the underlying message was very strong and important to me, and I believe others should also be offered a glimpse into a very scary but possible future.