The Handmaid's Tale

by Margaret Atwood

Paperback, 314 pages

English language

Published Nov. 13, 1998 by Anchor Books.

ISBN:: 978-0-385-49081-8

(4 reviews)

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 moth 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 years 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.

46 editions

Thomas reviewed The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

Captivating dystopia

4 stars

I have not watched the TV series based on the book before reading it. I prefer it in that order. I was caught up in the story from the first few pages. It describes a dystopian future regime in the former United States with very strict rules and control and abundant capital punishment for those who step a bit out of line. The story has chilling similarities to some of what I read about present-day conservative America.

Magnesium reviewed La servante écarlate by Margaret Atwood (Pavillons)

Not so speculative fiction

5 stars

I was warned this book is not a fun one. Indeed it is not.

You get to see the omnipresent fear and violence of a patriarchal surveillance state. You get to see how it got there, little by little, and how it got accepted. The disturbing part is that it is very much believable...

I hadn't seen since Orwell's "1984" the effect of a totalitarian system on an individual so well described, especially at an individual level. You get to see how a single mind resists or breaks when faced with such overwhelming brutal and oppressive environment.

It is definitely worth reading, especially when you keep in mind the fact that Atwood has been censored in several US states.

Luca Broggi reviewed Il racconto dell'ancella by Margaret Atwood

Fantastico

5 stars

Una lettura che mi ha preso. La struttura del libro è ottima. Il racconto è fluente ed intrigante. Adoro l'escamotage alla Manzoni in chiosa.

Mi ha fatto pensare e mi ha emozionato. Mi ha reso profondamente triste senza farmi commuovere.

Indimenticabile.

Stefano Costa reviewed Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

a classic

5 stars

I read this classic just two years ago. It felt more relevant to the present than it may have been when it was written. This book is a revolutionary milestone in speculative fiction and probably feminist literature as well, but I found equally interesting that the text is based on progressive loss of innocence. The final chapter is incredible and left me very satisfied.