The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood is the classic literary novel and I am VERY late to the party reading it. I’ve wanted to read it for a long time, but I’ve also kind of not wanted to read it because I know it’s a dystopian novel and I don’t like dystopian novels. (With the exception of The Hunger Games – I love all of those novels.) I’ve read a few Margaret Atwood novels before, going back about 20 years, but somehow I never got round to reading her most famous work.
The Handmaid’s Tale is narrated by Offred, a Handmaid. She had another name before, but we never know what that name was. She is living under a strict new regime, in which she serves a Commander and his Wife, and is expected to provide them with a child. Life wasn’t always like this. She used to have a husband and a child of her own, but now everything has changed.
Handmaids must all dress in identical red dresses and white hoods. They aren’t allowed to speak to each other (apart from the most bland conversation with another Handmaid while shopping) or anyone else. They were taught how to behave at a special school, run by the Aunts. Handmaids aren’t the lowest of the low. There are also Marthas, who are domestic servants in the homes of a Commander.
Will the Handmaid get pregnant? Will she be stuck as a Handmaid forever? Will she find a way out of this life?
Most people probably know the answers to these questions, from either reading the book or watching it on TV. I haven’t seen it on TV, so knew only that it was a story about a woman whose job it was to have a baby for someone else. It’s not entirely clear why women are struggling to have babies any more, but I don’t suppose that really matters.
I was pleased that The Handmaid’s Tale wasn’t so dystopian that normal/modern things had been forgotten. For me, that made it a more enjoyable read. It also made it more disturbing, because life had changed so quickly from one we would recognise to this new regime.
Did I love The Handmaid’s Tale? Did I think it was the best book I’d ever read? Absolutely not! I liked it at the start, got a bit bored in the middle and enjoyed the last third of it.
I will definitely read the sequel, The Testaments, at some point. It’s possible I might watch it on TV, but there’s lot of other things I want to watch and I never get round to it. But it hasn’t made me rethink my view on dystopian books. I think me and dystopian novels just don’t get along!
I read it ages ago and loved it, I’ve also read the Testaments which is quite gruesome, but it’s a prequel. I didn’t want to watch the television series but I did watch some. I can’t bear to see anyone hanged on television for personal reasons which is why I didn’t want to watch it, but if I’m honest, I didn’t get into it so much. I don’t think I watched after the first series.
I’d forgotten The Testaments is a prequel. I will still read it. Thanks for the warning about the TV programme! I don’t think I will be watching.
Sarah,
I haven’t read the book, but 20 years ago a colleague told me what it was about.
Real life is a mixture of “1984” and “Brave New World”, so I don’t bother with dystopian fiction. :o)
I don’t blame you for giving dystopian fiction a miss!
I don’t care for dystopian fiction either, so I almost always give those types a pass. I do feel I should read this, since it’s a classic and by a Canadian author no less, but I still haven’t done so. Enjoyed reading your take on it. Stopping by from BookWorms Monthly today – Happy Reading!
Thanks very much. I’m glad I’ve read it at last, but it’s definitely not one of my favourite books. I don’t really believe in reading books you won’t enjoy.