The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Handmaid's Tale
Book Review: A Handmaid's Tale
Summary: 4 Stars
This novel involves woman's role in a society and how they can be altered in several ways depending on policies, issues, and how the society is run. The novel takes place in a society where the role of women is minute and their only purpose is to give birth or to get pregnant. The women are stripped stripped of their rights, such as:working, reading, or even going outside. They are taught by teachers to produce children and that this is their ultimate goal. This novel will take through a new experience which will change the way of how you look at woman's role in a society.Book Review: A Handmaidenly Handful of Fear
Summary: 5 Stars
Picture a world, not far in the future; consisting of low birth rates, oppressed females, religions, constant wars, and a never-ending battle for freedom of thought. That is the type of setting presented in Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale. This book tells the tale of Offred, who happens to be one of the few handmaids in the world. A Handmaid is a woman who is used as a tool for the leaders of the world in order to procreate. Sound scary? You have no idea. Atwood describes a world full of fear and oppression that is easily portrayed through the narrative of Offred. With her harrowing words, Offred describes the people, places, and her thoughts quite clearly, leaving readers only in the wake of her emotions. She speaks to the readers personally about her contact with an underground organization, her past, the events leading up to the present, her secret affair, and much much more. All I can say is that this book holds you in a grip of anticipation and mystery as to how the set of events will unfold. The only thing you can do while reading this book, is to hold on for a wild ride of excitement and suspense. This book is a change from Atwood's common writing style, but she seems to handle it like a pro. You will definitely feel a sense of satisfaction when you put this book down. I highly recommend it.Book Review: A Hint of Red
Summary: 5 Stars
Sometimes, its not what you say, but how you say it. Story lines and plots are constantly recycled, but what sets them apart is how the author takes the idea and journey and makes it his/her own. Thus, Handmaid's Tale should not be taken for granted over Orwell's 1984. Atwood is too proud of a woman to let such raw energy slip past her fingers and she has proven to be quite a versatile writer by producing a surplus of immaculate novels. To me, the protagonist, Offred, is a timeless character - a submissive woman, who is so secretly rebellious, that she doesn't even realize it herself until half-way through the novel. Atwood puts Offred in the beginning years of the Republic of Gilead (formerly the United States), in which religion has taken over as an oppressive totalitarian government. It is an age of decline births, as few women and men are left fertile. Women's stations in the society have been reduced to roles that would make the medieval wives cringe in fear. A commander of a household would possess several women: his wife (the abstinent head of household), his Marthas (sterile women who act as servants and workers) and his Handmaids (the women designated for procreation purposes). Offred, acts as our tour guide through this horrific world, while carrying the burden of her lost liberties and her separation from her husband and daughter.
Through grace and tortured language, Atwood gives us a sociology lessen about a world that could possibly become our reality. Readers cannot help but be spellbound by the unique voice of Offred, who must adapt to a world where women are not allowed to read and are no longer allotted any simplistic comforts, such as make-up, photo albums and the freedom to speak and think openly. This book grabs you from the first page and the reader must succumb to the feeling of hopelessness that is embedded in almost every figure of society.
I think that's why I kept reading though - there is a chance for change and hope. All of the characters, no matter what their position in the caste system, seem to hate the society. Special moments, such as the commander inviting Offred to play scrabble with him. The gesture seems like a modest act of sympathy from a man who seems to resent his own superiority. Every character is worth exploring until Offred makes her own decisions to involve herself with a man who could either be a member of the rebel resistance movement or the secret police.
The Handmaids Tale has the storytelling quality of Anne Rice and the literary qualities and social criticism that one would expect to find from an Adrian Rich collection. I won't lie, this story is an epic journey and has been told before by other writers, set in different worlds with different voices. But I have yet been able to find one that touches every emotion the way that Atwood does. Good stories should always be treasured, but the one's that make you think are true gems.
Book Review: A Horrifying Vision
Summary: 4 Stars
Just an incredible work. This was a nightmarish dystopian scenario filled with archetypal images and characters that will stay with me for a while. The author creates a fully realized social structure of Commanders and Guardians, Wives, Aunts, Handmaids, Marthas and unWomen, Eyes in black vans and underground May Day abolitionists. Even as I was enthralled by the narrative, I was increasingly heartsick at the level of inhumanity depicted in this world. The crucial epilogue, presented as a piece of historical scholarship, ties everything together and supplies many of the political details lacking in the first-person narrative. In fact my only criticism would be that some of these details of context are not explained earlier. The historical perspective also reminds us that, before we dismiss Atwood's vision as impossibly grim, we recognize that such models of brutality and gender subjugation exist even today in totalitarian regimes like Iran.Book Review: A Journey from Bondage to Possible Freedom
Summary: 5 Stars
This is the first Atwood novel I have read. I've always been a fan of her short stories and finally took the time to read Handmaid's Tale. She creates a setting that seems so possible and real that I almost felt like I was there. Gilead is a republic that exudes safety and protection, yet is filled with bondage, imprisonment and fear. Atwood dares the reader to contemplate what society would be like for women if they were to let go of everything they love and cherish. This not only includes people and places, but also intelligence, emotions, friendship and love. Atwood's use of symbolism using colors and "the eye" enhances the haunting novel. What is Atwood attempting to imply with her ambiguous ending? Although there are many possible interpretations, we do realize that Offred is leaving her world of nothingness into somewhere free, whether that is death or ultimate escape. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and am looking forward to reading Alias Grace, which I hear is one of her best works.