epub, 317 pages
Published by HarperCollins Publishers.
The Handmaid's Tale
4 stars
(1 review)
As the threat of Gilead looms ever closer, this seems less like a dystopian novel and more like a prescient warning. Read it before you live it.
Now a Hulu series starring Elizabeth Moss. The Handmaid's Tale is an instant classic and eerily prescient cultural phenomenon, from "the patron saint of feminist dystopian fiction" (New York Times)
The Handmaid’s Tale is a novel of such power that the reader will be unable to forget its images and its forecast. Set in the near future, it describes life in what was once the United States and is now called the Republic of Gilead, a monotheocracy that has reacted to social unrest and a sharply declining birthrate by reverting to, and going beyond, the repressive intolerance of the original Puritans. The regime takes the Book of Genesis absolutely at its word, with bizarre consequences for the women and men in its population. …
As the threat of Gilead looms ever closer, this seems less like a dystopian novel and more like a prescient warning. Read it before you live it.
Now a Hulu series starring Elizabeth Moss. The Handmaid's Tale is an instant classic and eerily prescient cultural phenomenon, from "the patron saint of feminist dystopian fiction" (New York Times)
The Handmaid’s Tale is a novel of such power that the reader will be unable to forget its images and its forecast. Set in the near future, it describes life in what was once the United States and is now called the Republic of Gilead, a monotheocracy that has reacted to social unrest and a sharply declining birthrate by reverting to, and going beyond, the repressive intolerance of the original Puritans. The regime takes the Book of Genesis absolutely at its word, with bizarre consequences for the women and men in its population.
The story is told through the eyes of Offred, one of the unfortunate Handmaids under the new social order. In condensed but eloquent prose, by turns cool-eyed, tender, despairing, passionate, and wry, she reveals to us the dark corners behind the establishment’s calm facade, as certain tendencies now in existence are carried to their logical conclusions. The Handmaid’s Tale is funny, unexpected, horrifying, and altogether convincing. It is at once scathing satire, dire warning, and a tour de force. It is Margaret Atwood at her best.
Subjects
- Man-woman relationships
- Misogyny
- Fiction
- Women
- Dystopias
- brothels
- Scrabble
- Christian fundamentalism
- revolution
- military dictatorship
- Old Testament
- religious fanaticism
- totalitarianism
- theonomy
- handmaids
- United States Congress
- fantasy fiction
- Canadian fantasy fiction
- Dystopian fiction
- Canadian authors
- theocracy
- pregnancy
- political fiction
- science fiction
- Canadian fiction (fictional works by one author)
- Man-woman relationships, fiction
- Fiction, fantasy, general
- Fiction, dystopian
- Comics & graphic novels, adaptations
- Comics & graphic novels, literary
- Comics & graphic novels, fantasy
- Dystopian
- Political
- Social aspects
- nyt:trade-fiction-paperback=2017-02-26
- New York Times bestseller