I find it extremely disturbing that I finished reading this book on the 25th anniversary of Bhopal. The messages and warnings found in this book sync up perfectly with that catastrophe: chemicals that leaked into the atmosphere making the environment around it poisonous, increased sterility, mass death...all that horrible stuff you read about but it never happens to you. This books shows you what might happen if it happened to us all.

This book follows Offred, a Handmaid. She must deal with being nothing more than a "womb on two legs". It sounds horrible, and it is. Whereas we live in a very liberal time now, this book is very conservative. The Bible is the focal point of their society, but it has been twisted by the rulers, allowing them to manipulate the very creed they claim to obey. Those who don't follow this new "religion" are killed. The human population is dying off and those who stand in the way of renewing the population must be eliminated.

There were a lot of horrible things that happened in this book. Some parts actually gave me the symptoms one experiences when one is afraid (high heart rate, fast breathing, etc). But I think the scariest part is the end.

Spoiler Ahead

It worked. Using the Handmaids renewed the population, taking the human race out of dark age featured in The Handmaid's Tale and bringing it back to a society like present times. The ending makes you question your views about the entire novel. Was it okay, then? After all, it was a severe situation. In this particular case, do the ends justify the means?

End Spoiler

There was also "freedom from". As one person points out in the novel, they used to have the freedom to work and be independent. Now they have the freedom from work, sexual assault, poverty. "In the days of anarchy, it was freedom to. Now you are being given freedom from. Don't underrate it." It's frightening how in some passages like this, I almost found myself agreeing with what was taking place. It makes me wonder how easy it would be for something like this to happen. Could we really allow ourselves to be brainwashed like this?

I would recommend this book to anyone. It's one of those books that just makes you sit back and think hard about your entire belief system. And on top of that, it's not a horrible story :) ( )

Strange but interesting, kinda depressing. Ends very abruptly. It was just ok. ( )

A strange book and if I wasnt reading it for a bookclub discussion I might have given up. The first half of the book was very hard going. Flat prose and little dialogue. Whilst I appreciate this is in part due to the nature of the story it doesn’t make it any easy for the reader. As more characters are introduced it becomes an easier read but never overly enjoyable. The story paints a bleak picture of the future, of women used solely as receptacles for new life in Atwood’s clinical and isolated world. The novel conjures up interesting ideas but the story in itself comes across as dry and depressing. Considering the book is 20 years old, there isnt any jarring displacement in terms of technology and there are some topical comments on environmental issues which is impressive given its age. Saying all that, it’s just not a Utopia I envisonaged. ( )

Although this book was a bit dark, I found it good reading as Margaret Atwood is one of my faves. Scary, almost unbelievable, haunting. ( )

For some reason I avoided this book for quite a while--I wasn't sure what it was about, though I thought maybe it had something to do with Geishas, actually. Picking it up yesterday and finally giving it a chance was well worth my time, though. I loved this book.

Basically, it's set in a dystopian America where modesty laws are extraordinarily strict (Christianity-based in this book, though I was reminded of the Sharia law upheld in some Muslim sects), and women are divided into three classes--Marthas (housekeepers), Wives, and Handmaidens (surrogate mothers). The story is told from a Handmaiden's perspective, as the title would suggest.

I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys books like 1984, A Brave New World, The Giver, Winterflight, etc. but someone familiar enough with the Bible to appreciate how those in power misquote and subtly twist the meanings of the verses used in the book would probably get the most out of it; I know this was one of the creepiest elements of the story for me. ( )

Now if all science fiction were this good, it could stand as a respectable genre. Atwood future dystopia envisages a militaristic dictatorship which enslaves the few, remaining fertile women and forces them to procreate with a privileged elite. The protagonist is Offred, a concubine to a person she knows solely as the Commander.

Atwood has created the details of an entire and fully believable society and creates a very dark and sinister story. There are many symbols and allegories woven into the text, but the whole remains engagingly readable.

Quite properly, Margaret Atwood's most celebrated achievement. ( )

Plot Synopsis

Offred, a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead, narrates her story. Told in fragments, Offred introduces readers to a world where women are partitioned out: a wife, a servant, a walking uterus. While she can remember her life before, a relatively normal life, she has become immersed in this new order, at once resisting and accepting her role.

My Thoughts

I am horrified, horrified by the warning inherent in the book. The believability of the civilization created within these pages spoke to me. First published in 1985, bits and pieces of the justification for the Republic resonate. Everything is "blamed on the Islamic fanatics"; this was done for the protection of women from rape, sexual slavery, and physical abuse; the suspension of personal freedoms were temporary; consistent identification is needed and "everyone approved of that, since it was obvious you couldn't be too careful"; and little by little rights and freedoms were denied to select groups with nary a word of protest. Everything being done to you and against you is done for you. It's all for your own good.

How far will a society go, how much will it sacrifice, for safety? For power? These questions, so prevalent in Atwood's book, are increasingly relevant in American society today. As we relinquish what were once considered our rights for protection against "terrorism", we slide further away from the ideal of democracy the country was founded on (albeit through violence, racism, and genocide). As we further objectify ourselves, elevating physical beauty and commodifying our bodies, we become less individual humans and more subject to social control and acceptance of our own lack of self worth.

And yet when I ask myself: Is Atwood's vision a likelihood? Will women be once again subjugated to male property under the auspices of protection? I have to say no. I believe in the goodness of men (literally males). I believe that women will not allow such a regression to take place. Of course, when Clinton ran for president, a few of my students made disheartening remarks about a female being president. Female students, under 22. Sad. Women are women's worst enemies.

Outside of the themes inherent in Atwood's tale, the story itself entices. At first discouraged by the short, choppy sentences and fragmentary retellings, I eventually became rather in tune with them, reading at a quick pace, easily comprehending the bite-sized bits of information given to me. I also felt this style highly appropriate for the narrator. Having been removed entirely from literacy and having verbally narrated the tale, Offred's voice, her pacing and disjointed sense of telling seems necessary.

I sincerely hope this tale is non-prophetic. As with all dystopian literature, I hope societies learn from the story, see their flaws as printed on the page and prevent the horror from happening. Of course, for this to happen, we have to read these tales.

The Handmaid's Tale is number 37 on the ALA's list of most frequently challenged books. What I find sad in this is that the book is normally challenged because it portrays the mistreatment of women. EXACTLY! The novel is a warning not an encouragement. What do we do? Ignore the possibility? Pretend that this mistreatment isn't a truism of the past, present, and possibly future? When will people realize that ignoring a problem doesn't make it go away? And that if you don't "nip the problem in the bud" so to speak through awareness and prevention, you may one day see Atwood's dystopian future? Maybe if we don't let kids hear the word rape, rapes won't happen? Yes, let's not warn anyone; they'll learn later.

Of course challenges to the book are made on other grounds as well: That it's anti-Christian. It's not; it's anti-fundamentalism. That it portrays sex. Yep, and people have sex. That it vividly describes birth and menstruation. Ovaries, vaginas, and blood, OH MY! I highly recommend reading this book both for the lessons within, and for the less socio-political amongst us, for the story itself.

Memorable Scene: At one point, the handmaids are gathered together for one purpose: the violent killing of a man they've been told raped a handmaid. The women use their bare hands to rip this man apart. Disturbing.

Memorable Quote: "That was when they suspended the Constitution. They said it would be temporary. There wasn't even any rioting in the streets. People stayed home at night, watching television, looking for some direction. There wasn't even an enemy you could put your finger on." ( )

Margaret Atwoods novel takes place some time in the future. Religious sects are fueding and women are subjugated to lives with little "freedom to" but with many "freedom(s) from". Offred is the narrator of this floaty stream of consciousness recollection of her time as handmaid to an influential "Commander" in the ruling fanatical governance . Her only purpose, as is every handmaids, is to procreate. Not out of love but duty.
I found Atwood's writing to be regimented, isolated, lonely and quiet, so similar to Offred's life. For this I give the novel credit. I found little else to enjoy reading in this book. At times I felt I could not trust the narrator's "recollection" and found the majority of the characters to be unlikeable. For me, the flashforward at the end left a bitter taste. Sort of like a synopsis of what you may not have been able to figure out yourself. I had. Overall I found this to be a very unsatisfactory read despite all of the praise I had heard reading it. ( )

Margaret Atwood's style is absolutely amazing to read. She has great diction and, while reading this book, I never grew bored of her writing.

However, the narrator, Offred, was hard to relate to. She seemed to comply very easily to the abrupt change in society. It seemed infeasible to me that there would not be a stronger resistance to the government being overthrown and then changed. Offred frequently delved into her past and, while this provided a lot of character insight, I often felt that it was boring and long-winded.

I feel that the story suffered due to the first person perspective. If Atwood had told his story from several different character's points of view or perhaps simply in third person perspective, I feel that it would have been much more believable and that I would have enjoyed it a lot more. I'm not sorry that I have read this novel, but I doubt that I will be picking it up a second time. ( )

Margaret Atwood beautifully weaves a tale of incredibly complexity. The main character, Offred, has lost her name, her family, her money, her job, and her freedom. She lives through a complete overthrow of society, and is forced to become a handmaid, one who is assigned to a member of the upper class and who's sole purpose is to reproduce. Society is run by religious fanatics, and non-conformity is not tolerated.

The Handmaid's Tale is nothing short of a masterpiece. I'm usually all for more in-depth reviews, but this novel blew me away so thoroughly, i'm speechless. ( )

About a third of the way into The Handmaid's Tale, I was a little skeptical-- I liked the protagonist and I really liked Atwood's style, but I didn't quite buy the world they were all in; why would you tie multiple women to one man if female fertility was jeopardized? But then the explanations seeped in (not quite as heavy-handed as those in 1984) and I came to understand that female infertility was nothing more than an excuse. We'd all like to think that as a society we've beyond this, that we're better than this, but Atwood makes us wonder if that's as true as we think. ("What was it about this that made us feel we deserved it?") The last third of the book, as Offred slips deeper into the seamy underbelly of her society, witnesses the communal punishments, and makes her bid for freedom, was absolutely captivating; by this point, I had been entirely absorbed by the story. Transfixing and thought-provoking, what else do you need in a novel? (The epilogue, by the by, shocked me in an entirely different fashion. What a brutal, yet hard-to-refute, indictment of everything we academics do. It left me stinging and defensive.)

Intellegent and mysterious what-if story; dark but provocative, compelling writing style. ( )

I really loved this book, even though it was a bit unsettling at times. It offered me a release from all the other things going on right now. It was an engrossing book that I could get sucked into. A chilling world where women were treasured only for their ovaries and piousness. Very glad I got to read it. ( )

I was somewhat disappointed in this book. It begins with women being unable to access their bank accounts, then dismissed from their jobs. There is no compelling reason that men and women wouldn't do more to fight this. Though there are subtle hints of some type of resistance, it never feels plausible or effective. People, as a whole, do not become completely indoctrinated to radical concepts like these as quickly as they seem to in this book.

Also, There doesn't seem to be any motivation for the group that decides they're going to set up this society and it feels like we're supposed to take it on faith that they would have the ability to gain control so quickly and completely. The conclusion is frustrating, apparently expecting us to fill in why the society did not seem to last since there is no clear explanation provided.

The concept of this story is truly frightening, but the execution of this book did not enhance the creepiness inherent in the concept already. ( )

I absolutely hated this book. It was humming along quite nicely until all of a sudden I felt sexually harassed by a certain scene. If it was a movie I would have gotten up and left. And then it just got even more weird from there. I wouldn't have finished reading it except it was required for a class. There are plenty of other alternate reality/post apocalyptic books out there that do a much better job than this one. Trashy McTrash. ( )

ZB7

I like this book quite a lot, but not as much as other Atwoods I have read - she seems vaguely unsure of the whole science fiction genre. Sometimes she writes as if she feels that she is slumming. Still, it is very good - angry, funny, clever and melancholic. ( )

Just started it....and I had no idea it was such a creepy story! So far it is very compelling and thought provoking.

OK, WOW. Seriously that's what my response was to this. The layers of meaning, the messages, the utter repulsion I felt trying to imagine it actually happening and realizing it wasn't hard to at all. It was all superb.

This, I am embarrassed to say is my first Atwood book. I found her writing to be like my dream prose. It's poetic and descriptive, while not being long-winded or confusing. The pages seemed to fly by and I got to the end and felt desperate for more book. I liked that she didn't feel the need to wrap everything up neatly; after being confronted with so much throughout the narrative, a more conclusive end would have felt false to me.

Finally, the story said a lot to me. It made the trend's I've watched develop seem more eerie and sinister than ever before. Although I could look at this as simply a scary idea, I have been trying to see it as a further example that balance is important in all things.

Recommended for all those who like a little message with their juicy reading and don't have an objection to religious criticism. ( )

I first read this book many years ago and its one of those books that has stayed with me for years. The story is a darkly prophetic vision of what could happen, written in an accessible literary style. This is a must read. ( )

One of my top 10 books. ( )

I first read this book years ago as a teen. I was both disturbed and titillated by the plot. Now seeing it with older eyes, I'm disturbed to recognize how easy such a society could be produced. ( )

This is my all-time favorite book. It is so memorable and leaves such a specific and dreadful mood behind, even years after reading it. The story itself, the details are well thought out and inventive. But it is the bone chilling feeling evoked my her writing that makes this book stand out and stick with you. One caution-- SKIP THE MOVIE. ( )

I found this an excellent, disturbing dystopian vision. Whilst you may feel that dystopias had been done to death, this was a feminist take which, as others have commented, can be seen to have been reflected in fundamentalist Muslim countries today, although the story is based in a future America. The style is beautiful, which makes it all the more shocking when dealing with the subject matter.
It is a book that has stayed with me. ( )

Yet another incredible entry into the world of utopian literature. It's hard to know how to review a book like this, when the full force of what's really going on doesn't hit you until nearly the end of the book. Atwood allows our main character to tell her story slowly, peeling back the layers bit by bit, until you come to understand that this is not some science-fiction universe, but our own world, in a not-too-distant future. One hopes that in eighty years, the world does not quite resemble Atwood's rendering as much as our society has already come to resemble Huxley's Brave New World, but still - one cannot help being a little frightened as they turn the last page of the Handmaid's Tale. ( )