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Tatiana's Reviews > The Handmaid's Tale
The Handmaid's Tale
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Tatiana's review
bookshelves: 1001, 2009, contemporary, favorites, dystopias-post-apocalyptic, booker, 2017
Nov 27, 2009
bookshelves: 1001, 2009, contemporary, favorites, dystopias-post-apocalyptic, booker, 2017
What a perfect time to be scared to death by this novel. It doesn't feel dated or far-fetched at all, thanks to President Trump.
Claire Danes is a pretty good match for this narrative.
Original review
Imagine the near future where power is overtaken by the religious right under the guise of protection from Islamic terrorism. Imagine the future where the roles of the women reduced to those assigned to them in Old Testament - they are no longer allowed to read, work, own property, or handle money. Imagine that due to the pollution and man-created viruses, the fertility rates are so low that the few fertile women (the Handmaids) are now a communal property and are moved from house to house to be inseminated by men of power under the watchful eye of their wives. Imagine the future where women can only be the Wives, domestics (the Marthas), sexual toys (the Jezebels), female prison guards (the Aunts), wombs (the Handmaids), or, if they are unsuited for any of these roles, Unwomen who are sent off to the Colonies where they harvest cotton if they are lucky or clean out radioactive waste if they aren't.
Well, after you've imagined that, you can imagine very easily how much I was terrified by this book. As a modern woman, I am horrified by the notion that at some point in time I can become nothing more than a servant, a toy, a reproductive organ. The world created by Atwood seems too much of a stretch of imagination at a first glance, but if the current climate, how implausible this feminist dystopia really is?
To say I am impressed by this novel is to say nothing, really. This book is one of those that stays in your brain and you keep coming back to it over and over again.
Having said that, I have to note, that this is definitely not an easy read. Offred (the protagonist Handmaid) is in many ways a frustrating narrator: she is broken, she is passive, she is desperate and her only goal is to make it through another day. The ending is ambiguous. The narration is complex with constant switching from present to past and back. But it all worked perfectly for me. For me, "The Handmaid's Tale" is a powerful novel that is in my mind next to Saramago's "Blindness," another book that left me sleepless.
Reading challenge: #22
Claire Danes is a pretty good match for this narrative.
Original review
Imagine the near future where power is overtaken by the religious right under the guise of protection from Islamic terrorism. Imagine the future where the roles of the women reduced to those assigned to them in Old Testament - they are no longer allowed to read, work, own property, or handle money. Imagine that due to the pollution and man-created viruses, the fertility rates are so low that the few fertile women (the Handmaids) are now a communal property and are moved from house to house to be inseminated by men of power under the watchful eye of their wives. Imagine the future where women can only be the Wives, domestics (the Marthas), sexual toys (the Jezebels), female prison guards (the Aunts), wombs (the Handmaids), or, if they are unsuited for any of these roles, Unwomen who are sent off to the Colonies where they harvest cotton if they are lucky or clean out radioactive waste if they aren't.
Well, after you've imagined that, you can imagine very easily how much I was terrified by this book. As a modern woman, I am horrified by the notion that at some point in time I can become nothing more than a servant, a toy, a reproductive organ. The world created by Atwood seems too much of a stretch of imagination at a first glance, but if the current climate, how implausible this feminist dystopia really is?
To say I am impressed by this novel is to say nothing, really. This book is one of those that stays in your brain and you keep coming back to it over and over again.
Having said that, I have to note, that this is definitely not an easy read. Offred (the protagonist Handmaid) is in many ways a frustrating narrator: she is broken, she is passive, she is desperate and her only goal is to make it through another day. The ending is ambiguous. The narration is complex with constant switching from present to past and back. But it all worked perfectly for me. For me, "The Handmaid's Tale" is a powerful novel that is in my mind next to Saramago's "Blindness," another book that left me sleepless.
Reading challenge: #22
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Reading Progress
November 27, 2009
– Shelved
December 21, 2009
– Shelved as:
1001
December 22, 2009
– Shelved as:
2009
December 22, 2009
– Shelved as:
contemporary
January 26, 2010
– Shelved as:
favorites
April 3, 2010
– Shelved as:
dystopias-post-apocalyptic
November 21, 2010
– Shelved as:
booker
Started Reading
February 4, 2017
– Shelved as:
2017
February 4, 2017
–
Finished Reading
Comments Showing 1-50 of 57 (57 new)
message 1:
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Hannah
(new)
Dec 21, 2009 08:32AM
I've often contemplated picking up this book. Looks like I might just do so with that "wow" comment! Look forward to your review.
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Well, if you like dystopias sprinkled with religion and feminism, you might like it. This one is right up my alley.
I liked your review, very well done. I'll have to read this one for myself. There seems to be a lot of mixed reviews.
Do you really think this could happen in America though? I mean, women are in the majority in this country for start, and I've never heard of a civilization set up the way our is reverting back to this type of tyrany.
Gypsy wrote: "I actually didn't really like this book ...maybe because it was my first brush with Atwood, and I found the constant flashbacks to be disruptive. Also, the scenes you mention certainly are horrible..."I read your review. I guess what didn't work for you worked for me. Happens all the time.
I will definitely read more of her books. Atwood has some crazy ideas.
Heather wrote: "Do you really think this could happen in America though? I mean, women are in the majority in this country for start, and I've never heard of a civilization set up the way our is reverting back to..."Well, you'll have to read it to see how exactly Atwood describes the way our society descended to this level. Infertility has to do with a lot of it.
And in the world of dystopias anything is possible if written well. If you can believe in a world where children are made to kill each other for public entertainment, you can believe in this too.
Fair point, lol. I was approaching it like a piece of fiction that could happen int this world rather than approaching it as a piece of fiction in an alternate reality a la Hunger Games.The book sounds intriguing for sure.
I never thought of HG as set in alternative reality. It is a dystopia just like The Handmaid's Tale. At the core is the same futuristic vision of a present society when one or several of its characteristic is taken to the extreme.
See, I have to look at HG as an alternate reality, though a society like the one in HG is much easier to envision than the one proposed in Handmaid's Tale.
I think HG is a more plausible potential future for the U.S. than a spiritialy based tyrany. We are secular, just as the Captial is secular, so it is easier for me to swallow.
With a rise of all kinds religious fundamentalist factions in the world, it was easy for me imagine a theocratical future. Even present day America is much more religious than it used to be even 20 years ago.
I'm not so sure about that. I think the zealots are just very outspoken and make it seem that way. But ask anyone above the age of 40 and they will all say that our morals are slipping, lol. You have to remember T, that you live in the Bible Belt, just like I do. We're surrounded :)
There is no question that morals are slipping. The more "slippery" they get, the more outspoken religious right becomes. I might have not said it was possible, but Sarah Palin's success speaks for itself. Religiousness is on the rise. Just watch some Fox news and then we can talk:)
I avoid Fox news like the plague it is, lol. And I'm not sure we can call Sarah's story one of success. She is everywhere, but more because so many people take pleasure in mocking her. Regardless, even if I'm wrong, and Palin's story is successful, the very fact that she is a "woman of power" proves that Handmaid Tale isn't likely to happen in our society.
I guess you've already set your mind on not buying into the idea. Reading the book probably will be a waste of time.
No it won't. Like I said, if I approach it as an alternate reality, I should be fine. I think I'll like it, or at least hope that I will.
LOL Gypsy:) I am sure the book is extremely educational. BTW, I could never understand how hunting and pro-life agenda go together. But that's just me I guess...
Hmm, I'm not sure. Even though it's a blue state, it's still southern. Good question. I know TN used to be a blue state and we have always been part of the bible belt...LOL, why am I not surprised, that woman cracks me up if nothing else :)
Tatiana wrote: "LOL Gypsy:) I am sure the book is extremely educational. BTW, I could never understand how hunting and pro-life agenda go together. But that's just me I guess... "
T, don't you know, shooting and stuffing animals for sport = godliness whereas allowing others to make their own choices = devil worshipers...
Gypsy wrote: "Pailn paints a rosy picture of growing up in Alaska in the 1970's that I find a little hard to believe. She also raves about her love of meat, sports, and church. So ... "LMAO...I wonder if I could get a book deal writing about TN, being bored by sports, eating cheese its and not going to church?
Hmmm. My friend has just begged me to read this book, one of her favourites, and I said I would, of course having no idea what it was about! Well, now I know!I'll give it a go, but generally it doesn't sound like something I think I would like. We will see...
As you can tell, I was very impressed. I hope you like it too.
Tatiana,This is one of my favorite books too. And maybe it's the way Atwood shows the descent into this dystopia where Collins never does, but I could believe this future just as much, if not more, than Hunger Games. In this one, the government is obliterated and in that confusion and fear people just do what they're told until it's too late. Every time I think a government is implausible, I think of the Nazi party.
I too liked that Offred (which I don't like to think of her as because that isn't her name) is unreliable and can't give us a picture of the larger workings of the government. It feeds into her fear and was way more realistic than if Atwood would have contrived a way for her to see and hear things that she shouldn't. This was my first experience with Atwood, and I'll probably go through all her books this year. She's an amazing author.
Great review! I'll give this one a go though I don't know how much I'll like it. Seems like a little bit historically off because Jewish women were encouraged to have a "business" of sorts outside the home and to earn an income. (Proverbs 31 actually praised this kind of woman.) Also they had a great deal of freedom compared to their contemporaries in other cultures until the Greek and Roman Helenic influences came along.
Other wise it sounds interesting!
This one is on my mental "very best books in the history of ever" list too. @Kat: There's actually a good bit of warping of Proverbs 31 that goes on in some religious circles. nolongerquivering.com talks about it some. Basically, they kind of gloss over the businesswoman aspect and harp on the modest behavior and motherhood parts. The sexism doesn't come from actual Jewish tradition but from later Christian sects re-interpreting it.
Did you ever see the movie? It starred Natasha Richardson (the actress that died of a head injury skiing), Faye Dunaway, Robert Duvall. Wasn't bad for a 90's movie.
No, I didn't, because I've heard quite a few unflattering reviews of it. Maybe one day.And I don't have much to add to the religious text aspect of it. I just know that such texts can be twisted many ways for various unsavory purposes.
I just remember that the religion aspect was part of the procreation part. It was really weird and gave me the heebie geebies.
Great review. I haven't read this in years but I still get chills thinking about it.
This was one of the scariest books I've ever read I think.
Oh I have no doubt that people will twist scriptures and things like that.All I'm saying is that it's annoying for anyone half educated. I mean if you're going to be a fanatic, you might as well know what the hell you're talking about!
Seriously, ignorant religious fanatics are SO passe! been there, done that, darling!
LOL, Kat. You expect too much from fanatics IMO.
I know. It only makes me think that *I* should become a religious fanatic because CLEARLY I could do so much better!They don't have this book at my library. I'm very put out!
Wow-this sounds so powerful, will definitely add it to my to-read. Still working on The Blind Assasain :) It is excellent but slow going as the language demands savoring. A far cry from the fluffy YA I've been reading, LOL!
Ah, great review! I loved the reccomendation; quite true.Kat- here's a truly terrifying thought: There exist fanatics who do the research and are still frothing at the mouth.
Case in point.
(Read their page on Islam. It's freaky.)
Anila, that site is terrifying! I looked at their page on Harry Potter. Freaky.
Anila wrote: "Ah, great review! I loved the reccomendation; quite true.Kat- here's a truly terrifying thought: There exist fanatics who do the research and are still frothing at the mouth.
Case in point.
..."
Creepy. Also, isn't 'hateful' spelled with one 'l'? Figures,they would be grammatically ignorant as well.LOL.
Goodness, whoever established that site had way too much free time on his hands.
But Harry Potter???? The books that launched a generation of young and old readers???? Reading Harry Potter is like drinking chocolate milk laced with arsenic??? WTF????
LOL! I know!Love this quote
The whole purpose of these books is to desensitize readers and introduce them to the occult. What a better way to introduce tolerance and acceptance of what God calls an abomination, then in children's books? If you can get them when they are young, then you have them for life. It’s the oldest marketing scheme there is.
The author of this would have succeeded greatly in 16th century Europe, hunting witches and stuff.
*shudders* I can't believe people like this are able to post stuff on the internet. *shudders again*(and now we've added hits to their website).
Excellent review. I am almost finished The Handmaid's Tale and I am finding it compulsive reading. Brilliant. And scary.
Tatiana wrote: "Well, if you like dystopias sprinkled with religion and feminism, you might like it. This one is right up my alley. "Lots of symbolism too, if you like looking for that sort of thing.
Heather wrote: "Do you really think this could happen in America though? ..."One of Atwood's points is that none of this is fiction: everything she describes has happened somewhere in the world, just not all at the same time and place.
Heather wrote: "I think HG is a more plausible potential future for the U.S. than a spiritialy based tyrany. We are secular, just as the Captial is secular, so it is easier for me to swallow."
From this side of the Atlantic, the US seems FAR more religious than the UK, even though constitutionally you have separation of church and state and we have the opposite. Church attendance and even belief is much, much lower here, and debates about teaching creationism in schools are almost unheard of.
+1 on the Old Testament comparisons. Women in Old Testament times were not regarded this way. In Proverbs 31, as said before it directs women to handle the household as a business. Buying and purchasing goods, and even buying and purchasing real estate. It wasn't oppressive. The man was directed to hold her in the highest honor and that he may be regarded by other men by how amazing his wife was.
While this book surely does seem interesting, I find it hard to believe this would ever happen, not in America at least.
I feel like I should add that the Old Testament gives women more freedom and respect than you might be aware of. Young women were to be educated, God told their husbands to listen to their opinions, and reading Proverbs 31 shows that women had the freedom to purchase land and engage in commerce and deserved the praise of their families.
I feel like I should add that the Old Testament gives women more freedom and respect than you might be aware of. Young women were to be educated, God told their husbands to listen to their opinions, and reading Proverbs 31 shows that women had the freedom to purchase land and engage in commerce and deserved the praise of their families.
Okay, you read this book 7 years ago but your review made me pick this book eight away. Although I don't always share your opinion in books I've read, I take your reviews into consideration all the time, since a lot of times I do agree with you or, even if I don't, I like the critical way you elaborate your review. I don't think I can say I was terrified by the book, for some reason I don't get easily terrified with these type of subjects since I have a very negative perspective of the world aka it wouldn't surprise me if this existed (not sure if I'm able to make my feeling clear...). Nonetheless, I totally understand why this book terrified you and why it stuck with you. I'm guessing you read it more than once and I can totally inderstand why. This is such a powerful book, with all the possibilities of wrongness (I might have just made that up?) sounding SO real... and if seven years ago this is how you felt, imagine today. Reading this book in 2016 was like feeling bits and pieces are happening already and we're all blind to see.Also, I totally unserstand what you mean about the narrator but it worked for me as well. For some reason, I feel like Offred, being the way she is and the way she describes things actually help us understand the lack of humanity surrounding her. More than that, it made it possible for others to understand how could someone ever "accept" whatever is done to them without question. A lot of people assume they would always choose freedom, no matter what, but I don't think that's necessarily true.
Sorry if this comment os a huge mess but I literally finished this like... 10 minutes ago and I'm still wrapping my mind about it.
Although I'm curious: what do you think happened to Offred? Or have you no theory whatsoever?
PS: yeaaaaah Saramago the man! (sorry, I didn't really read anything of his but I'm Portuguese xD)
