Reviews

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

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helizaams's review against another edition

5.0

Triggering to say the least but its important to expose yourself to this book. Margaret Atwood honestly is a genius and if shes a time traveler im gonna be scared.

stacias99's review against another edition

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4.0

Beautifully written, haunting and a little bit of a scary read, I really enjoyed [b:The Handmaid's Tale|38447|The Handmaid's Tale|Margaret Atwood|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1294702760s/38447.jpg|1119185]. This was an especially timely read for me, since it doesn't seem all that far-fetched given the hateful quality of the discourse that's going on in the political climate of America today paired with the double standards and hypocrisy that always accompany such rhetoric.

The story is told in the first person narrative, and I'm fairly sure we have an unreliable narrator. This works in the novel as emotion is really what drives the story. I can feel the narrator's pain, loss, passion, confusion, etc. I don't always like the "stream of consciousness" style (which it isn't quite, but almost), but this meandering sort of story-telling by the narrator really works in this situation. I could not put this book down. I will be thinking about the protagonist's story for some time. I like reading novels that make me think about issues in real-life beyond the story, and The Handmaid's Tale does just that.

I can't wait to read another [a:Margaret Atwood|3472|Margaret Atwood|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1282859073p2/3472.jpg] novel.

chroniclesofabookmum's review against another edition

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2.0

“It’s only women who can’t, who remain stubbornly closed, damaged, defective”

The Handmaids Tale centres on main character, Offred, a handmaiden in a world within the future. A future whereby women do not have any entitlement and are ruled by men. Offred, in her role, is expected to produce a child for her Commander and his wife. This process is continuous, once she has given birth, she will be passed to the next Commander in order to do the same for them. This only ends once she is infertile, a natural life process for women, a process that in this world does not bare thinking about. However, handmaids have 2 years to produce a child, if she is unable to do so then an awful fate is awaiting.

I have really struggled to write this review, I just don’t know what to say about this book. I did not get on with it at all, the plot bought out my inner feminist, thus making me angry as opposed to any other emotion. I did not get on with the writing style, I cannot describe the style Atwood adopts however it did not feel like I was reading a story, it did not grip me. I also struggled with the fact she moves between writing through the eyes of the narrator and Offred, the lack of distinction between both left me confused. I found myself having to read certain parts of the book several times over just to understand. In certain points in the book I thought the story began to pick up, only to be left feeling left down a few short pages later. I feel like this is going to be a very unpopular opinion as this book came highly recommended but I just did not get on with it.

Unfortunately I will be unhauling this book.