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A review by dorhi
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
challenging
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
I listened to the audiobook of this, read by Elizabeth Moss who plays the character June in the show, and I think this added a lot to the experience of reading this book. The book is extremely narrative and mostly telling the story in the form of descriptions of how it was before the formation of Gilead and how different things are in June's now.
Gilead is a anarchist-Christian state that manages to take over much of the east coast of the USA and enforce their extremist religious beliefs due to the infertility crisis that seems to be infecting the US in particular. It's somewhat scary to think this book was written almost 40 years ago and how relevant and modern some of the concepts of this still are. This idea of women only worth anything for their wombs is still scarily common and often in the mainstream discussions surrounding feminism and what it means to be a woman. This book (and subsequent show) should serve as a warning to those who want to dilute the meaning of womanhood and wrapping it up so securely with fertility that this can not be the defining feature of a human, and yet is still happens so often.
I did enjoy this book, but I have seen the 5 seasons of the show that have been released so far so it was quite difficult for me to line up some of the events and characters described in the book with what they are like in the show. Janine especially seems a completely different character. June herself is much changed in the show as she is a particularly driven and vengeful woman hellbent on reuniting with her daughter, Hannah, and getting out of Gilead. June in the book seems a little more realistic in her downtrodden and 'used to this' kind of feel. It's a depressing read at times, but a fascinating one.
Gilead is a anarchist-Christian state that manages to take over much of the east coast of the USA and enforce their extremist religious beliefs due to the infertility crisis that seems to be infecting the US in particular. It's somewhat scary to think this book was written almost 40 years ago and how relevant and modern some of the concepts of this still are. This idea of women only worth anything for their wombs is still scarily common and often in the mainstream discussions surrounding feminism and what it means to be a woman. This book (and subsequent show) should serve as a warning to those who want to dilute the meaning of womanhood and wrapping it up so securely with fertility that this can not be the defining feature of a human, and yet is still happens so often.
I did enjoy this book, but I have seen the 5 seasons of the show that have been released so far so it was quite difficult for me to line up some of the events and characters described in the book with what they are like in the show. Janine especially seems a completely different character. June herself is much changed in the show as she is a particularly driven and vengeful woman hellbent on reuniting with her daughter, Hannah, and getting out of Gilead. June in the book seems a little more realistic in her downtrodden and 'used to this' kind of feel. It's a depressing read at times, but a fascinating one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Lesbophobia