A review by soswiin
The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
it’s been a whole night since i finished this book and i still can’t find the words for it. it’s honestly a scary book.
i cried after reading/watching analyses of this novel because of how possible atwood’s “speculative” fiction is becoming. i became interested in reading the handmaid’s tale after seeing people compare it to the state of the U.S following the overturning of roe v. wade. and while anyone with critical thinking skills can see that the country is nowhere near that level of extremism relating to women’s fertility (not yet, at least), you can’t deny how real of a future it can be.
the mass execution of the government should be terrifying enough, but it’s followed by the shutting down of all pro-women’s rights protests by a new extremist army and the inability to escape the country.
and if you have a uterus? it’s the worst possible life you’re forced to live. you’re seen as nothing but a “two-legged womb” and your entire life revolves around fertility, even if you’re sterile. either you exist to reproduce, or you exist to take care of those who reproduce and their children. god forbid you’re allowed to read, write, or have thoughts of your own.
the two alternatives to a life of fertile servitude aren’t much better. don’t want kids? are you a feminist? man, do i have the job for you. you get the special job of cleaning up radioactive waste in north america for three years until your accelerated death. that, or you get to work in brothels that defy every law set in place (and are borderline sacrilegious) where you’re still denied any rights, have to accept being raped, and are fetishized as a lesbian or bisexual woman. not many options here.
i’ll close this review out by saying that this is an important book to read. i would’ve hated to read it for school due to it’s squirmish plot points and its, at times, challenging narratives. but reading it on my own time has launched it to becoming one of my favorite books.
i cried after reading/watching analyses of this novel because of how possible atwood’s “speculative” fiction is becoming. i became interested in reading the handmaid’s tale after seeing people compare it to the state of the U.S following the overturning of roe v. wade. and while anyone with critical thinking skills can see that the country is nowhere near that level of extremism relating to women’s fertility (not yet, at least), you can’t deny how real of a future it can be.
the mass execution of the government should be terrifying enough, but it’s followed by the shutting down of all pro-women’s rights protests by a new extremist army and the inability to escape the country.
and if you have a uterus? it’s the worst possible life you’re forced to live. you’re seen as nothing but a “two-legged womb” and your entire life revolves around fertility, even if you’re sterile. either you exist to reproduce, or you exist to take care of those who reproduce and their children. god forbid you’re allowed to read, write, or have thoughts of your own.
the two alternatives to a life of fertile servitude aren’t much better. don’t want kids? are you a feminist? man, do i have the job for you. you get the special job of cleaning up radioactive waste in north america for three years until your accelerated death. that, or you get to work in brothels that defy every law set in place (and are borderline sacrilegious) where you’re still denied any rights, have to accept being raped, and are fetishized as a lesbian or bisexual woman. not many options here.
i’ll close this review out by saying that this is an important book to read. i would’ve hated to read it for school due to it’s squirmish plot points and its, at times, challenging narratives. but reading it on my own time has launched it to becoming one of my favorite books.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Slavery, Classism, Infertility, Misogyny, Rape, and Suicide
Moderate: Biphobia, Lesbophobia, and Antisemitism