Rate: 5/5
Medium: Kindle
Overview (No Spoilers):
Upon the recommendation of my friend Kari and seeing the many positive reviews of my fellow bloggers, I added The Handmaid’s Tale to my reading list. This is my fourth book by Atwood after thoroughly enjoying her MaddAddam Trilogy last summer, i.e., Oryx and Crake, The Year of the Flood, MaddAddam. I was quickly hooked in this dystopian novel as we follow the narrative of Offred, as she seamlessly bounces back and forth between recounting the events leading to, during, and after the overthrow of the US government. Hauntingly, Offred tells in hindsight, how women’s rights were taken away seemingly one small act at a time by the stand-in government with the false promise that the measures were all temporary, until events had progressed to a point of no return. It is hard to imagine women in this day and age regressing to the horrors witness and submitted to by Offred, although there was an undercurrent of, in not believability, plausibility registering in my unconscious while reading. Regardless, this thought provoking tale created by Atwood seems eerily beyond its time, as I was shocked to learn that the novel was originally published in 1985. Overall, I would highly recommend reading The Handmaid’s Tale, however be forewarned that this story by no means can be classified as a ‘feel good’ read.
Additional Insight (Spoilers Abound):
- What happened to our main character? Did Offred make it out of Maine?
- What happened to Nick? Did he save her? Was Offred pregnant?
- What would have happened if Offred had not been saved by Nick? What would have Serena Joy’s punishment been?
- What happened to her child? Luke? Moria? So many unknowns!
- Would Luke and Offred been part of the middle class had they not ran? I’m guessing not due to this being their second marriage.
- Were people really shipped to the Colonies? What happened to her mother?
- I really enjoyed the last chapter that takes place in the future, where they are reviewing ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ at an academic conference and how hard it is to verify the credibility of the story or even track down the identities of the individuals. It was relieving to find out that terrible male dominated regime did not last. How did our protagonist record/hide the tapes.
- Was I the only one that was oblivious to the names they were assigned denoting the name of their Commander? Offred = Fred and Ofglen = Glen
- I’m intrigued by the ‘middle class’ that was barely discussed, with only their dress highlighted. How did they survive?
One of my most favorite reads from High School! Loved this book.
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That’s awesome you read this in high school! The most comparable book we had to read was 1984.
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This is has been on TBR for a while. I have to get from my library. Great review!
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Thanks! I’m excited to see what you think about this book once you get a chance to read it! 🙂
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Wasn’t there a racial aspect to that final chapter…as in the people of the future were all people of color, and white people had all disappeared due to the infertility, or am I remembering that part wrong? (I last read this book in the 90s.) You MUST continue your Atwood experience with The Blind Assassin, which is my favorite. 🙂
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Blind Assassin has been added to my TBR list! 🙂
I might have missed the racial aspect in the end! I think I was too excited about the sudden switch to an academic conference in the future.
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I remember struggling to get this book in high school but now I appreciate how amazing it is
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Have you reread it as an adult Kittie? I love revisiting books I read in my youth to see how my perspective has changed and how I connect with characters differently.
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No it’s on my list of books to read though 😊
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I am so glad to know someone else didn’t pick up on the naming part!! I was totally oblivious! 🙂
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I loved this book, so I am glad to see you did too. I also didn’t like how the ending keeps you in suspense! I’d like to think it’s a happy ending.
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Agreed! I would have liked some answers about everyone’s fate!
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Yay! 🙂 I’m not the only one!
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I loved this book, so I am glad to see you did too. I also didn’t like how the ending keeps you in suspense! I’d like to think it’s a happy ending.
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Although I would love answers, it is interesting with the open ended conclusion to be able to guess at the different outcomes. Fingers crossed for Offred’s fate!
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i skipped the spoiler part, because i really want to read this book! heard so many great things about it! i really loved “oryx & crake” and want more from atwood on my tbr 🙂
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Oh I’m glad you skipped the spoilers! I always worry I’ll ruin a book for someone skimming through the post. 🙂 You’ll have to let me know what you think once you get a chance to read this one by Atwood!
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i definitely will! 🤗
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Have you read The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood? I recommend it too!
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Thanks for the recommendation Beth! I’ve had several people recommend The Blind Assassin to me so I finally added it to my list! I’m on a library waiting list now! 🙂
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[…] https://critiquingchemist.com/2017/07/27/the-handmaids-tale-by-margaret-atwood/ […]
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I read this book in college, at that time I’d never read anything quite as realistically disturbing as this before. Whilst a dystopian novel it has so much normality to it that makes it seem believable, like everything that was their reality could quite easily become ours. It left me very uncomfortable but I think that’s what makes it a great book 🙂
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I absolutely agree! Any book that leaves me reflecting, uncomfortable or moved usually gets classified in the ‘great’ category. Have you read any other realistic(ish) dystopian like 1984?
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Not to the same league, no. Most have been lighter, like The Hunger Games.. I know to some that might sound strange, that The Hunger Games is a light book, but in comparison to the darkness portrayed in The Handmaid’s Tale it really is! Will check out 1984 though 😊
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Yes! You’ll definitely have to read 1984! I rarely reread books but I’ve read that one in high school and then again as an adult and both times it made a huge impact on me.
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An Amazon order is necessary then 😊📚
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I hope you like it! 😀 You’ll be surprised how many pop culture references there are to 1984!
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Hey, I am nominating you for the Sunshine Blogger Award, the post goes up tomorrow, I have linked your blog in it but just in case you don’t get a notification 🙂
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Thank you! 💚 I’m so swamped! I wish I had time to do this! I loved reading your responses though!
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No worries, just wanted to nominate you anyways 😊 let you know I was thinking of you 😉 thank you 💜
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Interesting that the final chapter is a review. I just finished watching the TV series on SBS and they left that bit out. Love a good dystopian.
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Thanks for catching my typo Ben! I haven’t watched the TV show yet. Is it going to be multiple seasons? Maybe they just want to draw it out longer.
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You’re correct, there’s a second season slated for 2018.
It’s a slower show, but it’s darkness is more disturbing because it’s believable and *not* over the top like many dystopians…
And perhaps because through Offred we have such a deeply personal account.
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Anyone who is surprised by this book has never taken a vacation in the United Arab Emirate, Jordan or even Saudi Arabia. Heck, look at Egypt after the Arab Spring…
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As a Canadian, I am particularly proud to call Atwood ours, especially after this book!
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You should be Anne! 🙂 She’s an amazing author!
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I loved this book and read it a couple months ago! I’m glad you liked it! I feel like there wasn’t really a “middle class” persay in this society. You were either a high class male with handmaid a and the like, or a low class male with the “multipurpose women”. There was no such thing as a conventional relationship as far as I could tell, and it didn’t seem like there was anything in between. Maybe some of the multipurpose families had enough money to be middle class? I’m not sure
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I’m glad you enjoyed this book too Joce. Perhaps I used the wrong term in calling them middle class. I was referring to the men and women that had to wear stripes. I was just using terminology that was denoting lets say a upper class (commanders) and the lower class (Handmaids) where they aren’t in control of their lives at all. In my use, ‘middle class’ was meant to describe everyone else.
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A lot of what she discusses is all too real.
Take a look at the way women in Pakistan or Iran dressed in the 1950s versus today. Hard won freedoms can be taken away very quickly if not diligent. This book helps remind us of that, and I believe, is all too relevant today.
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I agree Elizabeth! I can’t believe this was written in the 1980’s though! It seems like it could have been a recent release.
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Perhaps that means treating women as equals rather than chattel hasn’t seen as much advancement as we’d all like to believe!
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I find The Handmaid’s Tale as really scary book. One thing I can’t understand is how Channel 4 TV could make a ten episode drama out of it – or why they would want to.
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I had to Google the drama regarding Channel 4. From what I’ve read Channel 4 is showing exact same show that Hulu created right? It has been on my list to eventually watch the show on Hulu since it has gotten such high reviews.
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I don’t know anything about Hulu. However, it seems you’re right, that Hulu was first.
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While reading the book, I remember thinking – this can’t really happen, not now…..but then I remembered everything that’s going on in the world. Maybe it can. It’s scary.
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Yes, definitely thought provoking!
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I read the book a few months ago, and I also loved it. I also missed the naming rules until it was explained. I thought they were new names following some naming pattern of elsewhere. Like nicknames following a certain pattern, I thought it was some unique linguistic meaning in the society.
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I’m so glad I’m not the only on that missed the naming trend!!
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It’s one of my all time favs. I rated it a 5 of 5 as well. I’ve read it several times, each time it’s as “haunting” as the first read!’
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Sabina! Haunting is such an apt description! Again we have the same opinion on the same book!
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What a coincidence! It appears we picked up and finished the book at around the same time. Interesting that you liked that epilogue chapter. It seems like we both perceived this as a downer type of book. I was actually kind turned off by that epilogue that suggests Offred had a happy ending >_>
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Thanks Patrick! It seems like we almost always agree with our opinions regarding books! I really didn’t get the vibe that Offred’s ending was inferred as happy, just that she made it to Maine at some point. So many answers left unanswered!
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Great review! Have you seen the new channel 4 drama?
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Until you mentioned it I hadn’t seen any drama about it. I’ve been googling and I’m guessing Channel 4 is a public channel. I haven’t seen the show but I can imagine how traumatizing some of the scenes would be.
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It was on channel 4 UK – I’ll see if I can find a link! Yes I couldn’t watch it on my own as it’s harrowing. Take care x
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Thanks! From what I’ve read it looks like it is the same show that Hulu created right? It has gotten such high reviews here in the US, although I’ve heard it can be hard to watch. Have you watched the full season? I’m slightly nervous to watch it now!
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Every question you listed was one I had as well. Amazing story though.
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Thanks! I just wanted a few more answers by then end of the book! 🙂
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I really need to read Atwood! Would you recommend reading this or Oryx and Crake first?
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Hey Amber! You could go either way because the topics are so different. I would personally say Oryx and Crake for no other reason than it was my introduction to Atwood.
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Thank you! That makes it easier! I can just borrow the book from my friend 🙂
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If you do watch it, I hope you’ll post your comparison thoughts.
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Thanks Ben! I’ve actually never done a comparison from the different media formats. I’ve debated it but never actually committed to writing one. I should try it sometime!
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I read this one earlier this summer and ended up becoming so incensed at times that I ended up throwing my book across the room. Offred’s stilted narration and seeming acceptance of the way life turned out for her was too much for me. It was a good read and I recommend it. The story has stayed with me all summer.
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At least I wasn’t the only one that got infuriated at this book. Have you seen the TV show at all?
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Not yet. It’s on my Hulu watchlist, though. Gotta get caught up on Outlander first.
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Oh I do love Outlander! I’m so excited for the new season!
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[…] The Handmaid’s Tale by Margarette Atwood […]
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[…] not quite sure how the fact that a sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale was in the works slipped past my radar but needless to say I was ecstatic when I stumbled upon the […]
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