Book Review: Handmaid's Tale

[bedsitter23]

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Atwood's book is the rare modern classic. A book that was written in the last 50 years that everyone agrees on. If Atwood's ambition was to write a book on par with 1984, Fahrenheit 451 and Brave New World, she succeeded.

There are a couple of issues with reading a Handmaid's Tale in 2018. The main one being 'dystopia' is something different than what Orwell or Huxley imagined. The modern day idea of dystopia isn't exactly dystopia. It is something that seems kind of fun. Like a Survivor style wilderness game; or perhaps solving a riddle or running through a maze; or maybe it is taking a personality test.

Handmaid is a real suspense and dread book.

The other drawback of 2018 is that we could all probably write a better backstory for Gillead. Right? We have a better idea of what we need to do to get there and how it would take place. Indeed, it is pretty certain that women would be as complicit into buying in as men would be, with many rushing to support ideas which actually works against them. Indeed, there are many real-life propaganda examples that we can imagine be implementing that Atwood would not have guessed at. Items like "Ofglen" seem a bit cheesy, but only in that in it would probably be something a bit more less obvious, if no less sinister.

In any case, neither of those things can be held against Atwood, since they are developments that have occurred since the novel's publication.. Much has been made about is this a feminist novel? Is this a science fiction novel? It has been classified many things by many people and undoubtedly all of them are true and accurate.

I also really enjoyed the "Historical notes" section at the end, which could have been cheesy, but shows a depth of writing that Atwood has, that few others can match.

The negative about Atwood has generally about the style. Again the Historical Notes help sell that (as well, as historical precedents- the nightmarish world she created is based on human events, not wild fiction). Your preferences will determine your experience- freeform, flashbacks, lack of quotations, etc. Still,

I waited awhile, always intending to read it and am glad I finally did. It bears a depth that there should be more than just one novel, which is great that Atwood can finally see that in the televised form, while still keeping the original novel pure.

It is very original and stands up to the strong image of Modern Classic that it has justly earned.



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