The Handmaid's Tale

by Coral Ann Howells

The "Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood (York Notes Advanced - NOT THE NOVEL)

Genres: Science, Reference, Womens

136 pages, Paperback

First published November 20, 1994

Reviews

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read it when it first came out. I didn't appreciate it then. I am hoping I will now.

Well, this is not the book I remember reading. Either I never finished it or I have matured enough to appreciate its message. Ironically, I've turned away from crime novels for their depictions of the worst ideas of what can happen to women. I find this account truly horrifying.

To me, this builds on a theme I have discussed often lately - namely that women today do not understand the sacrifices of those who came before. I see this happening politically with women giving their votes away in instances that will not aid women.

There have been many strides for women as a whole, but still more to come. I long for the day I no longer hear the words, "she is the first woman to ..."

When those words become obsolete, then we will be well on our way to truly being equal.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Handmaid's Tale is common reading for high school and college courses. Because of this, I decided to take a little more time to understand the book. The book itself is not my usual reading and if I hadn't spent time with it, I'm fairly sure I would have given it a poor review. It isn't easy to like. After contemplating what the author was trying to convey and reading through the York Notes, I decided the book presented plenty to think about.

This literature guide helps unpack the references to the 80's and feminist history as well as bible symbolism, important to understanding the story.

[Druss · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve read the book and wanted to see what I’d missed. Borrowed my daughters book and it was interesting to see the analysis.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

"The Handmaid's Tale" was a different novel than any I had ever read before. I really enjoyed how it was written in a futuristic setting because it provided for a very unique perspective. My overall reaction to the book was a little bit creeped out. Some situations in the book were so horrible and the worst thing was that the events were not altogether impossible instances. The novel discussed the reasons for changing society into the way it currently was because of the reason that man were constantly taking advantage of women and were, as a whole disrespectful toward their female counterparts. The past society of the United States revolved around cheap sex and it came to a point were sex did not mean anything anymore... and that was sort of creepy because i think our world is revolving more and more around this idea of cheap sex and how anyone can get it (through prostitution and such). So, it was a bit eerie to think that our world today was not a lot unlike the past society of "The Handmaid's Tale," resulting in the horrible current way of life in the novel.

Alrighty, well, to get on to themes... it was really difficult for me to understand some of the themes throughout this novel because of the weird ways of their society. But, i think one evident theme was HOPE. Throughout the entire story, the main character, currently known as Offred (Of Fred- it took me a while to figure that out!!!) is constantle holding onto this hope that her and her husband, Luke, and their daughter, name unknown, would someday be together again. She is constantly thinking about them. Every hanged man she looks for Luke, during her nights with Nick she feels guilty about enjoying intamacy with a man other than her husband. She dwells on this sense of hope, literally lives off it.

Another theme is escape. Offred and other Handmaids yearn for escape, both mentally and physically. The Maydays try to obtain a physical escape for their current lifestyle and all the Handmaids hope for an emotional escape, even if it's in their rooms by themselves. For Offred, an escape from her life is during the Game Nights with the Commander and the nights with Nick. She also gets to escape for real at the end of the novel.

Now, I want to talk about the end of the novel. I was so incredibly surprised when Nick mentioned Mayday!! I thought for sure that Offred was going to be killed and all... but then she was saved by that secret group that she wasn't even really apart of. Was it Nick's idea to save her? or was it Ofglen"s idea? Did Ofglen really die? There were so many open loopholes, i just didn't want it to end that way!!

[Saleema Parker · Rating 3 out of 5]

this book was good. it was about what could happen to the world like only certain women can have a child and the rest are divided into wive's, handmaid's, and martha's.

[Louis C Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Atwood describes the literary context in which science fiction (hers and others) developed through the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries with excellent critiques of the landmark books that informed the entire genre.

[Gill Schell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book, found it original, compelling but disturbing. Atwood's style - well-written and accessible. Read it because it's on the IB curriculum; not sure what a teenager (and male) will make of it. Also watched the video - very different ending.

[Alena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unnerving, a woman's perspective on a bleak anti-utopian society.

[Charlotte · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really useful. Helped me loads with my study and helped improve my coursework tenfold.

[Anita Ledonne · Rating 1 out of 5]

I guess I am not fond of dystopian novels or maybe I've had my fill. I never connected with the main character. I thought the writing was dull and lackluster. I would not recommend this book.

[Pixo Team · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure I'm going to make it through this. its well written,but the world is so awful I don't want to hear more about it...

[Shawna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure I'm going to make it through this. its well written,but the world is so awful I don't want to hear more about it...