The Handmaid's Tale in Dark Academia Discord Group

Apr 19, 2025 Lisa rated it liked it

Not going to lie, ending your book with 'are there any questions?' is pretty badass.

2,5 stars rounded up to three because it started off strong and has such good worldbuilding and an interesting concept, but also made me bored from about the halfway mark onward. At first I could not put the book down and I went through it so quickly - which rarely happens these days - but then it got harder and harder to pick back up.

The worldbuilding is done really well and you can tell there's been spend a l Not going to lie, ending your book with 'are there any questions?' is pretty badass.

2,5 stars rounded up to three because it started off strong and has such good worldbuilding and an interesting concept, but also made me bored from about the halfway mark onward. At first I could not put the book down and I went through it so quickly - which rarely happens these days - but then it got harder and harder to pick back up.

The worldbuilding is done really well and you can tell there's been spend a lot of time on that. It feels so very real, like this could be our future (which is so, so scary).

I find it hard to put into words what I feel about the concept of a world (a future of our society) where women are seen as property and used as resources for child-bearing. It makes this book so unsettling, so scary but also important and so strong. It makes you think about things you would rather not think about, uncomfortable in many ways.

I just think it's a shame this book got more boring as it progressed. Once we get into the feel of the worldbuilding I feel like there is little being added to the setting, and Offred as a character doesn't really do much. It's a classic case of the main character being a punching bag for the plot, which makes sense in this case where she is trapped in her situation and her day to day live is incredibly strictly controlled. Yet it makes telling an interesting, captivating story hard and in my opinion this book failed to deliver on that part. It did make for an interesting character, though. It makes you wonder what you were do if you were in her shoes. Would you act and rebel? Or would you too hold your head down and try to survive as best you can? Offred is clearly incredibly traumatised and would rather not think about the reality of the situation she is currently in, nor about the life she once had. Especially in the first two-thirds of the book, where she is at her most compliant, she feels very numb. Exhausted. Too worn down and scared to think about the situation at hand.

Aside from the downpoints, the ending of the book, both where we left Offred and the final chapter, are well done. The whole story actually being tapes transcribed and pieced together later on gives it a full-circle moment and with the abrupt ending you're left to wonder what happened with Offred, the other characters, and the society in general.

A story worth the read but perhaps one to take your time with. Intriguing and original for its message and worldbuilding alone but a slow story where the focus lies on the day to day live of someone who is the victim of a world gone to hell. ...more

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