The Handmaid’s Tale (The Handmaid's Tale, #1) in Retro Chapter Chicks

Jan 30, 2013 Book Concierge rated it it was amazing

Shelves: politics, movie, book-club, literary-fiction, religion, concierge, strong-women, women-writers, canadian-author, library

First published in 1986, Atwood’s novel describes an America much different but easily imaginable from today’s democracy. Offred tells her story of life as a Handmaid, in the Republic of Gilead, a monotheocracy, run by the Sons of Jacob. The birthrate has plummeted and the leaders of Gilead lay the blame on the “sinful” ways of women. Now Offred and other Handmaids are valued only as long as their ovaries are working. They live, one to a household, with their assigned Commander and his wife. Onc First published in 1986, Atwood’s novel describes an America much different but easily imaginable from today’s democracy. Offred tells her story of life as a Handmaid, in the Republic of Gilead, a monotheocracy, run by the Sons of Jacob. The birthrate has plummeted and the leaders of Gilead lay the blame on the “sinful” ways of women. Now Offred and other Handmaids are valued only as long as their ovaries are working. They live, one to a household, with their assigned Commander and his wife. Once a day she is allowed to leave the house, meet up with her assigned partner, Ofglen, and walk to the market to shop for food. There all signs have been replaced with pictures, because women are not allowed to read. Once a month, Offred lies on her back for the Ceremony – hoping the Commander will get her pregnant so she can prove her worth.

What I find particularly fascinating – and frightening – about this novel is how very plausible it seems. A little change here, a slightly bigger change there, and before you know it all the freedoms we take for granted are gone. Of course the powers that be insist it is for the good of mankind, that these measures are necessary to build a strong nation. But the realities are different. The powerful are hypocrites, having their Jezebels in their private clubs, and squashing any possibility of protest or revolt.

I was also intrigued by the possessive names of the Handmaids – Offred, Ofglen, Ofwarren, “Of” the man who is supposed to get her pregnant – nothing more than another item of household furniture, a vessel for his future offspring. But when I first read her name, I didn’t see it as Of-Fred, but as Off-red, and this, too, is symbolic. The handmaids wear red gowns (wives wear blue, Aunts wear brown, Marthas wear green). The red gowns symbolize their place in society – fertile, givers of life. But our narrator’s color is decidedly Off-red, because she remembers “before,” – when she wore sandals and shorts on a hot summer day, when she attended university and was free to think and discuss ideas, when she had a husband and a job and her own money – and these memories fuel her hopes for a chance to leave this existence.

The book’s final chapter is titled Historical Notes and is written as a transcript of a talk given at a conference in 2195. It provides more detail on the society Offred is both part of and removed from – details she could not have known because of the secrecy and censorship of news. It provides a little humor to lessen the impact of Offred’s story, and hope for a better future. I nearly skipped this section, not immediately recognizing it as part of the novel. I’m glad I read it.

I’ll be thinking about this book for a very long time.
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Nov 18, 2011 Kris (My Novelesque Life) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: made-into-a-movie, fiction, reread, made-into-a-tv-series, feminism, women, rape-culture, canadian, science-fiction, dystopia

RATING: 4.5 STARS

One of my friends (worked with me at the bookstore, and now in my book club) recommended this novel a few times over the year, and finally I had a rainy day to read it. I first read this novel a few years ago and enjoyed the writing - clever, witty, raw and powerful - as well as the characterizations. I am not a huge fan of dystopian novels, (I cannot explain why) but when I read one that really gets into my mind, I am just enthralled. Gilead is set in the US, and is written by RATING: 4.5 STARS

One of my friends (worked with me at the bookstore, and now in my book club) recommended this novel a few times over the year, and finally I had a rainy day to read it. I first read this novel a few years ago and enjoyed the writing - clever, witty, raw and powerful - as well as the characterizations. I am not a huge fan of dystopian novels, (I cannot explain why) but when I read one that really gets into my mind, I am just enthralled. Gilead is set in the US, and is written by a Canadian novelist, and as I read this book I could see why the US. While it seems impossible, as the world seems to be getting better (in some ways, a non-white President!), there is a thin layer of ice that could be cracked. It's frightening, as a human, women, some of colour and being so close to the USA.

After my first reading of this novel, I saw this novel as - what if we don't actually learn from all the things we went through in history? What if the recent genocides is just a start? What if Roe Vs Wade is reversed? It's so scary that you don't think this can ever be reality in your future.

My second reading of this novel was after watching the movie version of this novel, and it was pretty awful. I need to cleanse that out of my mind so I reread The Handmaid's Tale. Upon the second reading I could really feel the tone of the book. Like the movie, and my first reading of this book, I was just focusing on the shock value of what the world had come to and how women were treated. When I reread the novel, I could feel the loss of freedom of Offred and most of the women in Gilead. These women were living their lives, and slowly they started to lose all the rights women in the past had fought for. We were going back in time and losing what makes us human. I definitely was hit harder on my second read.

It would be my third, and last (as of this review), reading that this book blew my mind. I read this in 2017 just as the television series was playing. I was prepping myself for the comparisons, but wow Margaret Atwood really can see the future. As Trump became president, the floodgates to what was simmering below was opened. Racism and sexism - violence and rape - were now applauded by the American President, when the last President was trying to eradicate them. As sexual assaults are belittled and victims are threatened and ridiculed and the perpetrators are freed with little or no consequences - the message sent is that women are not worthwhile. As abortions are made illegal - dangerous abortions will be on the rise. With this all on my mind, as I read The Handmaid's Tale for the third time I was terrified. This could actually be a reality. The turmoil is bubbling up and I am in awe of Margaret Atwood capturing 2016 to the present so well in the 1980s.

I also highly recommend the television show. The first season is based on the book, and the second season takes on what happens after the book ends. There are flashbacks to the characters's lives that just makes this all the more real and possible. This is one book, I think, should be taught in school and classes. This book is one of those work of art that inspires dialogue and opens your mind to what might be going on around us. To be quite honest, I am afraid to read this novel again...

At the time of writing this review (August 06, 2019) it is one month till The Testaments The Testaments will be released. This the sequel to The Handmaid's Tale. I am both excited and a bit apprehensive about reading it - but read it I will and review it once I have time to digest it all.

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Dec 22, 2014 Celia rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: kindle-list, book-club, 2017-read, 1001-challenge, 100-must-read, 52-2016, great-american-reads, wholesale

As you can see, I liked this book enough to read it twice. The second time was for my book club. The members who attended the meeting did not like it at all. (That was two votes against and one abstain - she hadn't even read the book). The ones who did read and comment thought it 'too predictable.

I found the book CHILLING. These events could really happen, at least to my way of thinking.

In a dystopian world of conservative Christians, the government is overthrown (killed) and a new law of order ...more

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May 08, 2017 debbicat *made of stardust* rated it it was amazing

Shelves: buddy-read, 2017-reads

Wow! Wow!
Full review to follow

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Jul 20, 2010 Tasha rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy-sci-fi, favorites-2013

This is my first Atwood and it will not be my last! This story was so hard to read but because of the fantastic writing of Margaret Atwood, I was turning pages at such a fast rate. I didn't want to put it down and found myself sneaking moments away to read. I think in the hands of another author, this book may not have worked as well for me as the content was difficult but Atwood pulls it off amazingly well. The added Historical Footnotes at the end were so very clever and able to smooth out the ...more

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Jul 17, 2022 Lory Sakay rated it liked it

I was not as in love with this story as I expected I'd be. Maybe this was because I waited so long to read this and had already expected some of the "shocking" plot? Or maybe it was because the ending was just "blah"? Dunno really. I intended to actually watch the show after I read the book and now, I'm not really interested. It was an interesting story, introducing outrageous ideas (those don't seem as unlikely as they might have when it was written), and definitely original. It was just "okay" ...more

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Jun 19, 2025 Scarlett rated it did not like it · review of another edition

I read this because of all the stir the Democrats have been making these days. I don't get all the fuss. This is fairly typical dystopian literature. I don't see any "horrifying parallels" to modern culture. Honestly, not the worst book I've ever read, but I won't be reading it again for it's lack of actual story and plot. ...more

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Mar 31, 2023 Bianca rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook, borrowed-from-library

I'm giving this a 2.5, but rounding up for the sake of the star system. I've been meaning to read this ever since the saw the movie(1990) back when I was in high school. I guess I expected the book to give me a bit more information than the movie provided, I was wrong. It gave me the same information - so at least that would a good thing, knowing that the movie is pretty close to the book.

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Aug 10, 2009 Phair rated it liked it

Shelves: book-club, dystopian, womens-issues

Read in conjunction with Children of Men (James) for a dystopian theme f2f discussion. Liked this one more than CofM. Do wish there had been more description of the underlying religious society that ran the show and also more about how/why the society came to this point. Had not seen the movie before reading but was vaguely familiar with the general story.

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