The Handmaid’s Tale (The Handmaid's Tale, #1) in Reading 1001

Sep 21, 2017 William Irvine rated it liked it

I read this book because (a) because I'd found the recent TV adaptation entertaining and (b) a friend advised me the book included many of the narrator's thoughts and feelings that the TV adaptation had (necessarily) omitted. It does. Dystopian stories are usually thought-provoking and worth taking the time to read. I did like the unsettling open ending [NB but not the postscript]. I also enjoyed many of the twists and turns in the plot which kept me interested. So why, I've been asking myself, I read this book because (a) because I'd found the recent TV adaptation entertaining and (b) a friend advised me the book included many of the narrator's thoughts and feelings that the TV adaptation had (necessarily) omitted. It does. Dystopian stories are usually thought-provoking and worth taking the time to read. I did like the unsettling open ending [NB but not the postscript]. I also enjoyed many of the twists and turns in the plot which kept me interested. So why, I've been asking myself, did it find this book dissatisfying?

The premise - a military coup creating an autocratic theocracy, robbing women of their current freedoms overnight (in Massachussets of all places!) - was plain silly. I tried to persuade myself that this shouldn't matter - also that it was something that had actually happened in Iran in 1978 when women's rights were dramatically and swiftly reversed under Ayatollah Khomeini's theocracy. Perhaps Teheran and some real life stories might have made the tale more credible and, as a result, more powerful? Somehow I struggled to buy in or give credence to the Dystopia, plagued and exacerbated as it as by scifi fertility issues.

I'd been hoping for a feminist 1984 and was greatly disappointed. What Atwood fails to do, and that Orwell did so brilliantly, is to create a genuinely chilling atmosphere that the reader is able to believe in on some level. It's interesting that the TV adaptation 'sexed up' the horror aspects by adding amputations and stonings to the mix of the regime's draconian sanctions for those who oppose it. The TV adaptation also worked hard to make some of the characters less one-dimensional - another weakness of the book.

Great entertainment, but not a book to read if you really want to learn something. The issues of women's empowerment, rape, mysogyny and the self-righteousness of the religious are hugely important - and interesting. Atwood fails to do them justice - they deserve more serious psychological treatment than we find in The Handmaid's tale. 'Praised be. Blessed be the fruit'...I mean honestly! ...more

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Sep 01, 2024 Jenna rated it it was amazing

Shelves: boxall-1001-booklist

It is surprisingly easy to remember this book, that I have not read in over 30 years, and not just because it has become iconic - I actually remember particular scenes, and my shock and emotions while reading. I became life-long devotee of Atwood who has read everything except the sequel to this novel, which can't possible follow up this incredible work. ...more

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Jul 18, 2017 Kate Lightowlers rated it really liked it

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Aug 11, 2017 Ilyssa Guerra rated it it was amazing

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Mar 17, 2020 Lindy Marshall rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

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Jul 07, 2018 Christiane rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, books-in-english, 20th-century, series-i-will-not-finish, series, adapted, hyped, female-authors, dystopian, many-people-s-favorites

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