From the Bookshelf of Nothing But Reading Challenges…

The Handmaid’s Tale (The Handmaid's Tale, #1)

Margaret Atwood

Start date: March 22, 2014

Finish date: March 31, 2014

Why we're reading this: CLICK HERE to get to the discussion. We voted and this book won for March's Adult Sci-fi/Fantasy.…more
[close] CLICK HERE to get to the discussion. We voted and this book won for March's Adult Sci-fi/Fantasy.

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What Members Thought

Jul 10, 2025 Netanella rated it it was amazing

Shelves: feminist, 2025-horror-aficionados-mount-tbr, 2025-sffbc-read-all-the-books, 2025-july-reading-challenges, dystopian

I am a bit shocked at myself for having taken this long to read, finally, such a culturally significant work. I knew the basics of the story, of course - it's a dystopian tale set in near-future America where women have been reduced to their reproductive abilities. Handmaids in their characteristic red dress and white head covering have become international symbols of protest against governments that seek, again and again, to restrict women's rights to control their own bodies.

Margaret Atwood i ...more

27 likes · Like · see review

Mar 03, 2010 Trisha rated it it was amazing

Shelves: owned-physical

"Better never means better for everyone, he says. It always means worse for some."

There are books that are more powerful than words - more than just the indents and spaces of the page or the combined pages. This is THAT book. It's a powerful message and warning. It's more relevant every year - as the same fears and mongering gets bigger and uglier. This book reminds of us of the slippery slope of giving up rights in order for "safety" or different "freedom."

The world, the set up, we want to bel ...more

17 likes · Like · see review

Aug 31, 2017 Gabriela rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 1001-books-you-must-read, our-shared-shelf

A horrific mirage of humanity' darkest controlling systems

I was struck by the possibility that the world of Gilead could have been real at some point in history, it might have well been real which is even more striking. The author is a genius developer of thoughts and whishpers of the deepest kind, a picturesque illusion that the human soul can be salvaged in the face of horrific events. The amasing resilience of the mind and body against psychological rape of values and norms. I honestly could ...more

3 likes · Like · see review

Feb 20, 2015 Kelly rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 1001-books-to-read, library

Dystopian novels seem to be popular on the 1001 books to read list (of which this is one). This particular book was selected for me for a quarterly challenge, and I am glad that it was. It gives me hope that not all dystopian novels are a slog to read. While the topic is certainly not pleasant (women have completely lost their rights and are being used as breeders for childless couples in a weird scripted menage a trois), it is so well written, it is enjoyable to read. I will definitely be worki ...more

1 like · Like · see review

May 05, 2018 Leslie King rated it it was ok

When I read this, I got lost near the end... Not lost, but I think it turned into a diatribe, which I get...but I was babysitting while reading it through nap time. . .so...not the best time for diatribe reading.

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