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

Margaret Atwood

Start date: October 1, 2018

Finish date: October 15, 2018

Discussion: Classics Corner

Discussion leader: Sara

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What Members Thought

Oct 27, 2018 Laurel Bradshaw rated it it was amazing

Shelves: daytimers-book-club, audiobook, science-fiction, dystopias, canadian-authors, color-rating-purple, waterstones-big-jubilee-read

I expected to not like this book, but I chose it for my bookclub because of the Hulu TV series (which I have not yet seen) and political events of the past two years which made the creation of a conservative and Biblical dystopia all too chillingly possible. My definition of a classic is a book which transcends the time in which it was written, in this case still relevant over 30 years later. I'm not a fan of dystopian fiction, finding it depressing, but the writing here is luminous, engaging, t I expected to not like this book, but I chose it for my bookclub because of the Hulu TV series (which I have not yet seen) and political events of the past two years which made the creation of a conservative and Biblical dystopia all too chillingly possible. My definition of a classic is a book which transcends the time in which it was written, in this case still relevant over 30 years later. I'm not a fan of dystopian fiction, finding it depressing, but the writing here is luminous, engaging, thought-provoking, and highly quoteable. There is so much to think about. The author just throws you into the story, without giving lots of background information. You won't learn how and why this happened, but as Offred gives us flashbacks into her life as she experienced it, you feel as if this could happen. And the ending is open-ended. We don't know what ultimately happened to Offred - only that she escaped long enough to dictate her story onto cassette tapes, yet it remains unfinished. We end with some future society, discussing the "document" in an academic setting. That in itself is a fascinating look at how we look at and evaluate cultures like Iran, where women wear hijabs, and have everything in their lives proscribed and controlled by men.

To those leaving all the 1 and 2 star reviews, I wonder how old you are? My book club of older women loved this, and we had a fantastic discussion. One woman commented that she read this when she was younger and didn't like it and didn't "get it." But she read it again for this book club and said "Now I get it."

Audiobook narrated by Betty Harris.

Book description: Offred is a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead. She may leave the home of the Commander and his wife once a day to walk to food markets whose signs are now pictures instead of words because women are no longer allowed to read. She must lie on her back once a month and pray that the Commander makes her pregnant, because in an age of declining births, Offred and the other Handmaids are valued only if their ovaries are viable. Offred can remember the days before, when she lived and made love with her husband Luke; when she played with and protected her daughter; when she had a job, money of her own, and access to knowledge. But all of that is gone now.... Funny, unexpected, horrifying, and altogether convincing, The Handmaid's Tale is at once scathing satire, dire warning, and literary tour de force. ...more

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May 11, 2009 Jonathan rated it really liked it

Though sometimes classified as science-fiction, there is no science in this book. It is more like an alternate present, if things had gone very wrong back in the 1980s. In this society, women are totally subservient to men, acting as slaves (including sex slaves) and controlled by a brutal power structure. Among many disturbing scenes and descriptions, the most memorable ones involve the ceremonies for conception and birth, in which a sterile wife frames the body of her proxy womb (the forced su ...more

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May 21, 2008 Jenni rated it really liked it

So I finished this book last night. It was a page turner for me. I think its a good book to read especially right now with the elections coming up. VOTE VOTE VOTE!

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