Handmaid's Tale, The

Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale" is a haunting masterpiece that delves into a dystopian world with poignant brilliance. Atwood's intricate narrative weaves a tapestry of oppression and resilience, forcing readers to confront societal reflections. The protagonist, Offred, becomes a symbol of defiance in a theocratic regime, challenging norms with quiet strength. The thought-provoking exploration of gender, power, and autonomy is both chilling and captivating. Atwood's prose is a literary marvel, leaving an indelible impression that lingers long after the last page is turned. This classic is an essential read, resonating with timeless relevance.

Handmaid’s Tale was in my TBR for a long time. Much has been said and discussed about this book. It’s a well-known fact that it’s one of the best dystopian novel. It’s story of Offred, a Handmaid. In this distant, dystopian future, things change. Handmaid’s job is to “breed”. Other women are also put in roles like Wives and daughters of Commanders, Aunts to train new batches of handmaids and Marthas for household work. Every woman has to stick to her category, dress and act according to it. They are not allowed to read, go out on their own and even talk freely. Their every move is being watched by Guardians who have the power to give death sentence to anyone. This story revolves around Offred who is placed in a commander’s house to do her duty, breed. During this time, she meets Offglen, her partner for market visits who is also a part of a secret rebel group; Nick, her commander’s driver who is also helping her conceive and commander who is bored, sneaks her into his study room to play scrabble and talk. All these characters are presented from Offred’s POV, so we can’t be sure how they are actually as she keeps on changing /recreating stories as per her opinion. In the end, she is taken away by guardians in a black van but that leaves some air of mystery for us. This was my first dystopian read and as expected, I was disturbed. Plot and narration are, no doubt, brilliant. But even thinking about such life disturbs me to the core, where people are treated as cattle and they don’t even have the freedom of voicing out their opinion. What disturbs me more is the fact that if not in totality, this is happening in fractions, here and there, every now and then. Handmaid’s Tale presents a world of nightmares with no human rights. It paints a picture of a worst possible patriarchal society where women are ignored and they struggle for their basic rights. This multilayered, seemingly feminist dystopian novel will drain you emotionally and will haunt you forever. Once you read this, you can’t “unthink” what happens to Offred and others. Even though it’s a fiction, it comes close to reality in some parts and that’s a scary. Nevertheless, for the beauty of narration and a unique plot, I will recommend this to everyone. “We were the people who were not in the papers. We lived in the blank white spaces at the edges of print. It gave us more freedom. We lived in the gaps between the stories.”

The truly sad part about this remarkable novel is that it actually reflects the state of women in many societies even in the twenty-first century. Patriarchal societies really do continue to view women only as uteri. There is no place for a widow, an unmarried or a married but infertile woman in most places in South Asia, Middle East or Africa. Margaret Atwood has remarkably astute observation and wit. To a privileged world reader, she is able to convey the suffocating sense of what it feels to be a woman in a monotheocratic society. Unsurprisingly, all such societies consider women unworthy of any other job than being surrogates or maids. This novel brings the chilling, everyday tribulations of a woman into sharp focus. She leaves much detail open to interpretation, but it's not difficult to conceive of even a developed nation falling into extremist muck. It is a reminder to the developing nations that are seeing growing cultural tensions between majorities and the religious minorities. While women are increasingly empowered, the rapid undercurrent of conservatism and right-wing extremism threatens to subsume all progress. The Republic Of Gilead is definitely not a figment or a phantasm. Atrocities on women continue to be perpetrated, unabated throughout the world. This remains apt for the present day, as it was in 1985.

Love it

BOOK REVIEW: HANDMAIDS TALE by MARGARET ATWOOD TITLE: HANDMAIDS TALE AUTHOR: MARGARET ATWOOD PAGES: 320 PUBLISHER: Vintage ISBN: 978-0099740919 GENRE: Contemporary Classic/ Dystopian IF I COULD REVIEW IT IN A SINGLE LINE: Offered you wonderous yet unknown creature THE REVIEW: Every once in a while we come across that has a very beautiful narration, a bang on plotline and an even better recommendation but it still just does not stick well. I’m sorry to disappoint you if you are of the many admirers of the book but it just does not my cup of tea. The book is set in a near future dystopian alternative US which is governed by army, there is no president but a union comprising just of men and in this land the women are second citizens, the army is called Republic of Gilead. Offred the protagonist who narrates the entire story is a handmaid, 33. Her only job is to breed, she is what remains of the only viable women in the state. It is her job, her duty, her virtue and her life. In this world women have no rights but rather are accessories I’d say. They are categorized as wives and daughters of the Commanders, Handmaids, Marthas and Aunts. They all have duties according to their faction and clothes according to their duties. They may either choose to abide or be sent to live beyond the perimeter in the land plagued by radiation. Offred is sent to live with a certain commander and his household, she had a daughter, a husband and a life; she remembers them fondly in her memories. Offred’s pair Offglen is her companion during visits to the grocery. She is part of an underground network of rebels but she eventually hangs herself. The commander starts spending more and more time with Offred and they are eventually drawn toward each other; on the other hand as Offred hasn’t conceived yet the wife suggests her to do so with Nick which turns into a passionate love affair. The last scene shows us Offred being taken away in a black van; what became of her we’ll never know. Now for what I did not like about the book. I’ve always been a fan of contemporary fiction and hence picked this book up because of the hype surrounding it. I tried to but couldn’t fall in love with it. The writing style and presentation was a tad bit edgy and factual or rather cold and aloof for my tastes. Everything else about the book was love. I loved the story; the climax and the beauty of a ending. The transitions between when Offred was in the present and when she was thinking of her past had me in and out of the sync of reading. Cover: 5/5 (I own the beautiful hardcover edition of this book) Title: 5/5 Characters: 4/5 Language: 5/5 Story: 4/5 Writing and Presentation: 2/5 Overall: 3.5/5 I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book for @thatbooknerdyouknow. This review is my own and hasn’t been influenced by anyone else.

No wonder why this book is regarded as the classic dystopian novel. Based on an alternative world where the United States of America became "The Republic of Gilead". Women like Offred are the handmaids whose only purpose in life is to breed. Pulling down women to the level of cattle, subhuman. No rights, no identity, no voice yeah that's the kind of world we are talking about. It's not gothic or horror but the elements in the book will make a sure chill runs down your spine. It got everything that's just NOT RIGHT NOTHING BUT CRIME IN EVERY POSSIBLE WAY. talk about religious fanatism, extreme radical patriarchy, sex slavery in the name of serving God, separation of mother and child, life-changing in a second, just to name a few. This book made me uneasy, gave extreme discomfort. The intense slow writing made sure the pain gets elongated a bit more. It affected me in a personal way, every emotion, every thought of Offred became mine. I loved this book I hated this book. It made me sick in the stomach, made my moods go everywhere yet like an addict I crawled back to the book. This book is a must-read, even if you don't like reading. This book talks about possibilities that can happen like prophecy. This book is a WARNING OF LETTING THINGS TO HAPPEN WHEN YOU JUST DON'T RAISE YOUR DAMN VOICE.

The print of the cover could have been better. Other than that it's good (quality of page, font size).

Powerful feminist themes that remain relevant. Rich, layered storytelling with deep symbolism. Naomi Alderman's introduction adds contemporary insights.