A typical futuristic tale from Margaret Atwood

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	• The Handmaid's Tale (MAXNotes Literature Guides) (MAXnotes) Malcolm Foster Research & Education Association, 1999 - 144 pages average customer review:based on 558 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

A 21st century 1984 by George Orwell

Cambridge, England, June 25, 2195.

Professor James Darcy Pieixoto discusses the findings of a manuscript titled "The Handmaid's Tale" which in its pristine state consisted of a metal footlocker, US Army issue, circa perhaps 1955--an account of the Gilead regime, city of Bangor, somewhere in Maine.

The author's identity can't be authenticated, but her tale is compelling.

"I'm sorry there is so much pain in this story. I'm sorry it's in fragments, like a body caught in crossfire or pulled apart by force. But there is nothing I can do to change it."

The President of the US and the Congress are all assassinated. The US Constitution is revoked. A matriarchal society ensues, where polygamy is justified for the sake of fertility.

The oligarchy in control, most of which is sterile from radiation can acquire "handmaids" for purpose of procreating. The wives rule the house and submit and attend a fornication ritual so that their husbands can reproduce.

The account is by Offred, a handmaid.

She may leave the home of her lord and his wife once a day to walk to the food market. She must lie on her back once a month and pray her commander gets her pregnant, because in a republic of declining births, Offred and the other handmaids are valued only for their ovaries.

Offred recounts the years before , when she lived and made love to her husband, Luke. When she played and protected her daughter that was given away to a powerful commander. When she had a job, money of her own, and access to knowledge.

"The Fall was a fall from innocence and knowledge," she tells.

Margaret Atwood has created a masterpiece that brilliantly interconnects politics and sex--just like Orwell challenged us in 1984, so will our minds be challenged--and forewarned-- again in Atwood's "Handmaid."

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Great Review

I received the product within 3 business days and the product was in excellent condition.

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Danger of Theocracy Exposed!

Even if Ms Atwood claims this book is "main fiction", there is no doubt in my mind that it has all the traits of very good sci-fi.
It is a dystopia depicting a very stark upcoming, but not impossible in occurrence.

In a not so far future, a theocratic government has taken power over USA using violent methods. The new society is shaped as a patriarchal hierarchy, relegating women to a very subordinate position. One step after other this totalitarian government has banned gays, other religious groups and political dissidents.
The story is told by a Handmaid that is to say a fertile woman used as an official concubine by high ranking officials. Women have been stratified in rigid classes: Wives & Daughters, Handmaids, Marthas, Aunts and Housewives. Each class has its codified role and attributes under constant surveillance of males. Males are also stratified: Commanders, Angels, Eyes and Guards. They also are subjected to very strict behavior codes. Any intent of deviation is harshly punished.
The Diary gives the reader inkling into the new society and how it came into existence, but not a detailed and complete picture, rendering the novel very believable and interesting.

Ms. Atwood prose is very ascetic; short phrases devoid of adjectives gives her novel a very special taste. The reader is introduced into this stark universe little by little and the whole image takes some time to be grasped. As a final result a griping tale emerges.
This novel has been compared, deservedly, with Orwell's "1984" and Huxley's "Brave New World" and in my view it stands to par with them.
Reviewed by Max Yofre.

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A typical futuristic tale from Margaret Atwood

An interesting read from Margaret Atwood.

This is definitely a story noire, set in the not too distant future in a dictatorial, 'Orwellian' society . Life is a struggle and one does whatever one has to do, just to get by. And whatever one has to do just to get by, is usually controlled by the state.

I like Margaret Atwood's style of story telling; she takes a decidedly different plot and surrounds it with interesting characters and circumstances. As with most of her books, there are a few twists and turns along the way to keep you on your toes.

Conclusion:
Not a particularly happy story, but intriguing enough to keep the pages turning, IF, you don't mind a somewhat Draconian tale right out of "1984". If you can deal with the subject matter at hand and if you like Atwood's style, you'll enjoy (or at least appreciate) 'The Handmaid's Tale'.

Ray Nicholson

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

(Book Jacket Status: Jacketed)

A gripping vision of our society radically overturned by a theocratic revolution, Margaret Atwood?s The Handmaid's Tale has become one of the most powerful and most widely read novels of our time.

Offred is a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead, serving in the household of the enigmatic Commander and his bitter wife. She may go out once a day to markets whose signs are now pictures because women are not allowed to read. She must pray that the Commander makes her pregnant, for in a time of declining birthrates her value lies in her fertility, and failure means exile to the dangerously polluted Colonies. Offred can remember a time when she lived with her husband and daughter and had a job, before she lost even her own name. Now she navigates the intimate secrets of those who control her every move, risking her life in breaking the rules.

Like Aldous Huxley?s Brave New World and George Orwell?s Nineteen Eighty-Four, The Handmaid's Tale has endured not only as a literary landmark but as a warning of a possible future that is still chillingly relevant.

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