Review: The Handmaid's Tale

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



Wow. I said earlier that I was unsure whether I wanted to scream or cry while reading this, and it still holds true now that I am finished. My general feeling after finishing this is shock over how horrifyingly relevant this book still is. In 2014. Still.


"Oiling themselves like roast meat on a spit, and bare backs and shoulder, on the street, in public, and legs, not even stockings on them, no wonder these things used to happen."

How many times have women heard this? What were you wearing when you were assaulted?

"But whose fault was it? Aunt Helena says, holding up one plump finger. Her fault, her fault, her fault, we all chant in unison. Who lead them on? Aunt Helena beams, pleased with us. She did. She did. She did. Why did God allow such a terrible thing to to happen? Teacher her a lesson. Teach her a lesson. Teach her a lesson."

And so it begins. The covering of women, the outlawing of reading and gaining of knowledge of women, based on the views of the Old Testament. Control the women to control the men. Women are put in their rightful place, as procreators. Women are protected. Unless they can't procreate. Those take care of the home or are deemed Unwomen and sent to the colonies.

"You wanted a women's culture. Well, now there is one. It isn't what you meant, but it exists. Be thankful for some mercies."


The one thing that sticks with me throughout this is Ofwarren's hope though. It may be minuscule, but there is always some in some way. She always feels something. Anger, love, horror, fear, fight. “Nolite te bastardes carborundorum.” Don't let the bastards grind you down. She reads this and it sticks with her. No matter what she is doing. She seems broken on the outside, but she finds little ways to fight back the entire time. It provides the book a desperately needed undercurrent of hope.

Overall, this was just an amazing book. It may not be the happiest book on the planet, in fact I'd consider it more horror than dystopian. That's just me though. But everything aspect of it made me think. And worry. And wonder about what I am teaching my kids now and what I can do differently in the future. That is what makes a book amazing for me.



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The Horror, Indeed.

I think this is first book that my dad has ever suggested to me that I did not also love.  I won't say that it was bad, per say, just that it was so incredibly boring until Marlow finally met up with Mr. Kurtz (over 100 pages in) that I thought I would go crazy. Seriously, how does a 133 page book feel like you are undertaking a read of War and Peace & the entirety of the Song of Ice and Fire with a side of the Wheel of Time series?  

I get that Conrad was primarily focused on showing the depravity of people here. Cannibals, slavers, poachers, industry, greed, etc are all used as examples of the downfall of society.  The thing with all of that, however, is that while it is still interesting in it's own special way, it was not written in a way where I even remotely cared. Period. All I wanted was to finally meet Mr. Kurtz and see what all of the hooplah was about. I still don't get it.  Nothing, nada, zip. 

If this book had not be written in 1899, and not been the first of it's kind, would it have been as resounding as it was?  We'll never really know. But I doubt it. 

To finish off this, I'm going to add something additional that I don't say very often. 

Watch Apocalypse Now and save yourself the trouble.  If Kurtz in the book had been anything like Brando's Kurtz, this would have been an entirely different review. 

My Rating: 2/5 Stars.