OVERALL: I really enjoyed reading the Handmaid’s tale overall, and I think that the book provided a fresh perspective on female characters in dystopian novels, but maybe that’s just because it seemed to have been a while for me since my last female POV dystopian fiction read.
BOOK REVIEW BASICS:
TITLE: The Handmaid’s Tale
AUTHOR: Margaret Atwood
RATING: 4/5 stars
SYNOPSIS: (Goodreads): “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 years 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…”
WHAT I LIKED ABOUT THE BOOK:
1. My favourite part of the book was how you get to learn a little more about Offred as you continue reading the book - it felt like trying to piece together a puzzle. As you learn more about Offred’s past, you also learn more about the cruel, slightly morbid and oppressive world The Handmaid’s Tale is set in.
2. I also really liked Moira, Offred’s MIA best friend (no spoilers!), and her spunkily refreshing personality.
3. The “different main character fights back society and creates a wave of change” trope isn’t used, which I really appreciated. Personally, I think that a lot of dystopian novels, mainly contemporary ones, overuse this as the main plot of the story, and the book becomes very predictable. In The Handmaid’s Tale, Offred is more of a “quiet-ish” rebel, who is more in the process of self-discovery after perhaps being brainwashed.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE ABOUT THE BOOK:
I can’t really put my finger on what I didn’t really like about The Handmaid’s Tale - though I think it might be that I’m not used to Margaret Atwood’s writing style after reading so much contemporary YA recently.
Right now, after my first read, I feel like I may not have fully grasped all the concepts Margaret Atwood may have conveyed throughout the book. I will definitely be rereading The Handmaid’s Tale after a couple of years to see if my opinions and ideas about themes change as I grow older!