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Handmaid's Tale [Paperback]

Margaret Atwood (Author)
4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (245 customer reviews)

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In the world of the near future, who will control women's bodies? 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 only valued 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 tour de force.
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Customer Reviews

Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A Handmaidenly Handful of Fear Oct 4 2001
By Jon Myer
Format:Paperback
Picture a world, not far in the future; consisting of low birth rates, oppressed females, religions, constant wars, and a never-ending battle for freedom of thought. That is the type of setting presented in Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale. This book tells the tale of Offred, who happens to be one of the few handmaids in the world. A Handmaid is a woman who is used as a tool for the leaders of the world in order to procreate. Sound scary? You have no idea. Atwood describes a world full of fear and oppression that is easily portrayed through the narrative of Offred. With her harrowing words, Offred describes the people, places, and her thoughts quite clearly, leaving readers only in the wake of her emotions. She speaks to the readers personally about her contact with an underground organization, her past, the events leading up to the present, her secret affair, and much much more. All I can say is that this book holds you in a grip of anticipation and mystery as to how the set of events will unfold. The only thing you can do while reading this book, is to hold on for a wild ride of excitement and suspense. This book is a change from Atwood's common writing style, but she seems to handle it like a pro. You will definitely feel a sense of satisfaction when you put this book down. I highly recommend it.
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Not the usual suspects Aug 5 2004
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
If you're one for a novel that is truly off the beaten path, then stop--you've just found it. THE HANDMAID'S TALE is the most riveting and explosive thing I've read since Jackson McCrae's THE BARK OF THE DOGWOOD (which completely blew me away). The story alone, even if it had been poorly written, is incredible, but what the author does with this material makes the telling all the more powerful. Wow! This is one great read!
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3.0 out of 5 stars Somber and suffocating Feb 3 2012
By S Svendsen TOP 500 REVIEWER
Format:Hardcover
Atwood has a way with words. Her sentences are often poetic, but can be stark and abrupt, chopped off. At times this is intriguing but at other times irritating. This is a speculative novel about a newly established territory, Gilead, in north-eastern America, ruled by a secretive despotic regime. The Handmaid is Offred (her imposed Gileaden name), who is confined to an asylum where women are kept to breed a new generation of superior beings fathered by privileged "Commanders." She tells her story biographically. Often she has memory backflashes of her pre-Gilead life, her childhood, her mother, her husband Luke and their daughter. These recollections frequently surface mid-paragraph and even mid-sentence, which, as the mind works, is realistic but can be annoying for the reader who has to pause and sort out her present from her past.

Offred's somber tale describes a bleak situation that can be characterized as suffocating, lacking airiness. Her life is dreary and tedious, filled with obscure anguish. The overall theme is that women are helpless victims to men's schemes rooted in fascistic power structures legitimized by quasi-religious creeds and rituals. Instead of toeing the line, as she fails to conceive, Offred succumbs to her own need for emotional and physical diversion but these experiences only conspire to ensnare her rather than liberate. The last third of the book made it worthwhile for me but I thought the appendaged "Historical Notes" distracted from and complicated what would have been a furtively simple open-ended conclusion.

Religious fundamentalism, patriarchial oppression and political fascism are topics Atwood has woven into The Handmaid's Tale to interplay with a disconsolate feministic undertone.
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Most recent customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars A tribute to the classical writing style....
In the modern era very few authors have taken the time and effort to maintain the classical writing style that was so prevalent during the 19th and 20th centuries. Read more
Published 23 months ago by Ronald W. Maron
5.0 out of 5 stars Very convincing
I just finished reading the book, and what can I say, AMAZING! Great read. The writing style is superb, very convincing, detailed and touching. It is very moving. Read more
Published on Nov 17 2009 by S. El-Hilo
5.0 out of 5 stars Mrs. Q: Book Addict : Visit my blog for newest reviews.
This book blew me away and I just wanted to keep reading. The world that Atwood creates doesn't feel that far off. Read more
Published on Oct 29 2009 by Mrs. Q: Book Addict
4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting, thought provoking, and well written
The Handmaids Tale is a dystopian novel by Margaret Atwood. This story takes place in the Republic of Gilead, the future version of the United States of America. Read more
Published on Nov 13 2008 by Kirstie
2.0 out of 5 stars Magaret Atwood -- please no more political books
Margaret Atwood writes yet another book with more weak and obvious messages. I have read Oryx and Crake, then it was about genetic engineering, corporate power, etc. Read more
Published on July 29 2005 by Shirley Carter
5.0 out of 5 stars One of the very few books that you will remember forever!
Just perfectly wonderful. If you are a fan of "1984" by George Orwell you will be pleased by this fantastic but so realistic story. Read more
Published on Dec 5 2004 by Julie
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book
I am a great Margaret Atwood fan and I love this book
Published on Nov 11 2004
5.0 out of 5 stars Chilling, thought-provoking
THE HANDMAID'S TALE is a tale that needs to be read. This one by Atwood is not simply a work of feminism, as some try to portray it. Read more
Published on Sep 26 2004 by Beth Ann Lee
2.0 out of 5 stars Tale Worth Being Burned
While I was searching for a new book to read, I stumbled across Atwood's new novel, Oryx and Crate. I read the reviews and many people agreed that the Handmaiden's tale was much... Read more
Published on Dec 9 2003 by Valerie
5.0 out of 5 stars Yes im 17 but i am NOT a mindless idiot!
In reply to our dear Derrek, i as many of my other class mates throughly enjoyed the novel, it is rare a book you have to study becomes something you would read yourself, this was... Read more
Published on Nov 27 2003 by beccy
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