The Handmaid's Tale (Paperback)

by Margaret Atwood (Author) "We slept in what had once been the gymnasium..." (more)
Key Phrases: birthing stool, Aunt Lydia, Aunt Elizabeth, Commander's Wife (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal
In a startling departure from her previous novels ( Lady Oracle , Surfacing ), respected Canadian poet and novelist Atwood presents here a fable of the near future. In the Republic of Gilead, formerly the United States, far-right Schlafly/Falwell-type ideals have been carried to extremes in the monotheocratic government. The resulting society is a feminist's nightmare: women are strictly controlled, unable to have jobs or money and assigned to various classes: the chaste, childless Wives; the housekeeping Marthas; and the reproductive Handmaids, who turn their offspring over to the "morally fit" Wives. The tale is told by Offred (read: "of Fred"), a Handmaid who recalls the past and tells how the chilling society came to be. This powerful, memorable novel is highly recommended for most libraries. BOMC featured alternate. Ann H. Fisher, Radford P.L., Va.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review
"A novel that brilliantly illuminates some of the darker interconnections between politics and sex . . . Just as the world of Orwell's 1984 gripped our imaginations, so will the world of Atwood's handmaid!"
--Washington Post Book World

"The Handmaid's Tale deserves the highest praise"
--San Francisco Chronicle

"Atwood takes many trends which exist today and stretches them to their logical and chilling conclusions . . . An excellent novel about the directions our lives are taking . . . Read it while it's still allowed."
--Houston Chronicle

"Splendid."
--Newsweek -- Review

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Anchor; 1st Anchor Books edition (March 16, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 038549081X
• ISBN-13: 978-0385490818
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (580 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #3,818 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

147 of 169 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What if this really happens?, June 3, 2002

By	Ratmammy "The Ratmammy" (Ratmammy's Town, CA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

The Handmaid's Tale - by Margaret Atwood

THE HANDMAID'S TALE is a frightening look at a not too distant future where sterility is the norm, and fertile woman are treated as cattle, to produce children for the upper class who cannot have any. The narrator Offred, as she is called in her new life, is the Handmaid for a top Commander in the new government. Once a month she is tested by a gynecologist to ensure that she is healthy, and then is taken to the Commander and his wife in the hopes of becoming pregnant.

Offred, along with the other handmaid's, are not allowed to look directly at anyone else. They all wear the same outfits; red long dresses and headgear that cover their bodies. They live together, spend most of their time together, and are taken care of, in the hopes that they will produce children for this barren society. In this society, most women are not allowed to read, and are treated as if they have no minds. The government dictates their role in society. If they disobey, they are punished severely.

Offred's memories often go back to a time when she was happily married to Luke, and with their daughter they were looking forward to a long and happy life together. Things changed when a military group took over the government, and immediately their lives as they knew it were over. Women lost all rights to ownership; bank accounts were frozen, land was taken away; fertile women were taken away from their husbands and families. A handful of older women were made into `Aunts', and their duties were to instruct and guide the handmaids, reminding them of their role on this earth, which is to procreate.

I have to say that my feelings during this book were of shock. In some sense, what has happened in this book has already happened in other parts of the world and can happen again. The control over women is very much like that of the women in Afghanistan. The control over religious choice brings to mind Nazi Germany, as one of the issues in the Handmaid's Tale is the elimination of anyone that refuses to be as one with the new government - religious persecution is justified and encouraged.

The Handmaid's Tale is a horrifying story of a government fully in control of each person's life and totally out of control. The book was so riveting that it took me only one day to read. I highly recommend this novel.

41 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Plain good literature, December 30, 2000

By	Zrinka Pavlic "zrine" (ZAGREB CROATIA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I have read "The Handmaid's Tale" a number of times, both in English original and in Croatian translation (a pretty good one). First time I read it, it was because I have found it in a library of a Women's Study Centre in Zagreb, Croatia, so I expected it to be "feminist literature", and was therefore a bit cautious about it, thinking it would be some kind of pamphlet for women's liberation. Of course, I did not know anything about Margaret Atwood back then. First thing this book taught me is that M. Atwood is, above all, a great author, and that "The Handmaid's Tale" is a piece of plain good literature.

The somewhat circular narrative centres around and is being told from the perspective of Offred, a woman living in Republic of Gilead, the dystopian, future theocracy established on the teritory of today's United States of America. Gilead's government is organized by a group of very specific religious fanatics, basing their theology on a couple of chapters from the Old Testament, specifically the story about Sarah, Abraham's wife, who could not bear children, and therefore had given Abraham her handmaid, Hagar, to concieve children with her. Also written in that chapter is God's command to Hagar to completely submit to her mistress, and Abraham's observation that Sarah is to do whatever she pleases with her handmaid.

That is the point from which the treatment of handmaids is derived in the Republic of Gilead. As the increasingly polluted land caused infertility withing majority of women, the fertile ones, especially those who have been either married to divorced men (theocracy of Gilead does not recognize divorce), or single, but not virgins, are taken as "handmaids" to be awarded to high ranking families without children.

Offred has been given to the family of The Commander, one of the highest ranking officials of Gilead, married to Serena Joy, a bitter and slightly desillusioned fanatic. Her narrative focuses on describing daily routines in their household, her experiences and her memories of a past, normal life, with a husband and a daughter.

Apart from political description of Gilead's ideology (which is given masterfully, without unneccessary and boring descriptions, yet with frightening details), the main value of this book lies in Offred's introspection. She is a person completely determined by her biological function as a woman and a child-bearer, completely deprived of any other individual merrits or rights. The way Offred deals with that is beautifully portrayed; sometimes in a flow that resembles free-association ("It's strange now, to think about having a job. Job. It's a funny word. It's a job for a man. Do a jobbie, they'd say to children, when they were being toilet-trained. Or of dogs: he did a job on the carpet...The Book of Job."), sometimes completely ripped-off of any emotions, yet almost physically hurtful with recognition and fear of it possibly coming true.

Granted, Margaret Atwood did write about a woman deprived of her rights in a male-dominated world here, but I don't believe it is a feminist pamphlet. It's a book about human condition, as any other good book; talking about what people are capable of doing, good or bad.

Another note. This, of course, is a speculative fiction, a dystopian one, like Huxley's "Brave New World" or Orwell's "1984". However, I have heard many people say that this one is the least probable one in terms of ever becoming a reality, and therefore fruitless in its message. To these people, I would recommend reading some news from Afghanistan, since Talibans took over.

137 of 163 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fascinating and horrific look into the future..., December 23, 2002

By	Dianna Johnston "Compulsive Reader" (Joplin, MO) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

I had this book on my bookshelf for three years before I finally decided to read it. Now I'm kicking myself for waiting so long! The Handmaid's Tale is awesome and it has completed my favorites list of 2002. Highly recommended.

Margaret Atwood's story is set in the future after the United States has undergone a nuclear war and the government has been destroyed. In place now is a strict and dangerous political scene, where any type of crime can result in an execution and a public hanging on The Wall. Not only that, but women are made secondhand citizens and are no longer able to hold jobs, make money, read or write.

The Handmaid's Tale is told through the eyes of Offred in the former state of Massachusets, now called the Republic of Gilead. Offred is a Handmaid, or a surrogate mother of sorts, who is appointed to an infertile couple in order to get pregnant and help boost the population. However, it isn't as easy as that since the only legal way to get pregnant is the old-fashioned way, which causes jealousy and tension throughout the household. And with the rigorous government, Offred isn't allowed to complain or refuse unless she wants to be shipped off to clean up toxic nuclear waste for the rest of her life.

I absolutely loved this book and will recommend it to all my book friends. The Handmaid's Tale is the perfect book for book clubs as it will evoke numerous discussions on feminism, nuclear war, radical government policies, slavery, etc. Margaret Atwood poses the question of "what if?" and one can only hope that this tale remains fiction. Excellent, thought-provoking, fascinating and heart-pounding -- this novel will never be forgotten.