Margaret Atwood

The Handmaid’s Tale

Ooooh it's getting good and this is the last 6min of the book!! 

Atli 💗🧚🏽‍♀️

He calls me by my real name. Why should this mean anything? 

I don’t want to be a wingless angel. I want to keep on living, in any form. I resign my body freely, to the uses of others. They can do what they like with me. I am abject

Boy if you don't stfu!!!! Like oh wow you did them such a favour. Thank you, Mr Commander. Not. 

We’ve given them more than we’ve taken away, said the Commander. Think of the trouble they had before. Don’t you remember the singles bars, the indignity of high-school blind dates? The meat market. Don’t you remember the terrible gap between the ones who could get a man easily and the ones who couldn’t? Some of them were desperate, they starved themselves thin or pumped their breasts full of silicone, had their noses cut off. Think of the human misery.

Hmm... That's terrifying. Why is women's pain so fetishized and romanticized? 

Oh God, obliterate me. Make me fruitful. Mortify my flesh, that I may be multiplied. Let me be fulfilled …

Oh that's- man, I wouldn't be able to survive in this dystopia tbh. 

Women can’t add, he said once, jokingly. When I asked him what he meant, he said, For them, one and one and one and one don’t make four.

What do they make? I said, expecting five or three. 

Just one and one and one and one, he said.

Oh, these women (the aunts) are going to hell!! Why are they shaming women like this?? 

“It’s Janine, telling about how she was gang-raped at fourteen and had an abortion. She told the same story last week. [...] Her fault, her fault, her fault, we chant in unison.

Who led them on? Aunt Helena beams, pleased with us. She did. She did. She did. Why did God allow such a terrible thing to happen? Teach her a lesson. Teach her a lesson. Teach her a lesson.

You can mean thousands. I’m not in any immediate danger, I’ll say to you. I’ll pretend you can hear me. But it’s no good, because I know you can’t.

I wait. I compose myself. My self is a thing I must now compose, as one composes a speech. What I must present is a made thing, not something born. 

To be seen – to be seen – is to be – her voice trembled – penetrated. What you must be, girls, is impenetrable.

Luca Stromann

I don't want to be a doll hung up on the Wall, I don't want to be a wingless angel. I want to keep on living, in any form. I resign my body freely, to the uses of others. They can do what they like with me. I am abject.

I feel, for the first time, their true power.

I'll take care of it, Luke said. And because he said 

. That is what you have to do before you kill, I thought. You have to create an it, where none was before.

Now and again we vary the route; there's nothing against it, as long as we stay within the barriers. A rat in a maze is free to go anywhere, as long as it stays inside the maze.

A man is just a woman's strategy for making other women.

I like this. I am doing something, on my own. The active, is it a tense? Tensed.

It was the feet they'd do, for a first offense. They used steel cables, frayed at the ends. After that the hands. They didn't care what they did to your feet or your hands, even if it was permanent. Remember, said Aunt Lydia. For our purposes your feet and your hands are not essential.

Sometimes, if you ask at the wrong moment, they say no. If you really have to go that can be crucial. Yesterday Dolores wet the floor. Two Aunts hauled her away, a hand under each armpit. She wasn't there for the afternoon walk, but at night she was back in her usual bed. All night we could hear her moaning, off and on.

What did they do to her? We whispered, from bed to bed.

I'm waiting, in my room, which right now is a waiting room. When I go to bed it's a bedroom.

There is more than one kind of freedom, said Aunt Lydia. Freedom to and freedom from. In the days of anarchy, it was freedom to. Now you are being given freedom from. Don't underrate it.

It isn't running away they're afraid of. We wouldn't get far. It's those other escapes, the ones you can open in yourself, given a cutting edge.

There are no more magazines, no more films, no more substitutes; only me and my shadow

envee

Sarah Sammis

I'm glad I finally got a chance to finish the book. I started reading this about 17 years ago and then didn't get to finish. I don't recall why or what happened to my copy of the book.

I enjoyed this book as much as Oryx and Crake. Atwood is best at describing the aftermath of a society going horribly wrong. I like that in this one she does let the reader know that life goes on outside of Gilead even if her characters are unaware of things have remained the same outside of their immediate existence. Most authors of this type of story neglect the bigger picture and I'm glad that she didn't.

Sunny

Read as a buddy read with James's Buddy Reading Club ✨

3.5 stars 
I was excited to try something different from what I usually read, and I found this to be very accessible. It was horrific to think that the events of this book were moved along so quickly and that a huge group of many people's rights could be snubbed out so easily.
There was no happy ending, and it wasn't difficult to see the cycle we were briefly shown throughout the book would continue on and on until it was just accepted no questions asked.
However I did find the ending rather lacking, like it was waiting to continue on for nothing.
Overall, it was very thought provoking and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who's intrigued with the premise.

Isabella 

reading this felt like i was personally experiencing the gilead. the ending line is "are there any questions?" and i have tons of questions about this book. it leaves the readers wanting more. i read a review saying "Perhaps Atwood did not close the book with an ending because there is no end to oppression. A long look at world history proves this to be true." and i could see why it ended ambiguously. it is a timeless book, and would definitely recommend it.

review mentioned: https://alissasmith6724.wixsite.com/t...

Absolutely horrifying and growing more topical by the day. I adored it. 

Emma

Tobias V. Langhoff

A great piece of dystopian fiction. Like all the other great ones, such as 1984, it is an eerie story because of its plausibility. In the near future, the US has become a theocracy and institutionalized patriarchy. Fertility is at an all-time low because of biological warfare and/or irradiation, and fertile low-caste women are slaves who bear women for the upper echelons. The protagonist is one of such “handmaids”, who tells her story in the first person.

I read this to prepare for the upcoming Hulu TV series, which, judging from the trailer, looks very promising. I also listened to this as an audiobook, which was fitting because it’s a recorded story. Claire Danes does a great narration.

Recently, a short piece of addendum material to the epilogue was released: http://ew.com/books/2017/03/29/margar...

eileen sheats

I wasn’t going to read the sequel but after the plot twist in the epilogue I have to

jack

i think this book makes meaningful insights re: epistemology and language under totalitarianism. i also think it is written in a compelling style. however, i think the style limits the effect each insight has on the reader–everything feels forced, basic, and lazy on atwood's end. certain puns and word associations seem like complete stretches for the sake of making a dull point that atwood puts profound emphasis on. gets to be a turn off thru out the book. still an enjoyable read, especially in the context of orwell, lessing, and bradbury.

shadee

liked how it described scenes so cool. but it was just not the book id go crazy for or id really recommend to someone.

Damızlık Kızın Öyküsü

Yağmur Yıldız

Akıcı, keyifli, bazı noktaları vurucu bir romandı. Anlatı bazı noktalarda çok feminist, bazı noktalarda çok din karşıtı kalsa da anlatmak istedikleri ve olayı örgüsünü kuruşu merak ettirici ve tatmin ediciydi. Gerçek ismini asla öğrenmediğimiz Damızlık’ın Komutan, Eş, Marthalar ve diğer Damızlıklar ile kurduğu ilişki; temelinde korku barındıran ve Gözlerin yarattığı güvensizliği hissettiren ögeleri barındırıyordu. Bunları anlamak ve ‘haklı’ bulmak beni etkileyen ana unsur oldu.

unfortunate that atwood's criticisms of society seem timeless as many of the subtle jabs sting just the same as they would have when she was writing this. i thought the writing style was neat and had a fun time reading this! 

riss

Brandy

Rereading this book brings so much stress (in a good way). Looking forward for the sequel

Sercan Y.

Feminist aktivist bir yazardan çok etkileyici bir kitap.. Son dönemde okuduğum en iyi distopyalardan biri.. Günümüz muhafazakar iktidarlarının uyguladığı kadın politikalarına, hikayelenen distopya içinde yapılan göndermeler aslında anlatılanların çok da uzağında olmadığımızı göstermesi açısından manidar olmuş; ancak bu benzerlikler insanı dehşete düşürüyor. Hele ki bir de günümüz Türkiye'sini düşününce...

"Meclis binasında katliam yaptıklarında, suçu teröristlere attıklarında, anayasayı askıya aldıklarında, hiçbirimiz uyanmadık. Geçici olduğunu söylemişlerdi. Zaten hiçbir şey bir anda değişmez. İçinde olduğun kazan yavaş yavaş ısınırken, farkında olmadan haşlanarak ölürsün."

An incredibly pervasive set of distopian ideas simmer and bubble in this book. It can safely sit alongside 1984 and Brave New World on the Shelf Of Depression, instilling fear at a glance, I will say, however, that this book was rather more exhausting and less deeply developed than the other two, but that could easily be attributed to the perspective we are given.

Megan During

It presented some interesting points about what the world could be based on who is in the charge.

Decided to read this book after getting stuck into the series. This is beautifully written and Atwood does a fantastic job at making this dystopian world feel like real life. 

Robyn Claridge

Libertad Aguilar

** spoiler alert **
           I loved the ending because it just showed Jane (Offred){Ugh ugliest names ever} not knowing what the other side of that car ride would have. She didn't change the system, unfortunately. But it makes a great story. I really was hoping this wouldn't be another revolutionary book which it wasn't! I kind of like dark endings, I guess!

Melissa

‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ by Margaret Atwood beautifully depicts a dystopian society where women are oppressed yet again. The protagonist both describes life within this society as well as the fall of women’s rights. A story that is 100% applicable to today’s feminist issues and certainly also a food for thought. We have to protect our rights as women. Not only outside our community but also within it.

Briar's Reviews

The Handmaid's Tale is a book that I have been debating over since high school. Everyone I know from high school absolutely HATED this book (with a ridiculously strong passion) yet I had this feeling that I should read it anyways. After watching the 2017 television adaptation and LOVING it, I decided it was probably best to just bite the bullet and pick up this book. Of course, I had to remember to buy it to be able to read it and that took some time.

So, during this wonderous break from school and work I decided to indulge myself a little and pick up a book I REALLY wanted to read. Luckily, this book was within sight and reaching distance so I devoured it in under two hours. I binged this book SO HARD and it was SO WORTH IT. 

If you've watched the television show, you know the basis. The show expands a lot more on the content (and changes some) but you've got the jist of the story. Offred is a Handmaid to the Commander and Serena Joy. Her "goal" is to get pregnant and give them a baby, and that isn't going to well. So she hatches a plan with Serena Joy to be able to have a baby to get out! But... nothing ever goes to plan, and chaos ensues. That is the non-spoiler synopsis.

This book feels all too real even all these years later. It faces political, environmental and religious tones in such an amazing way that it really blew my mind. Margaret Atwood's writing just adds to this story and gives it way more depth than I ever expected. Every little twist and turn makes me question who you can trust, if Offred is a reliable narrator (at times) and if this world can ever change. Unfortunately, you don't find that last point out in this novel. The book ends rather abruptly and leaves me feeling cheated. I want to know what happens OH SO BAD. That's the only reason I enjoy the television show just a little bit more - it expands a lot on the narrative and we will most likely get some kind of ending (eventually... it's only at two seasons currently at the time I write this review). 

You could definitely tear this book apart for "plot holes" - like... how did society crumble so fast? How could these women not over power some of these leaders? How did people let this happen? There's so many questions that I want answered, but I don't think that's the purpose of this book. It felt like a warning tale, like 1984 by George Orwell or any of the Shakespeare tales. It's a different take on society as a whole and is criticizing it in some way (and it's also just really good fiction, let's be honest).

My biggest flaw is how short this book is - I want more and I want to understand more. This world is just way too good, complex and big to not explore! I hear there's another book coming out soon (oh please give us a sequel I want mooooore) but we'll just have to wait and see.

Overall, this is a book that makes you think. I love books like that because I can sink into my chair (or couch... or bed...) and just let myself fall into the story. I escape this world and all of my worries and just take in this whole new world. I think Margaret Atwood is a seriously good author with ridiculous amounts of talent and I will for sure be looking for more books by her. Books like this make me SO happy that I love to read and have the time and ability too. Books like this make reading an absolutely breath taking hobby! 

Seriously, if you love dystopian fiction, books that you can theorize and form conspiracies over or books that you probably would have read back in your high school English class- PICK THIS BOOK UP!

Five out of five stars.

This book is a delight to read because not only is Margret Atwood a stunning author, but the main character is also a great author. This account of a harrowing future is an engaging and riveting story with a thoughtful, curious, and honest protagonist. I was floored with this book. The honest and colorful writing keeps you turning the page, despite knowing what pain, darkness, or maybe even peace might await 

Truman M Halladay

Wow just wow. A book that everyone needs to read in todays society tbh 

Elizabeth Denny

Mitch Stewart

I really did not like this book at all. On paper it sounds like something I would rate very high but I just cannot stand Atwood's writing style. The jarring non-linear storytelling that didn't seem to add anything, the lack of quotation marks, the terrible world building where nothing is explained to the reader(Come on Atwood, you're not writing Malazan) until way later which I think is terrible in speculative fiction. 

I couldn't force myself to finish the book. I just read the rest on sparknotes and actually think that the themes and parallels she draws are poignant, I'd just rather read this written by someone else. 

Maybe I'll revisit this at a later date or at least watch the show, that way at least I don't have to read her writing.

Wilde

Maria Shade

Very hard to get through, the plot didn't seem to start until the last few pages. I understand this is the point, but it was difficult to stay engaged with the story.

The Handmaid’s Tale

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