Summaries and Customer Reviews are supplied by Amazon.com
Summary:
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.
Customer Reviews:
Average Customer Rating:
This is a must read...
Customer Rating:
This is without a doubt one of the best books of all time. The US government has been crippled by nuclear war and overthrown by a Christian Theocracy, which subjugates women and persecutes anyone who does not subscribe to the stated belief system. It's strict and secluded. The theocracy claims to protect its people, its women from how the world used to abuse them through rape and sexualization, by blaming the women and then perpetuating a worse sort of lifestyle. This book focuses on the story of one Handmaid, Offred (a name given to her after becoming a Handmaid). You can tell that Atwood is coming out of the feminist movement, as well as the backlash against feminism... Serena Joy was a lot like Phyllis Schlafly, who was quite vocal in her sense of traditionalism for women (and popularly, her stop ERA movement). Offred wasn't born a Handmaid; she remembers what life was like before and how the US changed. Much like the political apathy of today, most people in the US just slept or shrugged their shoulders, convinced that their world would go back to normal soon enough. By then, it was too late. Atwood's way of drawing out Offred's emotions, of putting visuals and sensations captivated me. I couldn't put this book down it was that addictive. I really felt what Offred was feeling and I understood why and how she came to be what she was. I only hope that the ending is what I believe.
Haunting
Customer Rating:
I suspect that this book was a chilling read when it was published in the 1980's, but it is especially disturbing in 2008. The threats Atwood identified then-- religious fundamentalism, an environmental apocalypse, spying and terror committed by governments, increasing control over women's bodies-- seem even more pertinent today. Atwood's humor keeps the book from ever becoming too bleak.
Fascinating but horrifying
Customer Rating:
I finally read this after coming across several references to it. It's the scariest book I've ever read because 20 years later, I can still see it coming true. It was a bit confusing to read at first but the main plot was easy to grasp. This is one of my favorite books now.
I can't praise it enough
Customer Rating:
This was a very unique and interesting story. It's a dark theme with some very dark moments, but it also opens one's eyes. It definitely has a feminist philosophy slant- but I like that. The book left me wanting to know more- I wanted to know what happened to the character and to society next, but that was supposed to be left to the imagination, I'm sure.
This is not your regular novel and I would not tread lightly into it. It's philosophical content does not make for light reading. It also isn't uplifting or "feel good". But it is a story which will make you think.
Don't let the negative reviews scare you off. The grammar isn't as tough as Joyce Carol Oates, and I followed the story easily.
This book got me through the Bar Exam.
Disappointed
Customer Rating:
This book came highly recommended from friends and family. I must be the black sheep because it did nothing for me (well - it did annoy me a lot). I disagree with many of the negative comments - I simply do not care if it's anti-Christian (it's anti-fundamentalist, and if Christians automatically assume she's refering to Christianity alone, if that's how her depiction of this fictional society immediately says "Christianity" to you, you might want to do a little soul searching on your choice of religion). I dislike this book because the plot alone is so overdone and cliched (Orwell did it much better and with greater and quieter horror implicit in the plot). Atwood seems to think we need to be hit over the head with her point that fundamentalists in Western society (especially the U.S.) attribute every disaster to us just not being Right With God, and the solution to life's iniquities and tragedies is a return to the era of extreme religious control of society. I actually agree with her view, but the book is just too literal - the "mating" scene (as I call it) with handmaiden, husband and wife screams "Oh my god, isn't this AWFUL?". Yeah, if I cared anything about the 2 dimensional characters, it would be. The evil are evil, the good are dull, and both extremes have no subtlety. It's also predictable and not very original premise that the sexually repressed think of little other than sex, and those that aren't having sex are a pretty surly bunch. The writing is self-conscious and the ending is so lame (forgive me, but it is the word that comes to mind -imagine it with all the condescending distain of a 15 year old). Unfortunately, it has prevented me from reading anything else by Atwood. I shouldn't allow it, but I don't think I could approach her work without trying to find fault with it.
Select button not working? 
