The Handmaid's Tale

Paperback, 341 pages

English language

Published Feb. 21, 2017 by Vintage.

ISBN:
978-1-78487-318-9
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OCLC Number:
1016137867

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(7 reviews)

The Republic of Gilead offers Offred only one function: to breed. If she deviates, she will, like dissenters, be hanged at the wall or sent out to die slowly of radiation sickness. But even a repressive state cannot obliterate desire – neither Offred's nor that of the two men on which her future hangs.

46 editions

Not so speculative fiction

I was warned this book is not a fun one. Indeed it is not.

You get to see the omnipresent fear and violence of a patriarchal surveillance state. You get to see how it got there, little by little, and how it got accepted. The disturbing part is that it is very much believable...

I hadn't seen since Orwell's "1984" the effect of a totalitarian system on an individual so well described, especially at an individual level. You get to see how a single mind resists or breaks when faced with such overwhelming brutal and oppressive environment.

It is definitely worth reading, especially when you keep in mind the fact that Atwood has been censored in several US states.

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Content warning Spoilers de “El cuento de la criada”

Una novel·la que enganxa des del primer paràgraf i que et fa pensar com poden arribar a passar coses tan bèsties

Tenia pendent la lectura d’alguna cosa de la Margaret Atwood i, quan he aconseguit temps, he començat pel Conte de la serventa , la primera novel·la de la temàtica Galaad. M’he penedit de no haver-ho fet abans perquè m’ha enganxat a la lectura i no he parat fins a acabar el llibre i començar el segon, Els testaments , que comentaré un altre dia.

Primer de tot cal dir que l’autora té una mestria en l’escriptura que molts altres voldrien. A cada paràgraf hi passa alguna cosa, per petita que sigui, i això t’enganxa i et fa avançar amb ganes.

En segon lloc, el tema que tracta que no saps ben bé si és ciència-ficció o política ficció. No és la ci-fi de marcianets i maquinetes a què estem acostumats. Més aviat es tracta d’inventar un model de societat puritana, cristiana i retrògrada on les dones són relegades als papers …

reviewed Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood (The Handmaid's Tale, #1)

a classic

I read this classic just two years ago. It felt more relevant to the present than it may have been when it was written. This book is a revolutionary milestone in speculative fiction and probably feminist literature as well, but I found equally interesting that the text is based on progressive loss of innocence. The final chapter is incredible and left me very satisfied.

Review of "The Handmaid's Tale" on 'Goodreads'

I was very impressed with Ms. Atwood's prescience from the early/mid 80's to predict (in a way) what has happened here in the US from (roughly) 9/11 forward - an attack by Muslim extremists (or at least blamed on, in the book) leading to an erosion of public freedom in the US, coupled with the rise of the Christian Right.

I was flabbergasted when I read the "backhistory" she finally let out in the middle of the book.

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