Rating: 
Summary: Anti-Christian? Nope. Atwood's Best? Hardly
Review: Unlike what most of the postings suggest, the novel is NOT anti-Christian. Offred prays to God more than once, Ofglen tells Offred she believes in God, and various sects(Baptists, Jesuits, Catholics, Jews, Jehovah's Witnesses and Quakers are those mentioned) of Christian religions are just as persecuted if not moreso than the women are. It's barely even what I'd call a feminist novel, the book doesn't seem nearly as propagandizing as I'd first assumed it would be.In addition, it is not Atwood's best work. It's wonderful, a compelling read, and Atwood breaks many literary rules, with almost always a positive effect. In any other author's repertoire, this would certainly stand out. But compare her prose here to, say, the Blind Assassin or Robber Bride. It's blown out of the water. It's almost juvenile in comparison. Atwood excels, however, in her treatment of the genre. The heroes and heroines of most post-1984 novels are revolutionaries, maverick thinkers, non-conformists. Also, their universes seem to be crafted by the author to fit exactly their strengths and weaknesses; don't we all wish such traumas were custom-made? Instead, Atwood focuses on Offred, who remembers the days when times were better but doesn't exactly care to attack the problem on her own. She vows to herself to accept her new life and try to move on, as long as she can stay alive. Not until she is approached by several underground workers does she decide to act on what every other handmaid is feeling. And she does nothing to really bring about the downfall of Gilead, she's just another handmaid who happens to get lucky and escape the system. She fails at her 'mission', she abandons hope, and never quite recovers it. She ready and willing to die when chance brings about her redemption. Offred is a true, real character, one of the best of the genre. Also, Atwood's portrayal of the Republic of Gilead is small-scale, and never reveals the nature of the system or its creation, making it seem more realistic. The characters never break into long monologues about Gilead's history; they all know it, and only reveal information in small references. Even in the slightly redundant historical notes no explicit knowledge is given. They're university students, they've all learned this before. A Handmaid's Tale is a very engaging and easy read, yet it can also be very profound, and it ends in about the right place. Just as it is about to get redundant and melodramatic, it is able to end realistically, and only barely seems to end too fast. So pick up A Handmaid's Tale if you're looking for an above average spin on most Utopian novels, but don't expect this to be an example of Atwood's later work. You'll be much more entertained with the aforementioned Blind Assassin and Robber Bride, or Cat's Eye or Alias Grace.
Rating: 
Summary: Fabulous read!!! Even better than "1984" in my opinion. A+
Review: This was my 1st experience w/Atwood, and I absolutely loved it! She is a fabulous writer and I highly recommend this book. This was one of those books you just sit down and devour. :-)
Rating:
Summary: A Great Read
Review: The Handmaid's Tale is the story of Offred, one of the few fertile women left in the Republic of Gilead, a dystopia at its worst. Toxic waste has left population levels dangerously low and religious leaders have taken control of the country, using desperate measures to repopulate the Earth. Offred is one of the many "handmaids" who are forced to live with a commander and trys to conceive a child with him once a month. The book chronicles Offred's life as she is living with Commander Fred (hence "Of Fred"). Atwood wrote this novel at a time when there was the possibility of religious leaders establishing a theocracy. She portrays the havoc that can come about when a democracy loses its control over the people. Atwood does this extremely effectively. Since the whole book is through Offred's eyes, the one-person limited view point makes you use your imagination to fill in the gaps left by her lack of knowledge. The book isn't so extreme that it's unbelievable and is so descriptively written that it almost feels as if it the events already happened in history. It was truly a great read.
Rating: 
Summary: Surely there are cheaper ways to get kindling?
Review: I am another of those poor souls forced to pay for this junk and read it for college. There is nothing quite as vulgar to me as a novelist carrying an overt political prejudice into their work deliberately. It seems unfaithful to the craft of writing, dishonest and trashy. As others have said, this does not hold a candle to Orwell, though it tries shamelessly. Here's a possible reason why it stinks: Orwell was batting for the team: human kind. Not woman-left-wing-zealot kind.
Orwell's work is far more complete for many reasons, one of which is the transition from our age to a brutal totalitarian age is explained in full, in Orwell's work (it's called 'back-story' and it's handy in books.) The totalitarian state in 1984 doesn't magically 'happen' and have the processes of power hinted at by vague sweeping references to politically correct causes; the power shift is explained in plausible detail by an author who knows history, which is what makes 1984 powerful. This by contrast was a serve of the sullen feminist bitterness that, if propagated and revered, will marr the reception of all women's writing. That aside, by God it gets tiresome. Get over yourself, Ms Atwood.
Rating:
Summary: truth is stranger then fiction
Review: This was an engrossing tale.
I read it about ten years ago....and it really left an impression on me.
I hadn't thought about it tho till today when I read this stroy from germany....and ladies...
I gave me the chills that this could be happening in a modern 'civilized country. This is from the telegragh:
'If you don't take a job as a prostitute, we can stop your benefits'
By Clare Chapman
(Filed: 30/01/2005)
A 25-year-old waitress who turned down a job providing "sexual services'' at a brothel in Berlin faces possible cuts to her unemployment benefit under laws introduced this year.
Prostitution was legalised in Germany just over two years ago and brothel owners - who must pay tax and employee health insurance - were granted access to official databases of jobseekers.
The waitress, an unemployed information technology professional, had said that she was willing to work in a bar at night and had worked in a cafe.
She received a letter from the job centre telling her that an employer was interested in her "profile'' and that she should ring them. Only on doing so did the woman, who has not been identified for legal reasons, realise that she was calling a brothel.
Under Germany's welfare reforms, any woman under 55 who has been out of work for more than a year can be forced to take an available job - including in the sex industry - or lose her unemployment benefit. Last month German unemployment rose for the 11th consecutive month to 4.5 million, taking the number out of work to its highest since reunification in 1990.
The government had considered making brothels an exception on moral grounds, but decided that it would be too difficult to distinguish them from bars. As a result, job centres must treat employers looking for a prostitute in the same way as those looking for a dental nurse.
When the waitress looked into suing the job centre, she found out that it had not broken the law. Job centres that refuse to penalise people who turn down a job by cutting their benefits face legal action from the potential employer.
"There is now nothing in the law to stop women from being sent into the sex industry," said Merchthild Garweg, a lawyer from Hamburg who specialises in such cases. "The new regulations say that working in the sex industry is not immoral any more, and so jobs cannot be turned down without a risk to benefits."
Miss Garweg said that women who had worked in call centres had been offered jobs on telephone sex lines. At one job centre in the city of Gotha, a 23-year-old woman was told that she had to attend an interview as a "nude model", and should report back on the meeting. Employers in the sex industry can also advertise in job centres, a move that came into force this month. A job centre that refuses to accept the advertisement can be sued.
Tatiana Ulyanova, who owns a brothel in central Berlin, has been searching the online database of her local job centre for recruits.
"Why shouldn't I look for employees through the job centre when I pay my taxes just like anybody else?" said Miss Ulyanova.
Ulrich Kueperkoch wanted to open a brothel in Goerlitz, in former East Germany, but his local job centre withdrew his advertisement for 12 prostitutes, saying it would be impossible to find them.
Mr Kueperkoch said that he was confident of demand for a brothel in the area and planned to take a claim for compensation to the highest court. Prostitution was legalised in Germany in 2002 because the government believed that this would help to combat trafficking in women and cut links to organised crime.
Miss Garweg believes that pressure on job centres to meet employment targets will soon result in them using their powers to cut the benefits of women who refuse jobs providing sexual services.
"They are already prepared to push women into jobs related to sexual services, but which don't count as prostitution,'' she said.
"Now that prostitution is no longer considered by the law to be immoral, there is really nothing but the goodwill of the job centres to stop them from pushing women into jobs they don't want to do."
[...]
Rating: 
Summary: The Handmaid's Poo Tale
Review: I have not read any other book by Margaret Atwood so this review is solely based on the writing in this book and what I got out of it, which was not much.
The first chapters are particularly innundated with incomplete sentences which usually give a sense of urgency to the reader. In this case, it just made the reading tedious. You do not want to read this book out loud because it will make you sound very annoying.
Even though I'm all for criticizing religious extremists, a better book could have made the point without insulting people's intelligence.
On the story itself, I just didn't buy it from the beginning so it was difficult for me to get into it at all. Here's why:
- The changes that must have occurred in this society are supposed to have happened within 10 years. This is too far-fetched, as it has been mentioned before. Anyone who has taken any type of sociology/anthropology/economics/politics class is being asked to forget all they have ever learned and just go with the flow. No society where everyone living under it(including top officials)is unhappy and breaking their own rules is going to be sustainable for long and much less enforceable for long. Drugs are too easy an answer.
- The main character is not really defined, she's all over the place. In fact, for someone who was supposed to be a college grad, she's pretty stupid. She thinks of herself as timid and complacent and yet every now and then she would have an outburst of assertiveness. Like her sudden awareness of her sex appeal and manipulation of it toward the Commander in those secret meetings. She wasn't smart and that was a big turn off.
- There were so many opportunities missed from the very beginning of better story lines that never took off. Ex. Ofglen, her partner in shopping, was aware of some underground movement and yet Offred never asked questions on the subject. Similarly, other handmaids during the 'birth day' had information that our hero never bothered to pursue. Maybe she liked being a victim and the life she led. The book would have been so much more exciting if the character had been willing to take risks. Again, not a very smart or functional main character.
Although I didn't like the character of Moria (come to think of it, I didn't like any of the characters), I think I would have liked the book to be about her and her adventures better than Offred's. She got a better perspective of what was going on and she was not afraid to explore the possibilities.
I do not recommend this book. It asks it's readers to conform to a mediocre story just like Offred is being asked to conform to a mediocre life with no real justification.
Rating:
Summary: A quest for personal freedom in the face of degradation
Review: Atwood's work is enjoyable on a number of levels. The first of these is in her talent as a storyteller. Her narrative constructs are rich in multiple layers that move through time with abandon, employing the use of flashbacks, dreams and distorted memory to go in and out of the story to re-examine the clues that are being left for us. Her work always has strong ties to the detective/mystery genre, even if the surface level would suggest otherwise. Here the story begins in a manner akin to film-noir, as we are thrown into a setting that we do not understand, whilst a myriad of stark and constantly free-flowing evocations are thrown at us in an attempt to leave us as bewildered and disturbed as the central character. It works. This subjective opening vignette was enough to persuade me to initially give up on the book as I waded into the unknown. Too ambiguous I though... too directionless. I stuck with it though, and gave the book my full concentration, so that by the time I'd reached the end of chapter two I really couldn't stop. I was engrossed.
The story is pretty much non-existent... in the same way that the story to such classics as the Bell Jar and the Lord of the Flies was an excuse by their author's for an emotional journey, so too is this. Our focus for attention is a mysterious woman known as Offred, who becomes our guide to this alien world, as we become her confidant. In the same way that Alex shares with us his exploits in A Clockwork Orange, so to does Offred, who shares with us her pain, her fragmented memories and her desire for some kind of escape. The central enigma is the discovery of her name before the construction of the colonies and the disintegration of society. This ties in with Atwood's other great talent, that being her fierce knowledge of social and political history. This gives her work an even starker emotional relevance that makes the usually far-fetched confines of science fiction seem almost like documented history. Her attention to detail in creating the world in which these characters inhabit is completely mind-blowing, being both an original, imaginative construct but also a horrifying reflection of our own world.
The book was first published in the mid-nineteen-eighties and we can clearly see the shadow of AIDS hanging like the sword of Damocles above the central social ideology and the aggressive treatment of sex and sensuality. There are also many allusions to the treatment of the Jews during the holocaust, the civil rights movement and unified segregation... all shot through with the many pretensions of that particular decade and it's "now" generation. The story builds slowly but we never feel bored by what is happening. Through the use of the slow-burning detective lay out, Atwood is able to get the reader interested in these characters and ask ourselves questions throughout the book... so, by the half way point I was demanding answers, moving through the book faster than any other I've ever read but at the same time trying to savour every last evocative detail. By the time I'd reached the closing chapters I was completely in love with the character of Offred... Atwood is able to embody this woman with a "real" spirit that makes us care about her like no other literary figure before (...a slight exaggeration, but you know what I mean!).
The dénouement of the book is a stunning example of Atwood creative use of storytelling. Not wanting to give anything away, I'll just say it's one of those endings that places an entirely new light on the proceeding work and leaves you desperate to go back to the beginning and start all over again. The whole book is tied together by Atwood's stunning use of language... honestly, if you ever get the chance to experience her poetry do so. The use of description here creates a kind of atmosphere that few books can equate, carefully setting up a level of mechanical degradation during the scenes within the colonies, whilst simultaneously giving the memories of Offred and her moments of tranquillity a down to earth beauty that is still totally real. This book moved and gripped me like no other, taking me on an intelligent and deeply compelling journey into the soul of one of the most significant tortured heroines ever created. To dismiss it as a copy of 1984 and Brave New World is a great injustice... as this book has an underlining degree of beauty that those works could only dream of.
Rating:
Summary: The Handmaid's Review
Review: Jason Thibault Book Review 12-17
The Handmaids Tale by Margaret Atwood. In the book the Handmaids Tale the main
character is Offred. A Handmaid that lives in Gilead. Offred who was a
Handmaid had the Commander as her man. His wife who was a gospel singer is named
Serena Joy. While Offred was having her monthly cycle she was to have sex with
the Commander while his wife Serena sits behind her holding her hands. There
are rules that the Handmaids need to follow. They are restricted to do things
that every other woman who wasn't a Handmaid could do. She cant leave the house
for normal foods shopping trips. The Gilead police kept a close eye on where
she was at all times. While the story is going on she really puts a little more
interest into the story she flashes back when things remind her of certain
things.
During these flashbacks there is the new world and the old world. In the old
world she had a affair with Luke who was divorced and married Offred and had one
child. Architects in Gilead took over completely, the military assassinated
the president and his followers of Congress and said they were taking over.
This age was where the woman were abused and used for prostitution. The Congress
decided that its time to tighten the rules for woman and having them not being
able to work or and have property. While this was occurring Offred lost her
husband and daughter through the mess.
Life while being the servant of the Commander was a lot different but always
the same. It was the kind of life that kept things the same and in the routine.
She sometimes takes trips with Ofglen to get some food. When she finally gets
away from the routine to go the doctor but it wasn't a good checkup he wants to
have sex with Offred to get her pregnant, but Offred refuses to have it because
if she is caught she could be send away. Then the Commander demands his gardener
Nick to go and see her. When he sees her he keeps going to see her on a regular
basis.
Ofglen who is Offred's friend tells her that she is a member of the "Mayday" a
group of people or organization trying to overthrow Gilead. She tries to find
the Ceremony that is different now that she knows the Commander. Then she
really is unhappy and she expresses her feelings to the Commander and he gets
mad and makes remarks that aren't very nice. Offred and the Commander had been
trying to have a baby for quite a long time and she really doesn't know what
else to do so Serena the Commanders wife tells her to go and have sex with Nick
his gardener. So when she has a baby with him she can say it was the Commander
when it really wasn't.
The novel ends by Professor Piexoto explaining that Gilead. Then he explains
how important Offred story but no on really knows what went on in the escape if
Nick helped or not and where did she go.
The Handmaids tale was a book that was a very good but book. But however it was
a little confusing for the average reader. When she jumped back and forth with
her flashbacks it was hard to follow if that just happened or if it was really a
flash back. I suggest this to any reader that tries or does read it because it
was a book that put the reader in the character's shoes more then other books.
It showed how terrible it was to be a woman
Rating:
Summary: A Prescient Vision of the Near-Future
Review: I highly recommend this book to everyone out there in the ether. Read it closely-- this is what happens when the religious right wins. I am amazed that Atwood was able to see our future so clearly when she wrote this book in the early 1980s.
In "The Handmaid's Tale," the Bible Thumpers have overtaken our government, demolished the church-state barrier, and installed their own vile brand of theocratic fascism in the Republic of Gilead. (Take note: they rise to power by citing a constant threat of unnamed terrorists, necessitating police state measures.)
In Gilead, everyone is segregated into a strict caste hierarchy. Men may be the Commanders, who are in charge, the Eyes, who are the agents of the Panopticon who whisk away any deviants, the Angels who wage the faraway wars, etc. Women's options are more strictly delimited: they may be the Wives of the Commanders, Econowives of the lower ranks, the Aunts who dominate and control women of the lower ranks, the Marthas who do menial household chores, the prostitute Jezebels, and the Maids like the narrator Offred.
As a Maid, Offred's sole purpose in life is to breed with her Commander. The manner in which Commander Fred attempts to "fertilize" Offred simply must be read to be believed. Interestingly, the Gileadans cite Biblical precedent to support this bizarre method of surrogate conception. Maids are terminated if they prove unable to conceive.
Since Offred's life options are so severely restricted, most of the novel takes place in her head. She reminisces about the time before, when she was able to marry, own property, and have her own children, the gradual increase in restrictions, and her failed attempt at escape. The novel is crushing in its illustration of a life thwarted, stunted, and defeated, and a woman made into an empty childbearing vessel. Reading the book, I was reminded of prison memoirs-- Offred has no chance of an external life, and is trapped in a life of solitude and regret.
Some people might say that such a future is unthinkable in our democratic society. I would recommend that you speak to any member of the extreme evangelical ministries, which view Jefferson's separation of church and state as a lie and an illusion to be abolished, and believe in the literal, inerrant truth of the Bible. I would also recommend that you read V.S. Naipaul's "Among the Believers," concerning the Islamic revolutions in Iran and Pakistan. Gilead's corporal punishments for heresy, dismantling of all democratic institutions like the press, and mandatory "Prayvaganzas" closely track what happened in Iran after the Ayatollahs overthrew the Shah.
I would place this excellent book on par with "1984" and "Brave New World." "The Handmaid's Tale" is necessary reading in this day and age.
Rating:
Summary: Handmaids Tale Review
Review: Todd Leveillee
English 12, 2004
The Handmaids Tale
Book Review
After assassinating the President and the members of Congress the Gilead continued to crack down on laws. They took away most of the rights for women, like being able to have property or the ability to hold a job. Knowing this Offred and Luke fled with their daughter and attempted to cross the border into Canada. Stopped there, Offred never saw Luke or their daughter again. From there she would no longer be a person with feelings, just an object of pleasure, and the duty of a handmaid.
The main character Offred meets Luke by having an affair with him. Luke divorces his wife and produces a child with Offred. They are caught trying to flee the country and separated. After being captured she was sent to the Re-education Center or the Red Center. This is where the women would be taught about the routine and duties of becoming a handmaid. When Offred finishes her training she is sent to the Commander's house. Weekly checkups are endured to make sure there are no diseases and after each checkup the handmaids go to the Ceremony. At the Ceremony the Commander reads to everyone from the bible. After this Offred and the Commander's wife, Serena go to the Commander's room. Offred has sex with the Commander while Serena sits up behind her and holds her hands. Offred is told by Nick, the Commander's gardener and chauffeur that the Commander wants to meet with her. They meet and Offred finds out that the Commander just wants to play scrabble with her. Time goes by and Offred has still not become pregnant. Serena wants Offred to have sex with Nick and just say that the baby is the Commander's. Offred and Nick begin to have sex on a regular basis. Offred travels secretly to a club called Jezebel's with the Commander. Serena finds out about this and she says she is going to punish her. Offred is waiting in her room when she sees a black van approaching the house. Nick comes into Offred's room and tells her that it is really Mayday members coming to save her. Mayday is a group that is trying to overthrow the Gilead. Offred leaves with the men and will never see the Commander again. At the close of the novel Offred says, "And so I step up, into the darkness within; or else the light." Meaning, she does not know where her life will lead her from here.
At the beginning of this novel this book seemed like it was just going to be about a woman that gave herself up for sex and continued to have flashbacks. It turned out to be about a woman that was transformed from a woman to an object fighting for survival. When I say she was transformed from a woman to an object I mean that she cared about life and Luke until she was turned to a handmaid. Since becoming a handmaid her life changes drastically. She now has a set routine of where she stays, what she eats and the tasks she is asked to perform. When Offred begins to develop a relationship with the Commander she is taking a huge risk. If she is caught by anyone, including Serena she could possibly be killed. Knowing this she still continues to go back. She is really in a predicament where she has no choice. If she goes and gets caught she is done for. If she doesn't go and goes against the Commander's request she will be punished. Either way it's a lose, lose situation. As the novel continues it seems like Serena senses that Offred is close with the Commander and tries to get her to sleep with Nick. Offred who has been longing to sleep with Nick abides by Serena's request. I call Offred an object because she has no say in anything she does. She must do as she is told or face the penalty. Just like a real life object she goes wherever she is taken does whatever she is told. This novel really keeps the reader interested because you find yourself always wondering, "What will happen next?"
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