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Summary: Notile le bast....
Review: All this books 'flaws' (non linear, lack of information) only make it more realistic and scarier. Even scarier is that this world could become real. Thankfully, we are not facing a declining population, but just the opposite, which could be an equal hazard. If such a wotld became real today, it would center on children rather than women, as today much political talk is of "protecting the children." This book could save America by warning us of what could happen if rights are not protected and people do no take interest in the government.The book is well written and has as much literary value as historical value.
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Summary: This is how it may be one day...
Review: "Behind the barrier, waiting for us at the narrow gateway, there are two men, in the green uniforms of the Guardians of the Faith, with the crests on their shoulders and berets: two swords, crossed, above a white triangle ... Their youth is touching, but I know I can't be deceived by it. The young ones are often the most dangerous, the most fanatical, the jumpiest with their guns." No, the above passage isn't a scene from the Reconstructionist South or Stalingrad in the early 20th century. It's from The Handmaid's Tale, a frightening novel by Margaret Atwood. And the narrator of those words is an unwilling prisoner in a stifling society, from which death is the only escape. Known as Offred - her real name was taken away years ago - she functions as a baby-maker in the Republic of Gilead, a fundamentalist Christian society that was called the United States not so many years ago. Her every step, every gesture is monitored by heavily armed spies, who vigilantly watch for any trace of impropriety, any hint of subversiveness. Even a lingering glance at a man could cost Offred her life. "Such moments are the hold out for myself, like the candy I hoarded, as a child, at the back of a drawer," she muses as she glances into the eyes of a guard on her way to the grocery store. A former wife, mother and feminist, Offred holds out hope of leaving Gilead someday, even though the odds are against her. As the book progresses, Offred's situation becomes more complicated. Her Commander, with whom she is forced to have emotionless sex every month, begins taking her to a brothel. Her mistress Serena arranges for her to have a clandestine affair with chauffeur Nick, so Offred can produce a child for her. And she is temporarily reunited with her best friend Moira, who was once a defiant lesbian but is now a prostitute, devoid of hope and ambition. Atwood tells her chilling, "1984"-esque tale in elegant prose, interspersing scenes from Offred's current life with her tormented recollections of the way life used to be. "Pieces of paper, thickish, greasy to the touch, green-colored, with pictures on each side," she says of the old monetary system. "You had to take those pieces of paper with you when you went shopping." Will Offred get out of Gilead and see her husband Luke again? Or will she be labeled an infertile Unwoman and be sent to the Colonies to clean up radioactive waste? With only her memories and an obscure Latin phrase to keep her going, Offred wrestles with these thoughts as she sits in the window of her government-issued bedroom, staring out at a world that is no longer familiar to her. Part science fiction, part precautionary tale, The Handmaid's Tale reminds us all that we should never take the smallest liberties for granted and that a seemingly stable society can change almost at the drop of a hat. Give it to your favorite feminist, or just someone who likes scary novels. This one isn't frightening because lives are threatened, but because it's entirely possible.
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Summary: Excellent - Highly Recommended!!!
Review: Wow! I found this to be an excellent book! When I first began, I thought I wasn't going to enjoy it because it took my a chapter or so to get into the "rythym" of Atwood's writing. After I got into it, however, I could not put it down. Atwood - here - creates an entirely possible world and characters that are eerily familiar. A Must Read!
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Summary: The Bible of Feminist Literature
Review: In The Handmaid's Tale we are presented with a post feminist future which is both unthinkable and undeniable. Offred, the protagonist, gives a personal account of her experiences as a handmaid in the Republic of Gilead, a New Right Theocracy in the near future. She is seperated from her family, forced to endure rigorous re-education and transferred among couple's homes, where they hope she will provide them with a newborn baby. Atwood's novel is clearly a reaction to the 80's backlash against the women's movement, particularly the Fundamentalist Right's pro-family activists who claimed the women's movement was destroying American family values and denying the natural order of men and women's roles; man was the breadwinner, woman the homemaker. However, what makes this novel so influential is that it is not only a reaction to the Fundamentalist New Right, it is also a reaction to women's non-involvment in the feminist movement. Atwood offers Offred up as a willing victim who's passivity in the feminist movement is as much to blame for the perpetuation of these gender roles as the New Right's takeover. The use of names like "Offred, Ofglen and Ofwarren" is a comment on modern women's willingness to take their husband's last name when they enter in to marriage. The name Offred indicates that Offred is a possession of Fred, she is Of Fred. Overall, this novel explores feminism from every angle and illustrates the fate awaiting humankind if gender ideologies are not abolished. I think it's all the more poignant today considering one of the most influential feminists of our time, Gloria Steinem, became a hypocrite a few weeks ago when she married Christian Bale's father... Should we call her Ofbale?
Rating: 
Summary: Good, but not great
Review: I found The Handmaid's Tale to be a very intriguing book.Although a little confusing at times because of the jumping from present to past to present and back, it was very well written! The actual plot is simpe, but the events that preceed it keep the storyline complicated and exciting. It isn't a suspenseful novel, but it usually keeps your attention. However, I have to admit that some of the more graphic detalis could be unenjoyable to some. They do add to the story, but can be a little too much at times. The characters themselves add a lot to the story. By being written in first person you are put in the story , and I think that the book istself is well written, and if you like futuristic books, such as Brave New World, you will love this book. Overall I did like it, and I would recommend it to you.
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Summary: 1984 for a new generation.
Review: In this fascinating novel, Margaret Atwood paints a grim picture of a future ruled by a strict religious regime. In The Republic of Gilead, formerly part of the United States, women have no control over their lives. They are not permitted to own property, their marriages are arranged, they must cover themselves head to toe in public. They are little more than housemaids and breeding stock for the male-dominated society. Our guide through this strange new world is Offred, a former career woman who is now a "handmaiden," an involuntary surrogate mother. Offred's character is smart and ruefully funny; her sharp observations and turns of phrase carry the novel through some feminist and environmentalist preaching. Offred's narration makes this tale of oppression and hopelessness a surprisingly light read. She is a real, believable character, and her story is complex and rewarding. Just as George Orwell wrote 1984 as a commentary on society in 1948, Atwood's Gilead is already in place. Substitute the Christian coalition in the novel for Islam, and Gilead is in Iraq and Iran. More chilling than the idea that a misogynistic, totalitarian society *could* exist in the U.S. is that it already exists elsewhere.
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Summary: A Stark and Chillingly Beautiful Tale
Review: The Handmaid's Tale is a novel of stark and chilling beauty. The most frightening story is often not the most gruesome story, rather it is the story that is not so far removed from our own present day reality. The spartan, strictly regulated, puritanical world that is the subject of the novel is paralleled by the economical use of words by Offred, the narrator of the story. Offred recalls longingly through bittersweet reminiscences, the world she once knew and never truly appreciated until it was snatched away from her grasp. As the narrator's story unfolds, the reader learns of the role Offred plays in the mundane, frightening existence granted to women living in her society. She is part of a world where women are treated as asexual objects, while the ability to reproduce is divorced from being a mother and set upon an inviolate pedestal. In this frightening world, not quite different than our own, fertility is one of the last remaining bastions of feminine power. Sex is a passionless transaction conducted by means of a perversely, unholy triangle of Husband, Wife, and Handmaiden. After I finished reading the Handmaiden's Tale, I was left with the desire to begin to make an effort to appreciate the mundane and seemingly meaningless rituals which are a part of daily living. It is only when one is given a glimpse of the consequences of losing an entire way of existence does one finally begin to appreciate what is already within their grasp.
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Summary: Riveting Story¿.
Review: I had to read this book in high school (ahem) over 13 years ago, and it still sticks in my mind as one of the best books I have read. We read this story along with 1984, A Clockwork Orange and Heart of Darkness (with seeing the movie Apocalypse Now as a modern comparison) and along with 1984, it gave me nightmares on what the future of society could look like. I suppose the premise of a rightwing (very, very, very right wing) takeover (which both books anticipate) seems scary because of the possibility of it actually happening someday. That is not to say that I believe that the world population is becoming infertile and that women are going to be reduced to a servile status, but there are many other portions of the book that seem highly realistic as a future for an apathetic society. In a society where something like 30% of the population votes in presidential elections and a president is elected with 42% of that 30%, I could envision a strong, charismatic person (megalomaniac) usurping power. Just look at Hitler. Anyway, Ms. Atwood uses some interesting literary devises, reverting everything to its lowest common denominator (like New Speak in 1984). All signs are pictures as opposed to written words, little details like that. There are portions that could get confusing to the reader who is not paying attention, and the ending is left as a bit of a cliffhanger, but this was a fascinating book, contemplating society and what it potentially can become. (AFTERTHOUGHT: for those of you out there who have to read this for class, don't bother trying to watch the movie, there's too much you'll miss....)
Rating: 
Summary: Bonkers
Review: I had to read this book for school. I am one of those people who, when I start a book, I have to finish. Nothing bothers me more than to have to stop reading a book for an extended period of time right in the middle of it. I stoped reading this book around page 200.
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Summary: Haunting
Review: When I first read Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale" I couldn't put it down. I read so fast that I knew I most have missed some potent details so before the last few chapters I decided to turn back to the begining of the book and read slowly (one chapter a day) savoring each little haunting bit. This book is a fantastic view of a very possible future, and a very good reason to continue to buy books printed on paper and not digitally transferred. People who are from the religious right might not like this book as it will force them to question their beliefs in regards to relationships between men and women.
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