Where to start? Some books almost defy description and this is one such iconic book...
The story describes the life of Offred, or at least her 'present' life. It wasn't always this way; once upon a time she had a husband and daughter, but no more. The USA is now The Republic of Gilead and is being run by religious fundamentalists. Women are now back to being second class citizens. They are not allowed to run their own finances, read books, dress to look alluring... freedom is a thing of the past. Offred, it soon emerges, is a 'handmaid' but what this actually involves takes a while to become apparent. The crucial thing to know is that something has happened to the environment and the birth rate is dropping. Babies are being born dead or grossly deformed and the government use this fact to introduce a system based on this quote from the bible -
Give me children or else I die. Am I in God's stead, who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb? Behold my maid, Bilhah. She shall bear upon my knees, that I may also have children by her.
Substitute 'handmaid' for 'maid' and the picture becomes clear. What isn't so clear is what Offred (we never discover her real name) has done to deserve this appalling fate. We discover that near the end, before which we follow her daily life as handmaid to a childless middle-aged couple and learn how handmaids - and women in general - are now treated. I'm not saying any more than that as there are twists to the story that are best read 'fresh' so to speak.
This is, without doubt, one of the most disturbing books I've ever read. I tried hard to adopt a disbelieving frame of mind. As in, 'Well, that could never happen...' But I couldn't keep it up. Too much of it reminded me of Nazi Germany or Stalin's USSSR or the way women *are* treated in certain countries in the world, even today. And what would we do, as women, if our governments started to go in this direction? It's a terrifying thought quite frankly. I'm not saying that our lives are perfect in 2009, far from it, but to be so completely powerless, not to mention dispensable if you happen to be beyond childbearing age, too much of a rebel to be assimilated, or even a nun! is truly appalling.
I tried really hard not to be angry at the men in this and in the main succeeded, because some of them were as much pawns as the women, with one obvious exception. But one telling comment came when Offred describes how the women in her office were all given the sack and then her bank account was frozen. She was suddenly completely dependent on her husband, Luke, but it seemed to her that he didn't really mind too much about the way things were going. After all... he wasn't female.
There's so much in this book to talk about... it's one of these books where almost every sentence is significant - to the point of taking your breath away. Atwood's writing is very spare in places and in others, where she's describing the mind numbing boredom, not. It's certainly one of the most intense, skilful pieces of work I've ever read and, I can say now, will probably be the best book I read all year. And I am definitely handing it over to my eldest daughter!
11 comments:
It's absolutely terrifying, isn't it? Especially because, like you said, it's not that unlikely a scenario. Atwood's writing really is breathtaking. Such a brilliant book.
This is one of my favourite Atwood books. You are right about a lot going on in it... I had the pleasure of reading it in university. I am not sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing!
Nymeth: it's very frightening, much more scary than your average horror novel which you can mentally dismiss as pure fantasy. Atwood makes it all seem so *real* and so *possible*.
Kailana: this is the only Atwood book I've read apart from a book of essays last year. I'll certainly be reading more but am not sure which ones are recommended.
Dire Straits lyrics over The Handmaids Tale. There's so much to be said about that!
I read this at uni and then a couple of times since and it's been frightening every time I read it. I think I get more out of it every time I read it abd it still seems relevant today. It could so easily happen. I just read and reviewed Oryx and Crake by Atwood which is in the same vein, bu a little it more science fiction, and not as good, in my opinion anyway.
well now...this does sound like one of those books you can talk about for a long time! but at this point in time.. I dont' think I want "realism"...I think I am still in the need of fantasy! But I will mentally put this on the back burner for now!
Jo: I've made a note of Oryx and Crake and will make that the next Atwood that I read. Will pop over and read your review in a moment.
Pat: Yep, one for another time for you I think. And we'll chat about it then.
I think this is an amazing,amazing book. I have also compared it to the holocaust in the way rights are taken away until the point when there are no rights. One of the best books I'll ever read, I'm certain. I should really research some more about it since it so fascinates me.
Tara: you're right about the Holocaust connection. Last night I was reading A Passion for Books edited by Harold Rabinowitz and Rob Kaplan. They've included a piece by 'Solly Ganor' who I've not heard of, but he's a holocaust survivor. He talked about how the Jews were told by the Nazis that they couldn't have books any more and how he, as a young teen, and a friend, found a place to hide a lot. A Maths teacher asked him for a maths text book which he gave the man, but he got caught with it. The soldiers shot the man because he refused to say who gave it to him... and 'Solly' witnessed this happening. It was a powerful piece of writing and reminded me of The Handmaid's Tale in that one of the things fanatics tend to do is limit or remove reading altogether because, I suppose, of the ideas in them. Solly Ganor's memoirs are apparently called Light One Candle - I'm off to see if they're available on Amazon.
I am not a big Atwood fan but this book is defintely going on my TBR list. It sounds quite terrifying and depressing.Also I like books that deal with issues of women rights.
Vipula: this is the only Atwood book I've read, apart from a book of essays, so it's hard for me say if I'm a fan or not. I did think this was a brilliant and very thought provoking book; one which I would encourage every woman to read. I don't know if you read science fiction or not, but Gate to Women's Country by Sheri Tepper is another excellent book about women in the future - but not quite so depressing.
I shall look out for both these books. Thanks
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