The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Well, that was a creepy tale. It was one of those books where I read about 70% of it in about two days, then reached 90% by the end of the week, only to put it down for the rest of the month to recover before I found the energy to finally finish it. In part, I blame the holiday season for distracting me (though it can be enjoyable to read in front of the fireplace on Thanksgiving I was not given that opportunity). However, I think most of the blame falls on this thought-provoking an intense tale. I know this because my largest break came after (view spoiler)
The political landscape in this tale was a fascinating hyperbole of all our worst nightmares of outcomes where the separation between church and state crumbles, and what adds to the sheer terror of this text is the memory of life before the regime the characters have. Offred does not have the benefit of the younger generations of only growing up in her harsh reality and she struggles to forget about the freedom she used to have, which frequently jeopardizes her life.
Now that I have finished the book I look forward to watching the Hulu adaptation of it.
R.K. Gold 