Synopsis:
Divided into fifteen sections, with every alternate section (of one chapter each) describing the night, and the other sections containing chapters describing what goes on in between; The Handmaid's Tale is a dystopian novel where the society in the Republic of Gilead has been classified into strict hierarchies and women have been robbed of free speech/learning, where every activity is strictly monitored, everything is suspicious, and patriarchy reigns supreme.

Review:

Nolite te bastardes carborundorum.

A story that chills you from the first page itself. Where women - called Handmaids - have been assigned to specific houses, for the one and only purpose, that of breeding. A future where increasing infertility has led to a specific selection of such women and assigning them to what is known as The Commander's house, with each woman being assigned to a specific commander.

There is a hierarchy in which the society is classified into, roughly: The Commanders, The Eyes, The Angels, The Guardians, after which there are The Wives, The Aunts, The Marthas, The Handmaids, The Econowives, The Unwomen.

The way of living has gone back to primitive times, where women had next to no human rights. Narrated from a woman, a handmaid's perspective, who once had a life - a husband, Luke; and their little girl - this story ensnares you. This was my second dystopian read, after a long time, and it unsettled me. I was completely engrossed in the gripping narrative. There is capital punishment, lynching, and all of this is occasionally carried out in the name of providing 'protection' to women - protection from stalkers, rapists, voyeurs, etc. And thus, 'praise be' to the creation of such a 'safe' space for women.

There is more than one kind of freedom, said Aunt Lydia. Freedom to and freedom from. In the days of anarchy, it was freedom to. Now you are being given freedom from. Don't underrate it.

More than society, it can be described as a cult. Gilead is a monotheocracy. It's basically a cult which established society by literally murdering a democratic government. They call themselves the 'Sons of Jacob' and follow the 'Book of Jacob' in certain matters of the state. It took me a while to figure out the names of the handmaids. Oh my, the names! Offred being the titular character. Her reminisces into her past made me shudder, oh the joy of living in a free world. Which is getting less and less free by the day, what a scary situation!

It was quite amusing in a twisted way when I read the part about tourists from other countries coming to visit Gilead. It's akin to us time travelling to the Middle Ages, or a period before that. As the story undulates, there is a flicker of hope, hope for freedom from this society, hope for things to go back to normal, things to go back to what they were once before. Whenever there is captivity, there will be a revolution. I revelled in Offred's dark desires.

I believe in the resistance as I believe there can be no light without shadow; or rather, no shadow unless there is also light.

In some ways, this was a totally grisly read. It gave me nightmares.

Oh God. It's no joke. Oh God oh God. How can I keep on living?

I made it a point not to read this before bedtime. Still, the winged white eye will continue to haunt me.

In Gilead, Time is relative, and dates are not important. The treatment of citizens is barbaric and oppressive. The level of hopelessness that permeates throughout after living in such hapless conditions is alarming.

I want to keep on living, in any form. I resign my body freely, to the uses of others. They can do what they like with me. I am abject.

You can get a gist of the story from the following lines, where it is almost tough to differentiate between the author's and the narrator's voice:

I'm sorry there is so much pain in this story. I'm sorry it's in fragments, like a body caught in crossfire or pulled apart by force. But there is nothing I can do to change it.

P.S. The Historical Notes at the end are a treat to read! Totally not what I was expecting, seeing that they are Historical Notes. It kind of gives away the history from a future perspective. First published in 1985, I can imagine the disappointment of some readers because of the open ending. Hence, I'm eagerly waiting to see what The Testaments is all about. Since the second book will be releasing on 10 September 2019, this is my entry for the Reading Women Challenge Prompt 23: Any book from a series.

I love the author more for writing this in the Introduction:

There are two reading audiences for Offred’s account: the one at the end of the book, at an academic conference in the future, who are free to read but not always as empathetic as one might wish; and the individual reader of the book at any given time. That is the “real” reader, the Dear Reader for whom every writer writes. And many Dear Readers will become writers in their turn. That is how we writers all started: by reading. We heard the voice of a book speaking to us.

Suggested Readings and things to Watch out for:
Margaret Atwood's Essay

I read the Vintage Book's Kindle edition and the Introduction by the author gave an insight into what actually went behind writing such a story.

I'm yet to watch the TV Show but did you know that it also has a 1990 movie of the same name? Starring my favourite Natasha Richardson …
The Handmaid's Tale (Film)
And also, the author has a cameo in one of the episodes.

Originally posted on:
https://sassyshaina.wordpress.com/2019/07/12/the-handmaids-tale-by-margaret-atwood/