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4.18 AVERAGE
4.18 AVERAGE
The story is amazing. Writing style not so much my style
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I put this higher on my "to-read" list because of all the excitement surrounding the show on Hulu and the comparisons being made between the situation of the women in this book to the situation of women in Trump's America. I had loved Atwood's Oryx and Crake and enjoyed the followups, so I saw no reason why I wouldn't fall deeply into this novel.
Maybe it was too hyped up and that doomed me to failing to build a connection. I saw so many Buzzfeed style articles LAUDING this book, drooling over it. It had to have affected me.
The Handmaid's Tale (if you haven't already heard about the plot, which I had) is set in a dystopian, patriarchal new society that has consumed what we readers know of as America. The large catalyst for the structure of this society is environmental havoc. Because of radiation, most women are infertile. So "handmaidens" acting as surrogate wombs must bear children. They hang out in the households of their assigned families, feeling awkward and powerless. Disabled, morphed children deemed unacceptable by the authorities are eliminated without ceremony. There is a dearth of humanity, both in morals and in numbers.
We tag along with Ofred (get it??? Because the handmaidens must wear red? And she's a little different and rebellious?? OFF RED) who has clear, nagging memories of her time before. We, as readers, get to relive those past memories and contrast them clearly with how she lives now. I personally love the format of experiencing the after of the apocolypse/societal shift while our narrator revisits past memories of before. The exact same format was used in Oryx and Crake to great effect. I enjoyed being in the world itself, feeling things, being with Ofred as she does little things. Literally my favorite scene is her eating an egg for breakfast, staying calm, and comparing God to an egg. The little details spring forth wondrously.
Where I was more bored and listless were through the overtly political and social commentary focused parts. The scenes and scenarios exist mainly to forward political questions (or in my opinion, the same question repeatedly). The book asks us, "Who are things worse for in this precarious socially-constructed love triangle? The handmaid? the husband? the wife?" It makes clear again and again that no one is really happy in the new world. Or, at least from Ofred's analysis this is definitively the case. Some shadowy, unexamined figures are at the top keeping order over these unhappy people, moving everyone around like pawns. You can also place all of the blame on the shadowy kingpins, which is deeply uninteresting and removes the stakes for every other character we see.
Also, Ofred as a narrator is deeply omnipresent and analyzing. No scene is left unanalyzed and unquestioned. In a very neckbeard-y manner, Ofred portrays herself as the only "woke" person in a world full of sheep. This technique further contributes to this novel feeling like a political treatise and not like a book.
The moral color of this world is a bland grey. It is clearly flawed and oppressive. There are not many questions to grab hold of besides the one that Atwood wants you to see by repeatedly presenting it to you.
The plot direction is also generally easy to see. From the very beginning you can see where Ofred's story is going next. I quit at page 200 because I felt I had seen everything this book had to offer me and would only get more of the same.
Also, I have a criticism of a specific element that really made me feel uncomfortable. In a new dystopic world that Atwood presents as clearly evil and broken, women are forced to dress conservatively and cover their hair and faces. I was unsure if this was supposed to be some sort of commentary on the Islamic veil, but it certainly read like one. And if it is supposed to function in that manner, it's a one-note, shallow criticism. That element has simply been pulled and then applied in this world. If anyone has any other opinions on this, I'd love to hear them!
Let's end on a positive note, because after writing this review, I want to move my rating down to one star. The oppressive situation gives rise to enjoyable camaraderie between the women. Secret alliances and celebrations and whispers. This is exactly the stuff I wanted to read when I heard about this book's scenario. Also, dystopic worlds give rise to interesting fictional scenarios. I almost didn't quit because of the concept of the prayer shop. Wealthy inhabitants of Gilead can pay for a computer to read their prayers aloud. The computers all sit in an empty shop, reading various prayers aloud to no one. Passerby can stand outside and listen to the computers praying the wealthy's prayers. Eerie, fun, and original, right? This concept was also enjoyable because Ofred didn't slam into the imagery with her omniscent, unromantically analytic thoughts about it. The reader is just left to soak the image in and imagine being there, without any cold political praxis and commentary. We needed more of this.
Maybe it was too hyped up and that doomed me to failing to build a connection. I saw so many Buzzfeed style articles LAUDING this book, drooling over it. It had to have affected me.
The Handmaid's Tale (if you haven't already heard about the plot, which I had) is set in a dystopian, patriarchal new society that has consumed what we readers know of as America. The large catalyst for the structure of this society is environmental havoc. Because of radiation, most women are infertile. So "handmaidens" acting as surrogate wombs must bear children. They hang out in the households of their assigned families, feeling awkward and powerless. Disabled, morphed children deemed unacceptable by the authorities are eliminated without ceremony. There is a dearth of humanity, both in morals and in numbers.
We tag along with Ofred (get it??? Because the handmaidens must wear red? And she's a little different and rebellious?? OFF RED) who has clear, nagging memories of her time before. We, as readers, get to relive those past memories and contrast them clearly with how she lives now. I personally love the format of experiencing the after of the apocolypse/societal shift while our narrator revisits past memories of before. The exact same format was used in Oryx and Crake to great effect. I enjoyed being in the world itself, feeling things, being with Ofred as she does little things. Literally my favorite scene is her eating an egg for breakfast, staying calm, and comparing God to an egg. The little details spring forth wondrously.
Where I was more bored and listless were through the overtly political and social commentary focused parts. The scenes and scenarios exist mainly to forward political questions (or in my opinion, the same question repeatedly). The book asks us, "Who are things worse for in this precarious socially-constructed love triangle? The handmaid? the husband? the wife?" It makes clear again and again that no one is really happy in the new world. Or, at least from Ofred's analysis this is definitively the case. Some shadowy, unexamined figures are at the top keeping order over these unhappy people, moving everyone around like pawns. You can also place all of the blame on the shadowy kingpins, which is deeply uninteresting and removes the stakes for every other character we see.
Also, Ofred as a narrator is deeply omnipresent and analyzing. No scene is left unanalyzed and unquestioned. In a very neckbeard-y manner, Ofred portrays herself as the only "woke" person in a world full of sheep. This technique further contributes to this novel feeling like a political treatise and not like a book.
The moral color of this world is a bland grey. It is clearly flawed and oppressive. There are not many questions to grab hold of besides the one that Atwood wants you to see by repeatedly presenting it to you.
The plot direction is also generally easy to see. From the very beginning you can see where Ofred's story is going next. I quit at page 200 because I felt I had seen everything this book had to offer me and would only get more of the same.
Also, I have a criticism of a specific element that really made me feel uncomfortable. In a new dystopic world that Atwood presents as clearly evil and broken, women are forced to dress conservatively and cover their hair and faces. I was unsure if this was supposed to be some sort of commentary on the Islamic veil, but it certainly read like one. And if it is supposed to function in that manner, it's a one-note, shallow criticism. That element has simply been pulled and then applied in this world. If anyone has any other opinions on this, I'd love to hear them!
Let's end on a positive note, because after writing this review, I want to move my rating down to one star. The oppressive situation gives rise to enjoyable camaraderie between the women. Secret alliances and celebrations and whispers. This is exactly the stuff I wanted to read when I heard about this book's scenario. Also, dystopic worlds give rise to interesting fictional scenarios. I almost didn't quit because of the concept of the prayer shop. Wealthy inhabitants of Gilead can pay for a computer to read their prayers aloud. The computers all sit in an empty shop, reading various prayers aloud to no one. Passerby can stand outside and listen to the computers praying the wealthy's prayers. Eerie, fun, and original, right? This concept was also enjoyable because Ofred didn't slam into the imagery with her omniscent, unromantically analytic thoughts about it. The reader is just left to soak the image in and imagine being there, without any cold political praxis and commentary. We needed more of this.
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Really enjoyed Atwood’s writing style. No, Offred isn’t likable nor is she that concerned about the regime she lives under and how others who aren’t white or privileged enough to offer something to it may be affected. I honestly wouldn’t expect anyone in her situation to be. This isn’t an all-encompassing tale of how extremism and misogyny in power could damage a nation, I see it as a cautionary tale of the indifference of white people.
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
4.5 - it would have been a 5 if not for the last chapter
I dont know how anyone can -not- love this book!
I dont know how anyone can -not- love this book!
Can’t say I was a fan of it tbh. I was expecting more sensationalism, more emotion, more action. Instead, I got pages of pointless extended metaphors, plot lines that went nowhere, and a main character that I just couldn’t bring myself to care about. The story itself reeks of white woman feminism, surface level nonsense of “down with the patriarchy”. THIS is what all the fuss was about? THIS was the warning people were issuing about what life could be like under Trump? No wonder no one took it seriously. I wouldn’t and I don’t. Black people are virtually erased from the narrative. The only two we see are black women who work in the kitchen. So we essentially become domestic servants (aka slaves) in this narrative? That’s it? They couldn’t be more creative than that? Boring. It’s almost like black people and POCs were an afterthought which, again, makes the whole thing read like a white feminist manifesto. Two stars is generous.
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
dark
reflective