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A review by _astridedwards_
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
5.0
[a:Margaret Atwood|3472|Margaret Atwood|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1282859073p2/3472.jpg] envisages a truly disturbing dystopian future for North America, where societal roles are strictly regulated. While freedoms are curtailed for everyone, men and women, old and young, healthy and ill, [b:The Handmaid's Tale|9692063|The Handmaid's Tale|Margaret Atwood|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1415245391s/9692063.jpg|1119185] is unusual (especially as it was published in 1985) in that the narrator and main protagonist is female.
The work explores women's rights (and lack thereof), as well as all the ways politics and religion can restrict these rights, destroying not only the lives of individual women, but the fabric of the society we hold dear.
Offred remembers the freedoms of life and love available to Western women in the late 20th century. However, here we find her defined by her owner (she 'belongs' to Fred) and classified according her to her biological function. In this future world, women are chattels - literally colour coded and named according to their role as cook and cleaner, wife and symbol, baby-maker, or outcast.
[b:The Handmaid's Tale|38447|The Handmaid's Tale|Margaret Atwood|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1294702760s/38447.jpg|1119185] has entered pop culture in ways you are likely to recognise, even if you haven't read the novel (or seen the movie). Ever heard the phrase 'don't let the bastards grind you down' (nolite bastardes carborundorum)? You can thank Atwood for that.
The work ranks with the other great dystopian works of the 20th century, including [a:George Orwell|3706|George Orwell|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1374989696p2/3706.jpg]'s [b:1984|5470|1984|George Orwell|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348990566s/5470.jpg|153313], [a:Aldous Huxley|3487|Aldous Huxley|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1387374697p2/3487.jpg]'s [b:Brave New World|5129|Brave New World|Aldous Huxley|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327865608s/5129.jpg|3204877] and [a:Philip K. Dick|4764|Philip K. Dick|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1264613853p2/4764.jpg]'s [b:Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?|7082|Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?|Philip K. Dick|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327865673s/7082.jpg|830939], but offers a vision for what dystopia means for the women of the world.
The work explores women's rights (and lack thereof), as well as all the ways politics and religion can restrict these rights, destroying not only the lives of individual women, but the fabric of the society we hold dear.
Offred remembers the freedoms of life and love available to Western women in the late 20th century. However, here we find her defined by her owner (she 'belongs' to Fred) and classified according her to her biological function. In this future world, women are chattels - literally colour coded and named according to their role as cook and cleaner, wife and symbol, baby-maker, or outcast.
[b:The Handmaid's Tale|38447|The Handmaid's Tale|Margaret Atwood|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1294702760s/38447.jpg|1119185] has entered pop culture in ways you are likely to recognise, even if you haven't read the novel (or seen the movie). Ever heard the phrase 'don't let the bastards grind you down' (nolite bastardes carborundorum)? You can thank Atwood for that.
The work ranks with the other great dystopian works of the 20th century, including [a:George Orwell|3706|George Orwell|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1374989696p2/3706.jpg]'s [b:1984|5470|1984|George Orwell|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348990566s/5470.jpg|153313], [a:Aldous Huxley|3487|Aldous Huxley|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1387374697p2/3487.jpg]'s [b:Brave New World|5129|Brave New World|Aldous Huxley|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327865608s/5129.jpg|3204877] and [a:Philip K. Dick|4764|Philip K. Dick|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1264613853p2/4764.jpg]'s [b:Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?|7082|Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?|Philip K. Dick|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327865673s/7082.jpg|830939], but offers a vision for what dystopia means for the women of the world.