A review by mahtzahgay
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

challenging dark emotional tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I wish this story were different. I wish it were more civilized. I wish it showed me in a better light, if not happier, then at least more active, less hesitant, less distracted by trivia.

There's a lot to say here, with this read fresh in my mind. Not just a well-written and well-crafted read, with attention to detail and structure, but a deeply compelling narrative, too.

The humanity injected into all the characters, even the ones you want to leap through the pages and beat bloody, is a feat of craft itself. Whether it's Offred, Ofglen, Janice, Nick, Selina Joy, The Commander, The Aunts.... they all are convincingly and horrifyingly human, in all that entails.

What really struck me was how believable Gilead is. This seems a moot and overdone point considering The Handmaid's Tale's legacy, but witnessing the rise in fascism and ultra-conservatist movements globally made reading the slow creep of Gilead's authoritarianism seem so much more uncomfortable. The complicity of everyone, whether out of fear, disinterest, power, or true vehement belief. How Luke reacts so blithely to Offred's loss of autonomy at the very beginning.


Read for uni.