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

dark emotional informative tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Reread this book for the 2nd time and The Handmaid's Tale still blew my mind. Despite being published 37 years ago, the futuristic dystopian society Atwood crafted remains very much relevant, even until today.

It's a hauntingly beautiful classic (though I wouldn't say so for the lives the characters had to endure), and it also got the reader thinking about the implications of monotheocracy in a society - if religion is rendered to a brute totalitarian tool, does it still serve the functions it was originally established upon?

'Bout time humans revisit ourselves - our bloody past, and the bleary future.