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A review by sakusha
The Testaments by Margaret Atwood
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale. Summary: The story of three women in Gilead times, but not seeming to relate to Offred of the previous novel. One woman is Aunt Lydia, one is Agnes who is of marriageable age, and the other is Daisy, a teen from Canada.
The book was entertaining. More exciting than the first book, but the first book was more literary and mature. This one seemed more like a young adult novel. Not a bad thing, for me at least.
All quotes below are from the wide print edition.
Some things didn’t make sense:
Daisy’s narration was often just the same as the others, with some “shits” and “fucks” inserted to make her sound modern, but it seemed forced to me (514). I think the author could’ve done better at making Daisy’s voice sound distinct and natural.
The first book made it seem like there were rations and shortages because the whole world was suffering through them. But in this book, Canada is living life like normal. There is no mention of Canada having an infertility problem, a pollution problem, or a food shortage problem. It was either a mistake or an oversight by the author not to have Canada suffering the same things as Gilead. Canada could’ve had violent rioting, babies being kidnapped, etc. There should’ve been more grayness to Canada, instead of Canada being pure good and Gilead being pure evil.
Early in the book, it sounds like Agnes is a teenager like Nicole is, since Agnes is to be married, and girls in Gilead get married young. But later in the book, they say Nicole is 8 or 9 years younger than Agnes (551)! Nicole is supposed to be 16, so that would make Agnes 24 or 25!
If Nicole was in Canada, and so was her biological mother, why wasn’t Nicole being raised by her as a kid once they both got to Canada?
It seemed odd to me that characters would recommend Nicole infiltrate Gilead. The people of Gilead *wanted* her back. Sending her in was risky and giving them what they wanted. She’d be safer staying in Canada. Also, it seemed unrealistic how Nicole didnt protest much about going into Gilead. Also unrealistic that Judd allowed Lydia to keep Nicole’s return a secret.
Why was it necessary to use Nicole to send back information to Canada? They were using the pamphlets before and could’ve used them previously to expose Gilead’s corruption.
It also doesn’t make sense that when they have two girls go from Gilead to Canada as Pearl Girls, they send Nicole and Agnes; Becka has to hide. It’d make more sense to send Nicole and Becka. Agnes and Nicole are supposed to look alike, so people wouldn’t suspect something is wrong if those two were the Pearl Girls. I suppose the reason for Nicole and Agnes being the ones to go to Canada is because their mother is in Canada. Still, if their mission is successful, then wouldn’t the girl who stays behind eventually be freed too?
Other comments:
Gilead has the girls under five wear skirts down to the knee, and no more than two inches above the ankle after that, “because the urges of men were terrible things and those urges needed to be curbed” (10). It’s funny that this is the excuse used for covering up women in many cultures, but I can think of a simpler solution: have the women dress like men!
“There were swings in one of the parks, but because of our skirts, which might be blown up by the wind and then looked into, we were not to think of taking such a liberty as a swing” (18). Wouldn’t be a problem if girls wore only pants!
“Girls of all kinds . . . Were to be married early, before any chance encounter with an unsuitable man might occur that would lead to what used to be called falling in love or, worse, to loss of virginity” (209). Never realized before that that could be a reason for why girls of many cultures were married young, but it makes sense.
Jade speculated that “kick the bucket” comes from “when they used to hang people from trees. They’d make them stand on a bucket and then hang them, and their feet would kick, and naturally they would kick the bucket” (437). Interesting, never realized that either.
Quotes I liked:
“You don’t believe the sky is falling until a chunk of it falls on you” (89). Remember that when it comes to vaccine injuries.
“I wanted to believe; indeed I longed to; and, in the end, how much of belief comes from longing?” (413) True, people believe what they want to believe.
The book was entertaining. More exciting than the first book, but the first book was more literary and mature. This one seemed more like a young adult novel. Not a bad thing, for me at least.
All quotes below are from the wide print edition.
Some things didn’t make sense:
Daisy’s narration was often just the same as the others, with some “shits” and “fucks” inserted to make her sound modern, but it seemed forced to me (514). I think the author could’ve done better at making Daisy’s voice sound distinct and natural.
The first book made it seem like there were rations and shortages because the whole world was suffering through them. But in this book, Canada is living life like normal. There is no mention of Canada having an infertility problem, a pollution problem, or a food shortage problem. It was either a mistake or an oversight by the author not to have Canada suffering the same things as Gilead. Canada could’ve had violent rioting, babies being kidnapped, etc. There should’ve been more grayness to Canada, instead of Canada being pure good and Gilead being pure evil.
Other comments:
Gilead has the girls under five wear skirts down to the knee, and no more than two inches above the ankle after that, “because the urges of men were terrible things and those urges needed to be curbed” (10). It’s funny that this is the excuse used for covering up women in many cultures, but I can think of a simpler solution: have the women dress like men!
“There were swings in one of the parks, but because of our skirts, which might be blown up by the wind and then looked into, we were not to think of taking such a liberty as a swing” (18). Wouldn’t be a problem if girls wore only pants!
“Girls of all kinds . . . Were to be married early, before any chance encounter with an unsuitable man might occur that would lead to what used to be called falling in love or, worse, to loss of virginity” (209). Never realized before that that could be a reason for why girls of many cultures were married young, but it makes sense.
Jade speculated that “kick the bucket” comes from “when they used to hang people from trees. They’d make them stand on a bucket and then hang them, and their feet would kick, and naturally they would kick the bucket” (437). Interesting, never realized that either.
Quotes I liked:
“You don’t believe the sky is falling until a chunk of it falls on you” (89). Remember that when it comes to vaccine injuries.
“I wanted to believe; indeed I longed to; and, in the end, how much of belief comes from longing?” (413) True, people believe what they want to believe.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Suicide