The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Confession: I have a total lady crush on Margaret Atwood. I’m not ashamed.
Even though I wasn’t in love with Oryx and Crake I still think Atwood is a genius. While I still love The Blind Assassin the most of all the Atwood I have read, my 2014 re-read of this book has rekindled my lady-love.
I enjoyed this book immensely. The plot is incredibly gripping – instead of revealing it in chronological order, the reader is slowly taken through the mind of a Handmaid. Atwood gives such a perfect balance of the character’s remembrance and current activities. The truth is told to us is plausible pieces – the memories of Offred rise to the surface naturally.
My absolute favorite part of the book is when we get to the “how it happened” moment. The day that the funds were frozen, that the jobs were lost. Reading that caused a chill to run through me. It’s so simple and horrifyingly possible… it made me want to keep a stash of cash in the house just in case.
The plot line was fantastic and the writing in of itself was amazing. She personified characters who we never met and managed to integrate the boredom of the Handmaid (the words, the details, the line of thought) into a meaningful and forward moving story.
I found it intriguing and well done. Exceptional read. My re-read popped it to a 5.
(P.S. – on my first read through, I totally didn’t even know there was an epilogue. Mind. Blown. Also, I kind of liked it better without the epilogue… but I’m always one for ambiguity.)
The Roaming Reader 