When I grow up, I most certainly do NOT want to be a Handmaid.
It seems that The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood is one of those books about which I have heard a lot, but have never read. I decided to fix that last week at the library. And I really, surprisingly, enjoyed it.
The Handmaid's Tale is a story about Offred and her, for lack of a better word, colleagues. She narrates the book, introducing her situation by a flashback to nights spent "in what had once been the gymnasium." It is a bit disorienting, as it should be; the reader is further shoved off-course when s/he reads the following words: "Aunt Sara and Aunt Elizabeth patrolled; they had electric cattle prods slung on thongs from their leather belts."
Whoa. Who are you, narrator, and where the hell do you live? What happened to you?
Those are just three of the questions that come to mind when reading The Handmaid's Tale. It is written in a series of flashbacks, reflections on the way life used to be, and plain narration of events. It is a style that requires more attention than pleasure reading, but you are utterly sucked in to this world. It sucks you in to the point that when you get to the section entitled "Historical Notes," you shake off the disorientation again and plunge back in.
Offred's story is one of discovery (bleak though it may be), caution and rebellion. The United States, after a massive religious takeover, has become the Republic of Gilead. Militant monotheism is the rule of the land, and those who do not believe in the state religion - among them Baptists and Quakers - are pursued ruthlessly. The new Republic is reminiscent of the Orwellian world of 1984 - it is ruled by Commanders, Angels, Guardians and Eyes, among others. Women are relegated to third-class citizens, divided into the categories of Wives, Marthas, Aunts, Unwomen and Handmaids. They are no longer allowed to read or write. Each group has its tasks and pursues only those tasks. To go outside the boundaries is to risk punishment or death. The story we get in The Handmaid's Tale takes place very soon after the takeover; Offred states that she is one of the people unlucky enough to remember the time before the change.
As a Handmaid, Offred has been torn away from the family and life she knew before the Republic. She has already gone through one of her three allotted terms of service(perhaps two - I was unclear about this after reading the book); when we meet her, she is in the midst of her second (or third) term. Her job is to produce children to boost the incredibly low birthrate of the Republic - even that, though, is not a glamorous job. She and the Commander meet once a month to consummate the deal, though the Commander's wife lays in bed behind Offred and both women are fully clothed during the ordeal. And that's the "prescribed method," folks, not some weird hangup. It is not a happy existence. Offred's revelations of her former life and her discovery of an underground network, along with the suspense of an illicit and somewhat romantic relationship with the Commander, drives the book.
I enjoyed the book, in spite of its grimmness. It has the possibility to provide a lot of discussion in any book group, and it's a fascinating read.
The Handmaid's Tale is a story about Offred and her, for lack of a better word, colleagues. She narrates the book, introducing her situation by a flashback to nights spent "in what had once been the gymnasium." It is a bit disorienting, as it should be; the reader is further shoved off-course when s/he reads the following words: "Aunt Sara and Aunt Elizabeth patrolled; they had electric cattle prods slung on thongs from their leather belts."
Whoa. Who are you, narrator, and where the hell do you live? What happened to you?
Those are just three of the questions that come to mind when reading The Handmaid's Tale. It is written in a series of flashbacks, reflections on the way life used to be, and plain narration of events. It is a style that requires more attention than pleasure reading, but you are utterly sucked in to this world. It sucks you in to the point that when you get to the section entitled "Historical Notes," you shake off the disorientation again and plunge back in.
Offred's story is one of discovery (bleak though it may be), caution and rebellion. The United States, after a massive religious takeover, has become the Republic of Gilead. Militant monotheism is the rule of the land, and those who do not believe in the state religion - among them Baptists and Quakers - are pursued ruthlessly. The new Republic is reminiscent of the Orwellian world of 1984 - it is ruled by Commanders, Angels, Guardians and Eyes, among others. Women are relegated to third-class citizens, divided into the categories of Wives, Marthas, Aunts, Unwomen and Handmaids. They are no longer allowed to read or write. Each group has its tasks and pursues only those tasks. To go outside the boundaries is to risk punishment or death. The story we get in The Handmaid's Tale takes place very soon after the takeover; Offred states that she is one of the people unlucky enough to remember the time before the change.
As a Handmaid, Offred has been torn away from the family and life she knew before the Republic. She has already gone through one of her three allotted terms of service(perhaps two - I was unclear about this after reading the book); when we meet her, she is in the midst of her second (or third) term. Her job is to produce children to boost the incredibly low birthrate of the Republic - even that, though, is not a glamorous job. She and the Commander meet once a month to consummate the deal, though the Commander's wife lays in bed behind Offred and both women are fully clothed during the ordeal. And that's the "prescribed method," folks, not some weird hangup. It is not a happy existence. Offred's revelations of her former life and her discovery of an underground network, along with the suspense of an illicit and somewhat romantic relationship with the Commander, drives the book.
I enjoyed the book, in spite of its grimmness. It has the possibility to provide a lot of discussion in any book group, and it's a fascinating read.
posted by Linz at
5:26 PM
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