Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale was first published in 1985. I was a junior in high school that year and I wish I could say I was with it enough to know about the book but I didn’t even know who Margaret Atwood was back then. Not until I got to college and took a literature by women class did I learn about her. We did not read Handmaid’s Tale in that class. Instead, we read Surfacing and Cat’s Eye. Surfacing is tied for first with Alias Grace as my favorite Atwood book. Over the years I have managed to read Atwood’s poetry, a good many of her essays, and all but two of her novels, The Robber Bride and The Handmaid’s Tale.
I don’t know why I waited so long to read Handmaid’s Tale especially since I went to the dark side in college and became a feminist. Maybe it is because the book became so very popular and for awhile, especially when the movie came out (I did see that) everyone was reading the book. I am not generally accused of hopping onto bandwagons, so I stood aside and watched it drive on by. And after that it just became one of those books I needed to get to.
Well, I finally got to it. I was kind of disappointed. I liked the book and everything, don’t get me wrong. I found it intense and frightening, a story that is still all too possibly real. The writing is good, the story moves along and I found myself fearing for the safety of Offred. I hated the ending. That might be a big part of my disappointment. When I closed the book I had a “that’s all?” sort of feeling. I was expecting more, something bigger, something more damning of the way women are treated. But the style of the book, while not a diary, is diary-like and sort of documentary in a way. And even though I had feared for Offred, I didn’t get an emotional payoff at the end. Having the final chapter be a conference in the future on the history of what happened during the time of the book featuring a discussion on the provenance of the “tale” I had just read is such a bland way to wrap things up. The end needed punch, something like Orwell’s 1984 where Winston ends up loving Big Brother. Not that I want Offred to end loving the totalitarian state of Gilead, but something with a bit of oomph would have been more satisfactory.
Ending aside, Atwood does a fantastic job of creating Gilead and of explaining how it all came about. What resonated most for me was this simple bit:
We lived, as usual, by ignoring. Ignoring isn’t the same as ignorance, you have to work at it. Nothing changes instantaneously: in a gradually heating bathtub you’d be boiled to death before you knew it.
Isn’t that how a good many horrors happen? These lines made me think of WWII and the people living practically next door to concentration camps who said they had no idea what was going on. I like to think I would notice something like a concentration camp or even the small changes towards a totalitarian society but when I read books like Handmaid’s Tale there is a small part of me that worries I wouldn’t notice, that I would ignore. I don’t know what I fear more, the possibility of being a person who ignores or living in a society like Gilead.
The book isn’t all doom and gloom, well it is, but there are moments of wry Atwood humor:
The pen between my fingers is sensuous, alive almost, I can feel its power, the power of the words it contains. Pen Is Envy, Aunt Lydia would say, quoting another Center motto, warning us away from such objects. And they were right, it is envy. Just holding it is envy. I envy the Commander his pen.
“Pen Is Envy” Ha!
The Handmaid’s Tale has made its way onto high school and college reading lists. I am very glad for that because it seems a good book to foster discussion about women, religion, and politics. The book is jam-packed with juicy discussable things from the big and obvious to the small and subtle. I will leave you with one of my favorite subtle bits, one that gives me a chill every time I read it:
Change, we were sure, was for the better always. We were revisionists; what we revised was ourselves.
Now I suppose I should get around to reading Robber Bride so I can be all caught up on Atwood novels. Perhaps a book to put on my 2013 reading goals list.
Recently Atwood has written a very interesting book, Payback; it has also been made into a film, portions of which are a reading by Atwood, who if you’ve not heard her, has much the quality of a poet. The film can be rented at the iTunes store. Fun to watch!
Richard, actually, Payback is a couple years old. It’s the book of the Masey lectures she did in 2008. It is very good. I didn’t know it was made into a film though!
Atwood is one author whose complete works are on my list to read. I saw the movie, The Handmaid’s Tale but would much rather read the book.
I really am ashamed to say I have never gotten around to reading Handmaid’s Tale which is an omission your very interesting review compels me to correct. Sounds to me like Attwood’s novel is even more relevant today- in an age of growing religious conservatism world wide where women’s rights seem to be inevitable collateral damage. Perhaps the muted ending of the novel is prescient? Anyway I look forward to reading a book that is clearly one of the few political novels in the class of 1984!
Ian, no need to feel ashamed, I just now got around to reading it. It is still an all too relevant book. As I was reading it part of me was hoping I would find it dated and the other part of me could easily imagine something very much like it happening today. There are some interesting comparisons that could be made between Handmaid’s Tale and 1984. If/when you get to the Atwood, I hope you enjoy it.
boarding, yes, the movie left me really confused over what the book was about in some ways. The book, however, has nothing confusing in it at all.
Thank you for your review Stefanie. I feel now compelled to take up the book.
Vanessa, and thank you! I hope you enjoy it when you read it.
I liked this one (think I rated it 4/5) and look forward to reading more Atwood. Thanks for sharing your thoughts as I read this one several years ago.
Diane, I rate it the same you as do. It’s a very good book but not Atwood’s best. I hope you do get the chance to read more Atwood!
I really need to reread this. I read it so long ago, and remember, somewhat like you, being both intrigued and disappointed, but of course, forgetting why! :–)
rhapsody, LOL, isn’t it funny how we can remember a long time later how a book made us feel but not the whys and wherefores? I have lost track of how many times I have said to someone, I read X and remember nothing about it other than I liked it.
Oh I loved The handmaid’s tale Stefanie which I read a few years after it came out … I remember nothing about the ending but the power of the story has stayed with me and that’s what makes it great. Clearly the ending didn’t bother me.
I like you comment “there is a small part of me that worries I wouldn’t notice, that I would ignore” something terrible happening. You know, I worry that it’s happening right now – for example in Australia with our treatment of boat refugees. Is it the thin end of the wedge in terms of disrespect for other. I don’t know. Is it that hard to identify when the corner has been turned? I don’t know.
Finally, re Atwood, I haven’t read Surfacing. My favourites are The handmaid’s tale, Alias Grace, and The blind assassin. The robber bride was entertaining enough but didn’t really grab me. I haven’t read her last two speculative books, and I’ve only read a couple of her very early ones.
whisperinggums, it is definitely a powerful story and I am certain it will stay with me, there are too many elements still at play today that could lead to a place like Gilead that will make the book hard to forget.
I have not heard about boat refugees in Australia, it doesn’t make the news here. The US has other immigration issues that often are all too cruel. But I think here, for me, the fact that Guantanamo Bay prison is still open and still holding people who have not be charged with any crimes and we so seldom hear about it, stuff like that makes me sick. And one does wonder, where the line is and how can you tell when it has been crossed and what do you do about it?
Surfacing is really intense especially since we slip into madness along with the narrator. Oh, yes, Blind Assassin is my favorite after Surfacing and Alias Grace. I have to read that one again. Atwod’s last two books are good and well done and I liked them a lot, but they are not my favorites. They have a lot of interesting things to say though and create quite a different – though still very possible – world than Handmaid’s Tale.
Yep … To all you say about the things happening in our world. I have both the Atwoods here but they keep slipping down the pile … Which is a pity really.
I found this a really dark book, and a chilling one because it all seemed so likely. So I enjoyed it a lot less than her other books because I am a sucker for when she is funny. But after I’d read it, once it had settled in, I appreciated it more. I have The Blind Assassin to read still (and Surfacing, in fact). Definitely on the list for 2013
Litlove, yes, it is really dark and doesn’t leave one feeling very uplifted. I started reading Willa Cather’s Song of the Lark right after and it is doing a marvelous job of lifting my spirits. I am a sucker for Atwood’s humor too. If/when you get to Blind Assassin and Surfacing I will eagerly read your thoughts. I suspect you would find lots of interest in both books!
I’ve read this maybe three times now and always find it frightening to think about. I have a paperback BOMC edition, so I must have read it fairly close to when it was published (but trust me I wasn’t cutting edge–I think it was my first Atwood novel, but purely by chance and an interesting looking book that caught my eye). After that I went on a big binge of her books, but nothing in years so I still have loads to read by her. My favorites are The Blind Assassin, Alias Grace and this one. Maybe I’ll get back to her in 2013, too!
Danielle, It is a frightening book, even more when I look around and it is obvious we are not out of the woods yet, that there are still parts of society that could go in that direction. Perhaps 2013 will see a Atwood reading upsurge from several of us!
Wow… I’m really impressed by how much Atwood you’ve read. I admit I’ve read very little of her even though she’s such a prominent Canadian writer. Mind you, I follow her on Twitter. So if you count her tweets I’ve read a lot.
The Handmaid’s Tale is in my TBR box. I bought it in one of the annual book sales a few years ago. It’s interesting to note from your quote, Gilead is a totalitarian state. While Marilynne Robinson’s Gilead portrays such a loving and generous character. I now what Atwood is getting at.
I meant ‘I know what Atwood is getting at.’
How cool that you are one book away from reading all of Atwood’s novels! I would like to read The Handmaid’s Tale one day, but it will only be my second Atwood. Since I didn’t love Alias Grace, my expectations aren’t super high, so maybe I will be pleasantly surprised and love it? I hope so!
Rebecca, I admit it is kind of a neat feeling to know I can almost say I’ve read all her novels. Too bad you didn’t love Alias Grace, but I hope it doesn’t keep you from trying again. You might like Handmaid’s Tale. I also suspect you would find Surfacing to be a rather interesting book.
I do not know that I’ll ever read everything by Atwood. I’ve read a few of her novels and stories and poems but I’m a hit and miss with her. My favourite is The Blind Assassin. I also really liked Cat’s Eye and this, The Handmaid’s Tale. Like you, I was disappointed with the ending but, unlike you, it didn’t take away from how much I liked the book. Reading Alias Grace at the moment. It started a bit slow for me but am two-thirds of the way through and excited to finish up so I can read more about the real case.
Kissacloud, it’s been ages since I read Cat’s Eye and I didn’t like it much but I suspect it might have to do with reading it for a college class and taking it in a rush. Alias Grace does start a bit slow but it builds I think. I hope you enjoy the rest of it. And yeah, the real life case is fascinating and makes an interesting comparison.