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Hardcover
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9780307264602
Overview
Overview
A gripping vision of our society radically overturned by a theocratic revolution, Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale has become one of the most powerful and most widely read novels of our time.
Offred is a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead, serving in the household of the enigmatic Commander and his bitter wife. She may go out once a day to markets whose signs are now pictures because women are not allowed to read. She must pray that the Commander makes her pregnant, for in a time of declining birthrates her value lies in her fertility, and failure means exile to the dangerously polluted Colonies. Offred can remember a time when she lived with her husband and daughter and had a job, before she lost even her own name. Now she navigates the intimate secrets of those who control her every move, risking her life in breaking the rules.
Like Aldous Huxley's Brave New World and George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four, The Handmaid's Tale has endured not only as a literary landmark but as a warning of a possible future that is still chillingly relevant.
- Format: Hardcover
- Author: Atwood, Margaret
- ISBN: 9780307264602
- Condition: New
- Dimensions: 8.26 x 1.01
- Number Of Pages: 400
- Publication Year: 2006
Language:
English
Customer Reviews
Rating Snapshot
5 ★
65%
4 ★
15%
3 ★
15%
2 ★
0%
1 ★
5%
20 Ratings
0
0% Would Recommend
0 Recommendations
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A chilling modern classic that withstands the test of time
Alicia S. - 2 years 7 months agoI have only one complaint about this novel: that it isn't part of a series-I could have read at least three more books about the city of Gilead. Offred is living in an oppressive patriarchal society, serving as a handmaid to The Commander and his wife, Serena Joy. In war-time America where Congress has been overthrown and families torn apart, population has taken a perilous plunge. Handmaids have been trained and dispatched for one purpose: to become pregnant and repopulate the nation. Everyone has a prescribed profession, and everyone has their reasons for playing their part. Everyone is being watched, everyone is watching, and the cost for defying the corrupt higher officials is steep. This dystopian futuristic story has it all: suspense, unrequited love, violence, cultural and political commentary, underground societies, and so much more. (Not to mention Margaret Atwood's marvelous writing). The Handmaid's Tale left me contemplating for days after I finished reading it.
HPB Staff Review -
Critical Reader for a Society in Deep Flux
HPB S. - 5 years 8 months agoExtremely thought-provoking then AND now. To be considered a warning for what our society could be, and an exploration of the tricky and sometimes sinister bounds of human nature. We could arrive at this point. Let us avoid it!
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This book can be triggering, so be sure that you are in an okay space to read it before you dive in.
Lindsey S. - 5 years 8 months agoThis book is so important for everyone to read. The world-building is terrifying and incredibly well-done. Even though this apocalyptic world seems so far off, everything written about has, at some point somewhere, been actually done, according to Atwood. Read this book to stop it from happening in the future. #bannedbook
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Did not know what to expect.
J S. - 5 years 8 months agoI found this book very interesting. It was stunned how this society acted. I would recommend this book to others.
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Magnanimous Ingenuity of Margaret Atwood
Olivia W. - 5 years 8 months agoOh. My. God. The Handmaid’s Tale is my favorite book ever. It sounds weird, primarily because of the treatment of women in Gilead. It’s my favorite because I view it as a warning, a warning to women specifically. This novel, especially with the way 2020 has gone, is more relevant than ever. I just reread it this past week. It applies to this time more than any other book I have ever read. Written in 1985, Atwood has masterfully crafted this novel to apply to any era, any year, any day. The lack of technology, specificity to dates, and, overall, her magnanimous ingenuity leads to this being a perfect novel. The only downfall? It is a little hard to understand the timeline at first, but you are totally in the know on the second read. Whenever I read this excellent novel, I am transported into Offred’s mind. I highly recommend this #bannedbook!