Book Blog #214: The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

Title: The Handmaid's Tale
Author: Margaret Atwood
# of Pages: 311 (paperback)
Genre: Fiction, Classics, Science Fiction
Rating: ★★★★☆
Synopsis: Offred is a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead. She may leave the home of the Commander and his wife once a day to walk to food markets whose signs are now pictures instead of words because women are no longer allowed to read. She must lie on her back once a month and pray that the Commander makes her pregnant, because in an age of declining births, Offred and the other Handmaids are valued only if their ovaries are viable. Offred can remember the years before, when she lived and made love with her husband, Luke; when she played with and protected her daughter; when she had a job, money of her own, and access to knowledge. But all of that is gone now...
Review: For a classic, this book is very easy to read.

Yes, The Handmaid's Tale is definitely a more modern classic than most, yet it is refreshing to be able to read something higher on the respectability scale than your run-of-the-mill YA book with such ease. This is not to say Atwood's writing style is simply written, rather, she is a good storyteller. For the most part, her writing flows very naturally. However, not using quotation marks when Offred is recalling a memory is bothersome; although it may aid in separating actual speech and thought, it doesn't make it any less difficult to distinguish the dialogue.

I nearly gave this book three stars because I didn't like how exaggerated the dystopian world Atwood created is. Although there are instances of woman subjugation in this book that parallel situations in real life, the United States is warped into such a strange and unrealistic state that the story seems more like a tall tale you'd tell children rather than a warning against an undesirable yet probable future.

I was worried about how this book would portray sex and was impressed with how desexualize "The Ceremony" is portrayed. There is nothing romantic with how the society forces women to reproduce, and I was glad Atwood didn't make it that way.

The book held my interest the whole way through, and the ending leaves me thinking about it still. I would highly recommend this book!