Handmaid's Tale, The (The Classic Collection) MP3 CD – Unabridged, July 22, 2014

I will admit - Over the years, 'Handmaid' was one of those books everyone had told me just HAD to be read - but with the clear discomfort they'd show in saying that, I always thought - Nope; not for me. I'm just not one for the whole dystopian thing; I need to see some light at the end of the tunnel.Fast forward to last week - this book being required for my daughter's Eng Lit class, and sitting available while I was at loose ends in a Starbucks for several hours - I thought, Why not?... and how glad I am, that I had those few hours. Wow. I was gone, hook line and sinker, from the first page on.Handmaid is set in, yes, a dystopian future in which women's place in the world has been subverted, through various events which resonate awfully closely with current times. The story picks up at the moment when Offred (a concatenation of her "owner's" name and her position in this society) is assigned to a new home in a city in America, for reasons that become all too clear within a few short pages. Her experiences within this new environment, interwoven with her recollection of her past before this societal apocalypse, unveil themselves like the layers of an onion - a never-ending interweaving of recollections and current experiences which, in their close parallels with so much that seems to be happening in our current world, make it not just an uncomfortable read, as so many other reviewers have said; but an eerily prescient one for these times.I could go on about that aspect of what makes this such a valuable read for any person over the age of 10 years old, but I'm quite sure many of the 1,000 + prior reviewers will have spoken to that far more effectively than I ever could. But for me, what makes this book so great is the Voice that the protagonist gains as she struggles in such a harsh, unforgiving, and shockingly cruel environment - the brutal honesty with which that voice speaks to the horrors and impossible personal choices that any of us would have to make, faced with such a savagely misogynistic society. There is no turning away from those realities in this book; Offred is, clearly, no better than any of us; but, she is, perhaps, more honest about her choices than any of us would ever manage to be. She has no roads but dead ends; no feelings but pain, isolation, and tragic loss; in a society which both reviles her and yet absolutely, completely, stunningly, needs her.And yet. There is compassion - much compassion - in this book not just for Offred but for each of her persecutors; and a perfectly clear view, of each person in Offred's life, from the patriarchy which dictates every aspect of the lives of the Americans; to the women with whom she is forced to share the household; to the man who runs their lives - and in theory owns Offred, body and soul. Margaret Atwood has managed to capture the complete horror of this situation and yet the complete spectrum of needs and innate humanness - warts and all - of each of the players in this world, speaking with true sight not only about what they each do, but the real WHY of it, like a series of ornate but utterly constrained chess pieces moved about in a deadly game by unseen hands.Atwood's brilliance with the written word, the layers of meaning she assigns to so many individual words, is a both a challenge and a complete delight, no matter how difficult the topics she makes us consider. Each page is like unwrapping a gift of many layers of brightly colored paper, never knowing what you will ultimately find inside: something to treasure, or something to fear. Offred's voice and her observations of self, other, and society are so clear and beautiful, so bleak, sad and yet hopeful - so compelling - in making us see these people. There are many phrases and visions Atwood has generated that will stay with me, now, for life. I cannot say I am in all cases glad of that - but I know i am richer for it. And in reading many of the current, more negative responses of the Amazon reading community, I cannot help but wonder if their dislike of the book is in many cases driven precisely from Atwood's artistry with words. She holds up not a picture for us to view, but a mirror to reflect realities that in many cases no one in their right mind would want to see - they are far too close, too personal, too true. And yet - we MUST look.I do not see, as some others do, a depressing endgame in this book; quite the opposite. Offred's determination to survive no matter what the cost and her slow but relentless growth to her own form of power and eventual rebellion, is not so much a story as a roadmap. We could all do well by, like Offred, looking with clear eyes at this dystopian imagining. If, at the end of the day, this book leaves you uncomfortable or depressed or angry - good, if at the same time it also manages to leave you unsettled. Atwood's intent was never to entertain you but to inform you - and that, she does with a master's deft hand.Three days and counting. What will we learn in Atwood's new book? I look forward, with a perfectly uncomfortable blend of anticipation and anxiety, dread and hope, to the answer to that question.

I picked up the kindle version of The Handmaid’s Tale due to the fact the library was out, and this book was not what I expected. I had heard of it many times before, a classic, and now it is culturally relevant more than it was a few years ago, probably explaining why the library was out. The strongest asset of this story is Margaret Atwood’s writing style. I was enthralled by her use of language and could not guess where the plot was going to go, which is almost always a good thing. In this case, however, I found the plot direction to be ultimately dissatisfying.This book reads more like a description of a very intricate and complicated society and less like a traditional story. The characters were fleshed-out and believable, yet by the end of the story I could not tell you how most of them grew or changed over the course of the book. The main character starts off by referencing aspects of the dystopian future she lives in, and slowly she reveals more details about this world as well as her past. I don’t think that the plot is supposed to be the focus of this book, but I couldn’t help being disappointed with the main character’s ending and the questions left over about her.I felt left hanging at the end of the book and especially at the end of the “Historical Notes” epilogue. It did explain some unanswered questions but for me also raised more. Typically I like open endings, because there tend to be a few likely possibilities and the reader can use their imagination or pick between what might be possible. With this book, however, I have no guess, I have no idea what might be possible endings to the main character’s story, which is only disappointing because I enjoyed the rest of the book so much. This is a minor complaint, though, considering that I imagine the book to be far more driven by description, metaphor, and social commentary than by the plot. Overall, though, I think that the descriptions and metaphors that paint her experience do a great job of building the world and tackling the important social issues that arise.This story has a lot to say about gender dynamics, relationships, procreation, and the way the government as well as society in general views and handles these issues. I think this could easily be seen as a cautionary tale, to keep empathy in mind and to try to see things from the view of “the other”. This is a story from a woman’s perspective, and the women in this story essentially function only as property of men, yet are controlled by other women. A society that has in many ways returned to the past.Atwood does a good job of also explaining the men’s dissatisfaction and unhappiness in this world, giving a sense of their perspective and how this future didn’t turn out how they’d hoped, which is a big reason I’d recommend this book to both men and women. There is a large amount of distrust observed by the main character, and I could see it applying to any person theoretically living in this dystopia, especially considering how different people have different kinds of power over each other. I think this resonates with real life, and I can identify with the main character in her seemingly constantly being aware of everyone having desires and negotiating. These are major themes I noticed in this story, which also does well to tie into the themes of relationships and friendships.These themes show us the importance of coming together, communicating, and standing up for others, especially when a government system creates enemies by generalizing large groups of people. This is an example of how this book is standing the test of time, is relevant now, and will likely continue to be relevant.