Classics Without All the Class discussion
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The Handmaid’s Tale
Sept 2013 - The Handmaid's Tale
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Review: Bookshelf, Library Bag or Donation Box.
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Bookshelf. As a matter of fact, it has found a happy home on mine. This book is by far one of the best books I have read all year. Atwood creates a dystopian society that, when you think bout it, could happen tomorrow. In the flashback scenes I would think to myself, "Well, that's pretty much how things are now. So....?" It was scary to even think that this could be possibility. But it is. And with that being said it made me appreciate and truly understand how important the women's rights movement was. Not that I was against it, I just don't think I grasped the weight of it. I enjoyed the main character's stream of consciousness. It wasn't an author telling me about something. The reader gets to, literally, read the character's thoughts. Any flashback, any emotion, thought, or memory is experienced with the character. It elevated my experience with this story. I felt like I was part of it.
For me the most interesting/favorite part was the very end. Written like a piece of history found in an old torn down house...Like a diary found decades later. It was haunting and the perfect ending to this story. I will be reading more from Atwood that's for sure!
Bookshelf. Definitely. I think anything I had to say about it would simply echo Jessica's thoughts word for word.
Bookshelf. I also agree with Jessica's post, the world Atwood creates could happen tomorrow. I think of the women living in Afghanistan under the Taliban. Scary stuff. This is the first book I have read by Margaret Atwood, I will be reading more of her work.
I enjoyed it but I can't say I would read it again. Library Bag.
Library bag for me even though I did enjoy it. While this story has stuck with me, I probably would not reread this book. I agree that while reading this I kept thinking of the Taliban woman and was reminded of how grateful I am to be able to make choices.
Bookshelf. It's a re-read for me and I liked it as much as I remembered.
I'd say bookshelf, but this is one I always feel compelled to pass on to a friend-- to their bookshelf!
Donation box, definitely.
Library bag. I think next couple months I wanna read just happy books where biggest problems are if you gonna eat cake or candy for breakfast.
Definite BOOKSHELF! I read this book last year with my book club, and it was a page turner. Definitely in the league of 1984, Fahrenheit 451, Brave New World, Ect. To top it off, I got to meet Margaret Atwood at a reading/signing last month. This woman is so smart and unique, I can't wait to finish the Maddadam series.
Bookshelf. The story kept me interested throughout because I wanted to know what happened or how it turned out. Thankfully, I have a sense of humor or I would have been seriously hacked off. Instead, I laughed at "the end." It reminded me of the surprise ending of Planet of the Apes. I don't re-read books, too many still left to read, which explains why my bookshelves are so overly full.
Bookshelf. Too many truths built into this story. I am sure a re-read will give me different perspectives into the story too.
Bookshelf definitely
Bookshelf! When this book was chosen I wasn't that keen, as I've read other Atwood novels in the (distant) past and they didn't really grab me. This book grabbed me, and even though I approached it with dread each time I couldn't stop reading it. Now I think it is time for me to revisit her other work - maybe I just needed to be at a different stage in my life!
Bookshelf! I've read this book 3 times in 20 years, and it actually scares me a little more each time because, as others have noted, it feels like it could happen even today.
Bookshelf for sure. I don't have anything new to add, but can only echo the others who say this feels a little too possible for comfort.
For me it was a bookshelf book (I rated it 4 stars). I loved it that the ending left a lot of room for interpretation. Better than to have everything laid out in front of you.
Bookshelf. I'm a huge Atwood fan, and this is her writing at her best. She explores our human weaknesses and strengths, and builds a very plausible world in which these can be taken to their extremes. (As an aside, I grew up in South Africa, and there was a prosperous and pious - and patriarchal - Christian community near us where the women had to all wear the same style of blue dress. I'm wondering, now, if they called themselves The Gileads ... ?)
Donation box. The creepy sexuality is just something I don't like to be around. The world she created was so far off from anything real. Kinda frustrated about the time I spent reading this bad book. She did have good metaphors though.
Bookshelf! The depiction of certain existing cultural beliefs taken to the extreme is indeed frightening.
Bookshelf for sure! I added some additional comments in the margins and some underlines in my already-years-old copy on my re-read this time, so it will be interesting to see how my thoughts progress my next time through in a few years!
Bookshelf - LOVED IT! (4/5 star)
Library Bag - It was okay... (3 star)
Donation Box - It was terrible! (1/2 star)
This is a metaphorical post. We're not actually throwing books out. It's just our way of doing a ratings system. It's for fun. If you don't feel like using this system, it's ok! We are just being silly about it!
Tell us your thoughts.