Friday, September 19, 2014

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood


Book three for the new book club is The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood.  I've heard the name of this book so many times, but I didn't really know anything about it.  Think dystopian novels are new and only for the YA genre?  Definitely not.  This book is about a woman who has been forced into a position as a handmaid whose purpose it is to provide a fertile womb for a childless husband and wife.  Civilization as we know it has fallen and been replaced by a militant theocracy where women are no longer allowed to work, hold property or even read and write.

This book was both horrifying and also really good.  I still can't fully decide how I feel about it.  When I reached page one-hundred I was tempted to put it away and not finish, but once I reached about the half-way point I really needed to know what would happen.  I am so glad I finished it.  This is a book that would be wonderful for discussion and I would recommend it to anyone who isn't too faint of heart.  A woman I met said she read it in high school and I know for me that would have been far to young.  Have you read this one?  What did you think?  

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