A review by erasmios
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

5.0

I've never read anything like The Handmaid's Tale before. I'm not talking about the story as the novel's world isn't the first dystopian world ruled by a fascist religious government, although to be honest Atwood puts her own nefarious twists into it. I'm talking about the narrator, the handmaid. I hadn't realised stories could be told like this. It's difficult to explain what it feels like to read Offred's thoughts. To whom is she talking to? It doesn't read like a diary, it feels like I'm in her head, that I'm there with her. I think The Handmaid's Tale is an exceptional novel. It doesn't have a lot of hope, it's as distressing as a book can be, and its characters are lonely, sad and cruel. But everything it has to offer is true, important and extremely topical. Read it.