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Most moving read I still think back to this book regularly Jackie Finds

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Margaret Atwood

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The Handmaid's Tale Paperback – March 16, 1998

by Margaret Atwood (Author)

165,200 ratings

Book 1 of 2: The Handmaid's Tale

in Political Fiction

See all formats and editions

Los Angeles Times Book PrizeWinner, 1986

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#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • An instant classic and eerily prescient cultural phenomenon, from “the patron saint of feminist dystopian fiction” (The New York Times) • The sixth and final season of the award-winning Hulu series starring Elisabeth Moss is now streaming

Look for The Testaments, the bestselling, award-winning sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale

In Margaret Atwood’s dystopian future, environmental disasters and declining birthrates have led to a Second American Civil War. The result is the rise of the Republic of Gilead, a totalitarian regime that enforces rigid social roles and enslaves the few remaining fertile women. Offred is one of these, a Handmaid bound to produce children for one of Gilead’s commanders. Deprived of her husband, her child, her freedom, and even her own name, Offred clings to her memories and her will to survive. At once a scathing satire, an ominous warning, and a tour de force of narrative suspense, The Handmaid’s Tale is a modern classic.

Includes an introduction by Margaret Atwood

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A novel that brilliantly illuminates some of the darker interconnections between politics and sex . . . Just as the world of Orwell's 1984 gripped our imaginations, so will the world of Atwood's handmaid!" —The Washington Post Book World

"The Handmaid's Tale deserves the highest praise." —San Francisco Chronicle

"Atwood takes many trends which exist today and stretches them to their logical and chilling conclusions . . . An excellent novel about the directions our lives are taking . . . Read it while it's still allowed." —Houston Chronicle

"Splendid." —Newsweek

From the Inside Flap

In the world of the near future, who will control women's bodies?

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 only valued if their ovaries are viable.

Offred can remember the days 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....

Funny, unexpected, horrifying, and altogether convincing, The Handmaid's Tale is at once scathing satire, dire warning, and tour de force.

From the Back Cover

In the world of the near future, who will control women's bodies?
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 only valued if their ovaries are viable.
Offred can remember the days 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....
Funny, unexpected, horrifying, and altogether convincing, "The Handmaid's Tale is at once scathing satire, dire warning, and tour de force.

About the Author

Margaret Atwood is the author of more than fifty books of fiction, poetry and critical essays. Her novels include Cat’s Eye, The Robber Bride, Alias Grace, The Blind Assassin, and the MaddAddam trilogy. Her 1985 classic, The Handmaid’s Tale, was followed in 2019 by a sequel, The Testaments, which was a global number one bestseller and won the Booker Prize. In 2020 she published Dearly, her first collection of poetry for a decade.

Atwood has won numerous awards including the Arthur C. Clarke Award for Imagination in Service to Society, the Franz Kafka Prize, the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade, the PEN USA Lifetime Achievement Award and the Dayton Literary Peace Prize. In 2019 she was made a member of the Order of the Companions of Honour for services to literature. She has also worked as a cartoonist, illustrator, librettist, playwright and puppeteer. She lives in Toronto, Canada.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

from the Introduction

In the spring of 1984 I began to write a novel that was not initially called The Handmaid’s Tale. I wrote in long hand, mostly on yellow legal notepads, then transcribed my almost illegible scrawlings using a huge German-keyboard manual typewriter that I’d rented.

The keyboard was German because I was living in West Berlin, which was still encircled by the Berlin Wall: the Soviet empire was still strongly in place and was not to crumble for another five years. Every Sunday the East German air force made sonic booms to remind us of how close they were. During my visits to several countries behind the Iron Curtain—Czechoslovakia, East Germany—I experienced the wariness, the feeling of being spied on, the silences, the changes of subject, the oblique ways in which people might convey information, and these had an influence on what I was writing. So did the repurposed buildings. This used to belong to . . . But then they disappeared. I heard such stories many times.

Having been born in 1939 and come to consciousness during World War II, I knew that established orders could vanish overnight. Change could also be as fast as lightning. It can’t happen here could not be depended on: anything could happen anywhere, given the circumstances.

By 1984, I’d been avoiding my novel for a year or two. It seemed to me a risky venture. I’d read extensively in science fiction, speculative fiction, utopias and dystopias ever since my high school years in the 1950s, but I’d never written such a book. Was I up to it? The form was strewn with pitfalls, among them a tendency to sermonize, a veering into allegory, and a lack of plausibility. If I was to create an imaginary garden, I wanted the toads in it to be real. One of my rules was that I would not put any events into the book that had not already happened in what James Joyce called the “nightmare” of history, nor any technology not already available. No imaginary gizmos, no imaginary laws, no imaginary atrocities. God is in the details, they say. So is the devil.

Back in 1984, the main premise seemed—even to me—fairly outrageous. Would I be able to persuade readers that the United States of America had suffered a coup that had transformed an erstwhile liberal democracy into a literal-minded theocratic dictatorship? In the book, the Constitution and Congress are no longer: the Republic of Gilead is built on a foundation of the seventeenth-century Puritan roots that have always lain beneath the modern-day America we thought we knew.

The immediate location of the book is Cambridge, Massachusetts, home of Harvard University, now a leading liberal educational institution but once a Puritan theological seminary. The Secret Service of Gilead is located in the Widener Library, where I had spent many hours in the stacks, researching my New England ancestors as well as the Salem witchcraft trials. Would some people be affronted by the use of the Harvard wall as a display area for the bodies of the executed? (They were.)

In the novel, the population is shrinking due to a toxic environment, and the ability to have viable babies is at a premium. (In today’s real world, studies in China are now showing a sharp fertility decline in Chinese men.) Under totalitarianisms—or indeed in any sharply hierarchical society—the ruling class monopolizes valuable things, so the elite of the regime arrange to have fertile females assigned to them as Handmaids. The biblical precedent is the story of Jacob and his two wives, Rachel and Leah, and their two handmaids. One man, four women, twelve sons—but the handmaids could not claim the sons. They belonged to the respective wives.

And so the tale unfolds.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Vintage; 1st Anchor Books edition (March 16, 1998)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 311 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 038549081X
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0385490818
Reading age ‏ : ‎ 14 - 18 years
Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 750L
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.16 x 0.68 x 7.97 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #247 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1 in Political Fiction (Books)
- #7 in Dystopian Fiction (Books)
- #30 in Literary Fiction (Books)

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Margaret Atwood

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Margaret Atwood is the author of more than fifty books of fiction, poetry and critical essays. Her novels include Cat's Eye, The Robber Bride, Alias Grace, The Blind Assassin and the MaddAddam trilogy. Her 1985 classic, The Handmaid's Tale, went back into the bestseller charts with the election of Donald Trump, when the Handmaids became a symbol of resistance against the disempowerment of women, and with the 2017 release of the award-winning Channel 4 TV series. ‘Her sequel, The Testaments, was published in 2019. It was an instant international bestseller and won the Booker Prize.’

Atwood has won numerous awards including the Booker Prize, the Arthur C. Clarke Award for Imagination in Service to Society, the Franz Kafka Prize, the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade and the PEN USA Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2019 she was made a member of the Order of the Companions of Honour for services to literature. She has also worked as a cartoonist, illustrator, librettist, playwright and puppeteer. She lives in Toronto, Canada.

Photo credit: Liam Sharp

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Customers find the book to be a captivating read with a thought-provoking narrative and interesting premise. The writing quality receives mixed reactions, with some finding it well-written while others find it challenging to read. The ending is particularly divisive, with some praising its unforgettable storyline while others find it too didactic. Customers describe the pacing as monotonous and tedious, and while some find the characters compelling, others note they aren't well developed. The book's scariness level is also mixed, with customers describing it as both terrifying and disturbing.

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Readability Thought provoking Storytelling Ending Writing quality Scariness level Character development Pacing

3,878 customers mention "Readability"3,089 positive789 negative

Customers find the book to be a very good and captivating read, describing it as a masterpiece that is incredibly believable.

"...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..." Read more

"...The Handmaid's Tale is true literature, thus by practical definition, this makes the story a little slow and boring at points...." Read more

"...It's a good book, it just has its problems." Read more

"...with decades of life experience behind me, I see that this is a deeply moving, complex book...." Read more

1,585 customers mention "Thought provoking"1,488 positive97 negative

Customers find the book thought-provoking, appreciating its interesting premise, with one customer noting how it creates an entirely new reality.

"...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..." Read more

"...It has a good message, is objectively well written, and I can see why a lot of people like the book. Just wasn’t for me. Glad I read it though" Read more

"...The subtext of The Handmaid's tale is a marvellously thought provoking book about the subtleties that go into how societies change, but if you're..." Read more

"...I really enjoyed the world building in this novel because it just felt so feasible...." Read more

212 customers mention "Storytelling"172 positive40 negative

Customers appreciate the storytelling in the book, noting its interesting narrative style and how it draws readers in, with one customer describing it as a captivating story of a young woman.

"...Still, as a matter of clear, simple storytelling, it rocks. And it’s thankfully short with its cliffhanger, though the epilogue really doesn’t help." Read more

"...The narrative technique used by Atwood is powerful, as it keeps us in Offred's head at all times, almost trapped with her in her prison of red...." Read more

"...She calls this work a speculative fiction because she extrapolates from current events a possible alternative future based on a collage of actual..." Read more

"...How Offred’s character, past, and present weave together is amazing and just builds on each other...." Read more

1,663 customers mention "Ending"925 positive738 negative

Customers have mixed reactions to the ending of the book, with some praising its unforgettable storyline and great dystopian narrative, while others find it disturbing and too didactic, with the ending being achingly ambiguous.

"...other, and society are so clear and beautiful, so bleak, sad and yet hopeful - so compelling - in making us see these people...." Read more

"...because she barely sounds like she misses them. The narrative skips around a lot, back and forth through time, often from paragraph to..." Read more

"...is the perfect blend of weak and strong...." Read more

"...The ending felt abrupt and a bit rushed, otherwise this would’ve been five stars...." Read more

1,614 customers mention "Writing quality"1,037 positive577 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the writing quality of the book, with some praising the striking prose and loving Atwood's style, while others find it challenging to read and note that the storytelling isn't always easy on the reader.

"...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..." Read more

"...It has a good message, is objectively well written, and I can see why a lot of people like the book. Just wasn’t for me. Glad I read it though" Read more

"...They are supposed to be new but both arrived damaged. They are readable and since it is difficult for me to return items I will keep them but I will..." Read more

"...of life experience behind me, I see that this is a deeply moving, complex book...." Read more

800 customers mention "Scariness level"381 positive419 negative

Customers have mixed reactions to the scariness level of the book, with some finding it terrifying and absolutely chilling, while others describe it as disturbing.

"...Two things I found very disturbing about the book. The first is the way the women treated each other...." Read more

"...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..." Read more

"...This is not a fun story, nor is it exciting or clever. It is scary, dark, and unforgiving...." Read more

"...Still, I found the book so haunting, so alarming, and so masterful that this had little effect on my overall impression...." Read more

280 customers mention "Character development"168 positive112 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the character development in the book, with some finding them compelling and noting that the main character has a past, while others point out that the supporting characters are flat.

"...For 95% of the novel, you are intimately involved, inside the head of poor Offred, witnessing and hearing and experiencing her world first hand..." Read more

"...it was to really emphasize the lack of person, the lack of autonomy the various characters had, especially the handmaidens...." Read more

"...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..." Read more

"...So, in this sense, Offred became an interesting character one could readily identify with and follow...." Read more

302 customers mention "Pacing"55 positive247 negative

Customers find the pacing of the book difficult to follow, describing it as monotonous and tiring to read.

"Only reason it’s 4 is because I personally didn’t find it very engaging...." Read more

"...The ending felt abrupt and a bit rushed, otherwise this would’ve been five stars...." Read more

"Brilliant in ways, but monotonal in its mundanity much of the time, intentional or not...." Read more

"...I felt like this one just abruptly stopped...." Read more

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Reads4Fun
Perfect and prescient for these times. READ it.
Reviewed in the United States on September 7, 2019
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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.

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Robert
Good book, wasn’t for me
Reviewed in the United States on March 6, 2025
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Only reason it’s 4 is because I personally didn’t find it very engaging. It has a good message, is objectively well written, and I can see why a lot of people like the book. Just wasn’t for me. Glad I read it though

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Trick Brown
A thoughful read, if and only if, you think about it.
Reviewed in the United States on August 11, 2013
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The Handmaid's Tale is a relatively "old" book in that it was first published in 1985, but it is still popular/well-known. This is not surprising as Margaret Atwood is one of those author’s whose work will endure as "literature" and she will still be well known in 100 years. That is, unless the Handmaid's Tale is prophetic and all secular literature is burned.

Don't worry, it won't be. However, it does have some elements that could be argued as being a caricature of modern day happenings. There are plenty of reviews out there that give a run down of the plot and how they feel it's all happening right now. No doubt many of these reviews are from women, and justifiably so since this book "speaks to them". So I'm going to discuss the subtext of the novel, and hopefully, I can get a few guys to read this book because there is stuff in it for them.

The background story is that The United States has been taken over by religious fundamentalists. The religion is never mentioned by name, but it is clearly Christian/Jewish/Islamic. When it comes to their respective flavors of fundamentalism, they all bear a striking resemblance to one another whether they want to admit it or not. This is not surprising, since they all worship the same god and use overlapping religious texts. If you're curious about the tale of how this happened, this is not the book for you. After all, this is the Handmaid's Tale. All you get is the story of one woman starting probably about 10 years after an event called "The President's Day Massacre", i.e. the coup where the fundamentalists took over.

Personally, I do not think such a regime could take over in such a simple manner, but what followed after the coup is more plausible. As I said, we don't get much of this story directly, but we hear snippets of how, slowly, over the course of weeks and months, oppressive policies are implemented and they are always implemented for the same reasons that such policies are implemented today. Namely, the safety of the public, the betterment of society, etc. At the same time, women are slowly and unequally stripped of their rights.

If you think that women could never be usurped of their identities in this way, and no one would stand for it, blah, blah, blah. You are wrong. All it takes is the right social pressure. Imagine a scenario where the number of women capable of bearing children is cut to a small percentage. They then become a "national resource". (My words, not the author's.) When it comes to resources, there will always be people (usually men, and this is coming from a man) in power who will want to exploit and seize control of such resources. This is how such things can happen. And this is the scenario used by Atwood in The Handmaid's Tale.

When I was younger, I probably would never have bought that line of reasoning and not terribly enjoyed this story. As I've aged to a venerable 40 years and some of my Platonic idealism has tarnished, I have learned to accept that "the masses" don't get as outraged as individuals do. Most of the time, groups of people are scared when it comes to dramatic change and accept it if fed the line that it is temporary and for the good of all. Most of the time, these changes are never about being for the good of all, they are simply about control.

A past example to show even women are not above this: The Temperance movement to abolish alcohol. Propelled by religious minded women, fresh with their new ability to vote. Despite Jesus being pro-wine they felt it their duty to rid the world of drink. You can argue the details all you want, but at the end of the day, it was about asserting power and control.

A modern example: For the past 12 years, the U. S. citizens have been force fed the line that we are all living under a faceless threat of "Terror" and in this time we have fought two wars, one of which we are still fighting, and most of us don't really know why, other than we are "fighting terror". These wars are not as openly covered as the Vietnam War, because our government has learned that atrocities that are not visited daily are quickly forgotten because people prefer to stick their head in the sand. And so people forget. They don't get outraged. They simply accept the situation because it is supposedly temporary, for the good of us all, for all our safety, blah, blah, blah. What are we looking to control? Some say oil, others say that the area is strategically located real estate. Regardless, it is about control.

So do I think a "fast coup" could take over and make such radical changes? No. But a slow insidious change over the course of a decade or two? Well, I have seen it with my own eyes, so yes, the scenario in The Handmaid's Tale is plausible to me, but I know that such a shift would happen over years, not months. Anyone who thinks otherwise is sticking their fingers in their ears, closing their eyes, and repeating the above blah, blah, blahs.

A possible future example that's been a long time in the making: During the 80's (my youth) religious fundamentalists (in this country) blew up abortion clinics because they were outraged and wanted change. Presumably, they wanted things to return to the way they were when abortions were illegal, in back allies with coat hangers. Just in my lifetime, they have since learned that getting people upset only motivates them to stand with or against you. And if you're the one blowing up teenagers, it's tough to motivate people to stand with you. They have taken their fight political, a realm where everybody's eyes glaze over and become dispassionate, and they have slowly set about making laws against birth control and abortion clinics. As someone who is pro-choice, I can't say all of these laws are bad. Many are simply requiring clinics to uphold standard medical cleanliness practices. The laws that really hurt, are the laws that reduce or eliminate funding preventing the clinics from having the money to be able to upgrade their facilities and are forced to shut down. You can tell this is about the control of others and not about any religious objection because the number one cited religious reason is the belief that life begins at conception. Rather than supporting research for birth control that simply prevents conception, they politically attack all avenues of abortion and birth control. So even if you address their concerns, it does not change the way they behave.

Leaving the examples and subtext behind, back to the story at hand. The Handmaid's Tale is true literature, thus by practical definition, this makes the story a little slow and boring at points. When I was in college, I had to take plenty of slow and boring classes that I thought were of minimal value. However, I quickly learned that it is possible to garner lessons from and learn something from every class and that is what I set out to do. I took it upon myself to walk away with something for my time and money. This book requires that same model of thought. Even after 28 years, there is a wealth of intriguing thought experiments that went into the writing of this story and a similar trove for those willing to consider the next step of reasoning, but you have to be willing to dig for that gold.

And there you have it. The subtext of The Handmaid's tale is a marvellously thought provoking book about the subtleties that go into how societies change, but if you're not interested in thinking, move on to something formulated for entertainment purposes this is not the novel for you.

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Anonymous
Ótimo livro!
Reviewed in Brazil on January 16, 2025
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Já tinha assistido à série homônima de TV e achei ótimo o livro.

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martiadamvahit
Vintage Classics
Reviewed in Turkey on November 4, 2022
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Resimdeki kapak ile geldi Vintage Classics basim. Tesekkurler.

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Sara
The book condition is perfect
Reviewed in the United Arab Emirates on August 4, 2022
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One of the worst book I have ever read such a chore to read and not worth it at all

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Without Fear or Favour
A cautionary tale. Don't ever think it cannot happen!
Reviewed in Singapore on December 2, 2024
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It has been a long time coming, but I finally got around to reading this modern classic which was published way back in 1985. It experienced a revival in interest (only in a relative sense because this book is too well-known and readers' interest is always there) in 2016 when Trump came into power. A sequel — The Testaments — came out in 2019 and won the Booker Prize that same year.

“The Handmaid’s Tale” is one of a handful of popular/famous novels about dystopia which include Huxley’s “Brave New World”, Orwell’s “1984”, and Bradbury’s “Fahrenheit 451”.

It is highly readable and switches easily between the past and present. It depicts the protagonist’s desperate clinging to her identity and her refusal to give in to the autocratic system in place.

The Handmaid's Tale is a cautionary narrative. There are still many who believe that tragedies such as that which unfolded in the story can never befall us. This is a terrible mistake. Our history is replete with many dark events. All it takes is complacency or the presence of supporting conditions to bring about a dystopian future.

Our world is constantly beset by changes ... nothing is ever permanent or certain. Anything can happen given the presence of conducive conditions. The values and society we know are fragile.

In short, “The Handmaid’s Tale” gives us plenty to think about. It sends out a clear message: Do not take our freedoms and liberal values for granted. They need to be protected.

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marshwader
This is a warning, not an instruction manual!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 5, 2025
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This is a book I should have read earlier! Because of the change in international politics of late I thought I must read this book, which is a warning to humanity and definitely not an instruction manual! I never watched the TV drama based on the book. It is harrowing, disturbing, frightening, misogynistic, dystopian future and frequently I imagined myself as the protagonist and wondered how I would have coped in the same situation. It is not a feminist ramble against men, but it is looking at many different totalitarian states where dissent is denied whether it is political, religious or gender based and looking at the state of the USA now makes me worry very much that they are on the precipice of such a state. I thought the book was brilliant and profound and will now have to read the sequel!

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The Handmaid's Tale Paperback – March 16, 1998

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Margaret Atwood

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5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect and prescient for these times. READ it.

4.0 out of 5 stars Good book, wasn’t for me

5.0 out of 5 stars A thoughful read, if and only if, you think about it.

Top reviews from other countries

5.0 out of 5 stars Ótimo livro!

5.0 out of 5 stars Vintage Classics

2.0 out of 5 stars The book condition is perfect

5.0 out of 5 stars A cautionary tale. Don't ever think it cannot happen!

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a warning, not an instruction manual!

Perfect and prescient for these times. READ it.

Good book, wasn’t for me

A thoughful read, if and only if, you think about it.

Ótimo livro!

Vintage Classics

The book condition is perfect

A cautionary tale. Don't ever think it cannot happen!

This is a warning, not an instruction manual!