Review of 'The Handmaid's Tale'
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
A fantastic work about a furturistic world in which “handmaids” (young woman specially trained) are the only ones allowed to reproduce. The story is told from the perspective of one of these handmaids as they experience their very dark and sinister world where public executions are common and never knowing what may happen next. This is a “darker 1984” with an extremely bleak undercurrent. I have to say I found this novel fascinating and quite different than the movie (much better than the movie, I would suggest) – especially interesting was the “historical note” (or some such) at the end. This is Atwood at her Science Fiction best (perhaps only?).
Rating: “Nearly perfect, but not quite”
Genre: Science Fiction