The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

Cover Page (First Edition)

Description

The Handmaid's Tale is a dystopian novel by Canadian author Margaret Atwood, published in 1985. It was set in a near-future New England, in a totalitarian state, known as Gilead, that has overthrown the United States government. 

The Handmaid's Tale is an instant classic and eerily prescient cultural phenomenon, from the patron saint of feminist dystopian fiction. The novel is funny, unexpected, horrifying, and altogether convincing. It is a scathing satire, dire warning, and a tour de force. The novel has two parts: by night and by other various events. It can be interpreted as a double narrative: central protagonist Offred's personal struggle and the handmaids' shared plight. The night part is solely about Offred, and the other part (shopping, waiting room, household,etc.) are the stories that describe the possible life of every handmaid. Offred lives past and present to retell the events leading up to the fall of women's rights and the current details of the life that she now lives.

The story is told through the eyes of offred, one of the unfortunate Handmaids under the new social order in which women are vanquishing in the patriarchal society. By various means, these women resist and attempt to gain individuality and independence. In abridged but eloquent prose, she reveals the dark corners of the establishment's calm facade. 

The Handmaid Tale is one of the books that keep readers indulged in the book so much that they will never forget the images and its forecast. It is considered Margaret's best work. Her work of speculative fictions as such The Handmaid's Tale and Oryx and Crake are frequently assigned in high school classrooms to students as an open-ended question on the North American Advanced Placement English Literature and Composition exam each year. 

In November 2018, Atwood announced the sequel, titled  The Testaments, which was published in September 2019. The novel is set fifteen years after Offred's final scene, with the testaments of three female narrators from Gilead.

Awards

The Novel won:

• In 1985, Governor General's Award for English-Language Fiction
• In 1986, nominated for Booker Prize
• In 1986, nominated for Nebula Award
• In 1987, Arthur C. Clarke Award
• In 1987, nominated for Prometheus Award
• Winner of Commonwealth Literature Prize
• Winner of Welsh Arts Council International Writer's Prize

Adaptation

The novel has been adapted several times in different media such as audiobook, album songs, film, graphic novel, radio shows with BBC and CBO, stage shows (play, opera, and ballet), and Television. Hulu has produced a television series based on the novel starring Elisabeth Moss as Offred which was first released in 2017, the second season was aired in 2018, the third season premiered in June 2019. Hulu announced season 4 which will consist of 10 episodes, and it was to start production in March 2020 but was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

About the Author

Margaret Eleanor Atwood (born November 18, 1939) is a Canadian poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, teacher, environmental activist, and inventor. She was born in Ottawa, Ontario, and currently residing in Toronto, Ontario. She has published 18 books of poetry, 18 novels, 11 books of non-fiction, 9 collections of short fiction, 8 children's books, and 2 graphic novels, as well as a number of small press editions of both poetry and fiction. Her works encompass a variety of themes including gender and identity, religion and myth, the power of language, climate change, and power politics. Many of her poems are inspired by myths and fairy tales.

Atwood has won numerous awards and honors for her writing, including the Booker Prize, Arthur C. Clark Award, Governor General's Award, Franz Kafka Prize, Princess of Asturias Awards, the National Book Critics, and PEN Center USA Lifetime Achievement Awards. A number of her works have been adapted for film and television, increasing her exposure. She is a founder of the Griffin Poetry Prize and Writer's Trust of Canada. She is also a Senior Fellow of Massey College, Toronto. 

She is also the inventor of the LongPen device and associated technologies that facilitate remote robotic writing of documents.

Margaret Atwood

Link to the review of the sequel of The Handmaid's Tale: 

The Testament

https://bookreviewsbyarti.blogspot.com/2020/09/the-testaments.html

Link to buy more books on amazon : 

https://amzn.to/3MF6Kij

Rating: 4.2/5

Author: Margaret Atwood

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (2nd Edition), McClelland and Stewart (Original)

Publishing Date: April 25, 2017 (Second Edition), 1985 (Original)

Edition Language: English

Genre: Dystopian novel, Speculative fiction, Tragedy, Literary Criticism & Theory

ISBN-10: 1328879941

ISBN-13: 978-1328879943

Pages: 311 (Hardcover)

 

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