The Handmaid's Tale

Book, 1985
Premise - In a dystopian future of the United States, the Republic of Gilead takes control over the few remaining fertile women, known as "handmaids," forcing them to live for the purpose of producing an infant with no genetic deformities. This reduces the handmaids to a nameless existence, living as subordinates to the men who attempt to impregnate them.

Review - The Handmaid's Tale is interesting for the number of reactions it stirred up in me. I begin my tale of The Handmaid's Tale actually with the heavily acclaimed television show, which I am not officially reviewing here. After its performance at the 2017 Emmys, I had to try at least one episode, if not only just to see one of my favorite actresses of all time, Yvonne Strahovski (Chuck!!!) take on such a villainous role. However, that is where my journey ended - after one episode. I felt unimpressed. Everything about the content was great, but somehow the cinematographic and editing styles weren't enough to truly capture me given the sheer volume of other television content available. Because I was so intrigued by the content, I thought perhaps of instead turning my attention towards the original novel. Strangely enough, I came to the exact same conclusion as I had for the television show - liked the content, not the style. This was a huge disappointment given how much I feel like I have the potential to enjoy this world.

The Handmaid's Tale fell very conveniently into my lap. The novel was recommended by Emma Watson's book club "Our Shared Shelf,"  of which I have been going through all of its picks, and was available on audio recording at my local library. Yet somehow, the actually consumption of this novel was thoroughly inconvenient. I was constantly bored or zoning out, without the motivation to rewind and try to re-listen to what I had glossed over. I didn't feel as though there was a point. I tried so hard to figure out why it was that I wasn't connecting with this novel. I thought perhaps it was the voice of the audio recording, as the woman had a twinge of a northeastern accent. While it fit appropriately for the character of Offred, as the story takes place in the northeastern United States, I found it distracting. In hindsight, I realized that I actually lucked out by listening to the audiobook because (spoilers), The Handmaid's Tale is actually a series of cassette tapes in which Offred recounts her life, so I got the real experience! However, I did not know this until the end of the novel, and I spent some time thinking that it would be better to try reading it as a physical book.  Whilst traveling, I spent some time reading a university library copy and still found myself in the same position - not being able to get into the style in which it was written! But why? It is difficult to identify, but I seriously believe that it had a lot to do with the fact that the book was written in present tense. The present tense, the heavy use of commas... something about her writing style just didn't click with me. Now I'm back to square one, thinking I should give the television show more of a fair chance and try more than one episode. If all the mediums are iffy, might as well just watch it.

Nevertheless, as I have stated several times, I had liked the content, enough to keep up and finish the entire novel. I felt passionate about the world that was created, and how realistic it felt. I appreciated the acknowledgment of other cultures, and how in juxtaposition with them, the United States is no less vulnerable. I loved Moira, and her story. Honestly, I wish Moira had been the main character. It would have given the story so much more flare and substance. And I know that part of the point of the novel is that not a lot happens, but it made for a more boring book. Offred as a character felt more like an "everywoman" that we could each project ourselves onto, but that meant her own character was rather standard. "Offred" is symbolic enough as it is, being the possession of-"Fred," her commander, but also being off-red, as in not quite red as a handmaid should be. However, her character felt like an amalgamation of any woman in that position. Still, you feel for her for that very reason. Atwood chose a clever time for The Handmaid's Tale to take place. It's far enough into the development of the world that the change from ours is drastic, but close enough to our times that the characters remember what the world used to be like. Offred had a normal college experience, a husband, and a child before the regime took over, and yet she was still at reproductive age by the time the regime was fully in place. That sudden juxtaposition is just brutal, and the novel cleverly goes back and forth in time between the way things were, and the way things turned out. I remember being tortured at the very end, invested in wondering whether or not she got out alright. From the creation of the cassette tapes, we can assume that she had succeeded, however briefly.

The ending of the novel gave me a lot more appreciation for the story as a whole. We see that eventually this becomes just a blip in history, where people look back and ask "What went wrong?" That's encouraging for a number of reasons, namely that the human species survived that environmental turmoil. It's also a reminder that regimes are temporary. The Handmaid's Tale often is called "the womens' 1984" but I somewhat reject that label. 1984 is so much about a dystopian future, how the forward direction in which society is moving could turn out to be harmful. The Handmaid's Tale, though it takes place in the future, feels more like a regression, in which due to the limitations of resources, society resorts to outdated religious and misogynistic practices. It's a regression can happen at any time, and actually has in certain areas of the world (Iran for example?) In all, I appreciate the dystopian world of Gilead for all of the intellectual thought it produced in me. I don't know if I necessarily found it particularly entertaining (71/100).

Quote - “Nolite te bastardes carborundorum."(Don't let the bastards grind you down!)

If you liked this book, I recommend trying the TV show! Or, The Hunger Games

Written by Margaret Atwood
Published by McClelland and Stewart