The Handmaid's Tale

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Margaret Atwood: The Handmaid's Tale

unbound, 304 páginas

ISBN:
978-0-7704-2263-9
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The Handmaid's Tale is a dystopian novel by Canadian author Margaret Atwood, published in 1985. It is set in a near-future New England, in a strongly patriarchal, totalitarian theonomic state, known as the Republic of Gilead, which has overthrown the United States government. The central character and narrator is a woman named Offred, one of the group known as "handmaids", who are forcibly assigned to produce children for the "commanders" — the ruling class of men in Gilead.

The novel explores themes of subjugated women in a patriarchal society, loss of female agency and individuality, and the various means by which they resist and attempt to gain individuality and independence.

The Handmaid's Tale won the 1985 Governor General's Award and the first Arthur C. Clarke Award in 1987; it was also nominated for the 1986 Nebula Award, the 1986 Booker Prize, and the 1987 Prometheus Award.

Also contained in: Novels

55 ediciones

Une dystopie totalitaire qui tarde à prendre son envol

2 estrellas

Nous sommes aux États-Unis, probablement dans les année 1990-2000. Un régime totalitaire théocratique gouverne, les femmes y sont réduites au rôle d'épouse, de procréatrice, ou de domestique. Nous y suivons le parcours de Defred, une Servante Rouge (à vocation procréatrice).

La première moitié du roman pose le décor en relatant le quotidien ennuyeux de la maisonnée, sans aucune péripétie. J'ai failli laisser tomber le livre plus d'une fois tant le livre manque de rebondissements dans cette partie, qui plus est mal servie par un style pesant, parfois abscons.

La deuxième moitié est plus enlevée, avec des péripéties qui nous emportent plus. On s'attache enfin aux personnages, il se passe des choses, l'envers de cette théocratie puritaine nous est peu à peu dévoilé.

L'ouvrage est enfin bien servi par un épilogue, puis par une post-face contemporaine, qui permettent de placer l'ouvrage dans un contexte historique (futur), et d'éclairer les intentions de …

Not so speculative fiction

5 estrellas

I was warned this book is not a fun one. Indeed it is not.

You get to see the omnipresent fear and violence of a patriarchal surveillance state. You get to see how it got there, little by little, and how it got accepted. The disturbing part is that it is very much believable...

I hadn't seen since Orwell's "1984" the effect of a totalitarian system on an individual so well described, especially at an individual level. You get to see how a single mind resists or breaks when faced with such overwhelming brutal and oppressive environment.

It is definitely worth reading, especially when you keep in mind the fact that Atwood has been censored in several US states.

a classic

5 estrellas

I read this classic just two years ago. It felt more relevant to the present than it may have been when it was written. This book is a revolutionary milestone in speculative fiction and probably feminist literature as well, but I found equally interesting that the text is based on progressive loss of innocence. The final chapter is incredible and left me very satisfied.

Review of "The Handmaid's Tale" on 'Goodreads'

5 estrellas

The less is revealed of the plot before reading this book, the better, although I have to admit that I found it so disturbing that when I had read about a third I looked it up on Wikipedia to find out about the end!

It is a dystopia, up there with 1984, Fahrenheit 451, and Brave New World. The difference with those works is that this time the point of view is feminist. 1984 shows a world in which early 20th century totalitarism has triumphed; the latter two show the consequences of complete consumerism in a fake democracy, and The Handmaid's Tale shows the worst nightmare of an eighties' feminist.

Stylistically, the book is perhaps too fragmentary, but that is a consequence of the chosen mode. What can you expect from a first person narrator who has been forbidden to read and write for several years?

A highly recommended book …

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Temas

  • Literary
  • Fiction
  • Fiction - General