Tapa blanda, 311 páginas
Idioma English
Publicado el 16 de Marzo de 1998 por Anchor Books.
It is the world of the near future, and Offred is a Handmaid in the home of the Commander and his wife. She is allowed out once a day to the food market, she is not permitted to read, and she is hoping the Commander makes her pregnant, because she is only valued if her ovaries are viable. Offred can remember the years before, when she was an independent woman, had a job of her own, a husband and child. But all of that is gone now ... everything has changed.
Me ha gustado mucho como adaptación, y el uso del color sigue siendo genial
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.
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 …
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 for feminists and fans of dystopias alike. The only flaw is the risk of optimistic readers thinking that "at least things aren't as bad as this".
