The Handmaid's Tale: A Novel

Offred serves as a Handmaid in the household of a Commander in the Republic of Gilead, a theocratic regime that has replaced the former United States. Stripped of her freedom and separated from her husband, Luke, and their young daughter, her sole purpose is now to bear the Commander's child... ------------ Published in 1985 by the Canadian author Margaret Atwood, this work of speculative fiction imagines a society in which women in the former United States have been systematically deprived of their rights, freedoms, and property. The novel was adapted into the Hulu television series The Handmaid's Tale, which ran for six seasons and became a major success. Having watched the entire series, I was deeply impressed by its portrayal of a determined heroine struggling from within to undermine an oppressive dystopian regime. The original novel, however, covers only a small portion of the story depicted in the series, extending little beyond the material adapted in the early episodes of the first season. More importantly, it takes the form of Offred's first-person testimony—part confession, part memoir. As a result, Atwood never fully explains the political machinery or economic structure of Gilead. Readers see only the narrow slice of society visible to Offred as she navigates a world in which every aspect of her life is tightly controlled. Where the television adaptation is filled with dramatic action and vivid imagery, the novel is remarkably restrained. We never witness Gilead beginning to collapse, nor do we see Offred's resistance develop into anything substantial. If anything, this restraint reinforces the sense that there is no clear path to salvation in Offred's world. The most significant departure from the television series comes near the end of the novel, where the narrative shifts to what appears to be an academic conference held in the year 2195. Nearly two centuries have passed since Offred's time, and her recorded testimony is now being examined as a historical artifact. Although the text never explicitly reveals Offred's fate or details what became of Gilead during those intervening years, it offers subtle hints that history has moved on. In those hints, readers may find a measure of reassurance. An interview with Margaret Atwood appears at the end of the book. In it, she notes that when she wrote the novel in 1985, one of the regimes she had in mind as an example of a state that subjugates women was post-revolutionary Iran. In the forty years since the novel's publication, the world has witnessed the Taliban's return to power in Afghanistan, Boko Haram's mass abduction of schoolgirls in Nigeria, the attempted murder of Malala Yousafzai in Pakistan, and countless other acts aimed at excluding women from public life. At the same time, political and religious currents that bear an unsettling resemblance to Gilead's ideology have gained influence within parts of the American conservative movement. Far from diminishing with time, the novel's social relevance seems only to have grown. One passage struck me particularly as a Japanese reader. At one point, a group of Japanese tourists visits Gilead and, through an interpreter, asks the Handmaids, "Are you happy?" It is a painfully oblivious question. Needless to say, Offred has no way of expressing her true feelings. The scene reminded me of Japanese tourists visiting North Korea and asking an ordinary citizen the same question. As I read, I found myself wincing at the naivety of it. Perhaps Atwood, too, had noticed Japan's reputation for political detachment. Whatever the case, the episode remains one of the novel's most memorable moments.

Knew nothing of this book before picking it up. The author did a good job of creating a world. This is sort of the female author version of 1984.

ペーパーバック: 320ページ Anchor (1998/3/16) ISBN-10: 038549081X のレビュー 読む前にひとつ注意。カバーのあらすじ（のようなもの）は読まないこと。徐々に明らかになっていく事実をバラしているし、勝手な解釈が混じっている。 ブッカー賞候補になった作品であり、カナダを代表する現代作家、SF作家。詩や児童向けの作品もあるそうだ。 ブッカー賞をとるような作品には、非常に難渋なものと、英語自体は易しいものがあるようだが、この作品は中間ぐらいだろうか。すらすら読めるようで、詩的な表現やすぐに意味を取りにくい表現が随所に出てくる。 表現の難しさよりも、最初に気づくのが、語り手が現在形で話をすすめることだろう。その現在形の枠組みの中に、過去形で回想が挟まれる。 さらに、会話が直接話法で引用符なしで書かれている。これも、最初は戸惑った。現在のことかと思って読み進むと、回想シーンの会話文だったりして。 小説、とくにSFのテクニックとしては当然のことであるが、基本的な情報がなかなか明らかにされない。物語の場所と時代、語り手の年齢など、もう少し早めに開示してもよかったのでは。最後まで曖昧にされている部分もあり、最終章でなぜ隠されていたのかが読者に暗示される。もちろん、最終章で書かれていることが、客観的事実であるという保証はないけれども。 wizened, a susurration, shanghai, などめったに見ない単語が出てくるが、これも最終章で明らかにされることの結果だろうか？ 以上の文章構成や小説のテクニックは無視しても、精緻に構成されたディストピア物語として楽しめると思う。もちろん、あらゆる未来物にいえることだが、描かれる社会の構造が、ちょっとおかしい、かみ合わないと思われる部分もある。そうした矛盾点や撞着を楽しむのも、読書の楽しみだろう。 フェミニストの見方としては、当然、語り手さえも批判的に（加害者として）捉えるべきなのかもしれない。言っちゃ悪いけど、七〇年代フェミニズムを擁護する部分が鼻につくのは、わたしが男性だからでしょうか。（念のために言っておくが、語り手は、単純に擁護してはいない。） なお日本人が出てくるシーンがあるが、これは、精緻な物語のなかでは、ちょっと余計というか、意味が薄いと思うんですが、どうでしょうか。

Scary stuff these days. It may have you looking over your shoulder.

現実に起こっているおぞましい事実を上手くフィクション化している物語。 性犯罪に遭ったことにある方はフラッシュバックを起こす可能性があるので、積極的にお勧めは出来ないのだが、それでもこれはあまりにも描写が上手なので是非とも読んでほしい。

The world written here is a dystopian. If the Russian and Ukrayina war, for example, had not occurred, the novel would not have been created nor called as a "dystopia". I believe the difference between utipian and dystopian world is a paper-thin margin. Most people found that this is the dystopian as an aftermath of the above war. So they asked the writing of an aftermath of the author, Margaret Atwood. Those two novels seem for me to form a set. I prefer Kazuo Ishiguro's "Never Let Me Alone" to those two, though.

Arrived quickly, no scratches or bends or damage to the jacket. Looks to be printed correctly and no other problems with the binding etc.

Book arrived in perfect condition and the story's great! Love the vintage collection and bookmark that comes with it ♡

am still struggling to put my thoughts into words and sentences that make sense, and thousands of reviewers have done a better job than me, but I had to try. I can’t believe this was written 40 years ago. It feels as much a dystopian tale as a warning about what could happen if things continue on their current course. This book is scary because it is believable, even though it is meant to be a dystopian fiction. The United States is no more; it has become Gilead—a misogynistic nation led by religious beliefs. In a world where the birth rate is at an all-time low, the solution they propose is to force all women who can conceive to become a Handmaid. The Handmaid’s role is to be a physical vessel for a baby. She is to be given to a rich family if the wife is barren. The Handmaid’s only purpose is to become pregnant with the man’s baby and birth a healthy child so it can be given away to the barren wife and her husband, and the Handmaid is sent to another household. If a Handmaid fails to become pregnant after a while, or if she tries to form connections with anyone, she is sent to the colonies. If a Handmaid tries to escape, voice an opinion, or become anything more than an object in the house (for it is what she truly is), she can be sentenced to death. I’ve been wanting to read this book for years, but I never took the time to do it. Honestly, it was hard to read it now that I have kids, especially with a baby at home. It did make the story even more impactful, though, so I don’t know if it’s a good thing or not that I read it while having young kids. Every time Offred mentioned her daughter, who was taken from her, or when we were reminded of the fact that Handmaids had to give away their babies, I had to take a little break. I can only imagine the utter despair they must have been feeling, and it made me upset just to think about it. It’s a parent’s worst nightmare. Margaret Atwood's style is unique. It took me a little while to get used to the quick changes from present to past, on the same page sometimes, and the vivid and sometimes poetic way things and feelings were described, but felt a little exhausting to read at the same time. Margaret Atwood’s prose is beautiful, and she conveys the main character’s emotions so well. I can’t really describe how special and beautiful it is. It’s something you need to read for yourself to fully understand how everything has meaning, and how she gives life to details in a way that creates a dark book with poetic writing. The writing is effective and brutal even at times. Margaret Atwood drives the point home and makes sure we realize how desperate, lonely, and full of grief and anger Offred is. What I liked the most is how it’s all showing and no telling. We discover what happened through short flashbacks and have to use contextual clues and hints dropped in conversations to understand the situation Offred is now in, what her life before was, and what exactly happened in between. There are no info-dumps; it all comes in time through the storytelling. Offred’s flashbacks show us how insidious and clever the higher-ups of Gilead were. It all began with propaganda and speeches, until it became so much worse. Until women suddenly had no access to their money anymore, nor had the right to work, meaning they were totally dependent on men. After that came the arrests and separation of families, the coercion, the xenophobia, segregation, and every other horrible thing that was done in the name of building a better society. Gilead’s people truly believed they had the moral high ground and that it gave them the right, the mission even, to enact all of those horrible changes. In Gilead, women’s only value resides in their bodies’ ability to procreate. Wives are allowed more rights and live a life more similar to what they were used to before. But Handmaids lost everything. They have no name, no rights, no identity anymore. They belong to the government, to be passed around as they see fit, in the hopes that they will be able to bear a healthy child, only for this child to be given to a rich family “more apt” to care for them. I can’t imagine how it must feel to have nothing to hold onto. Handmaids are not allowed to read or socialize; they are no one, known only by their owner’s name (Offred, Ofglen, Ofwarren), as if they were merely a temporary possession. Submission and acceptance of the unacceptable was the only way for Offred to survive. It was heartbreaking and scary to see how the characters tried their best to survive, to the point where this new reality became almost normal for them. Many times, Offred said how she was shocked by a show of skin or a colorful piece of clothing, only to then stop and remember that she used to dress this way, too. She would remember little details of her previous life, things that seemed so unimportant at the time, that she took for granted, but that she now misses, such as hand cream or the right to wear colors or look around her when she is outside. One part that struck me was how she said that she wished Luke were there so she could pick a fight with him. She is so desperate for her old life that she even misses the fights with Luke, because if they fought, it meant that at least they were together, equals, allowed to pick who they spend time with, and allowed to voice their opinion. All things that Offred doesn’t have anymore. It was also jarring to hear Offred say that what was happening to her was not rape, because she decided to be there. But the choice she had was to either become a Handmaid or be sent to the colonies, where her life would have been even worse. She did what she had to do to survive, but they presented the situation in a way that made the Handmaids believe that, in the end, it was their choice, so it was not truly sexual assault. Even though they had no say in who they were sent to or when they were to have sex with them. The government managed to rationalize the fact that the Handmaids were being raped, selling the idea that it was their purpose as women who were able to procreate, and the poor Handmaids were so scared and with no power left, they ended up half believing those lies, and half accepting that it was the better option for them to comply and remain silent. The rest of the society also took it in stride and accepted this new reality without much opposition, it seems. I don’t know how I feel about the ending. On one hand, I like how it keeps us guessing at what happened, and how it makes it impossible to stop thinking about it. On the other hand, I needed more information on Offred and what happened to her. I feel that the story ended just as the plot was picking up. Not that the plot was bad before, butit was mostly centered on Offred, her new reality, her past, and how she ended up in The Commander’s house. I love how it showed us Offred’s depth and layers, and how the author imbued her book with the hopelessness of Offred, but I was also eager for more action and more of an underground network/rebellion vibe. Thankfully, The Testaments seems to give us some answers about what happened to Offred, so I will be picking this one next. This is an experience. A unique book. The plot is not the most elaborate, but the world-building is so intense and frightful because it is not so far-fetched with the way things are going in the States, and Offred feels so real, it is impossible not to finish this book and think about it for a while. It is thought-provoking for sure, and while it made me angry, sad, and it also freaked me out a little at times, I am glad I finally took the time to read it.

Çok ilgili ve kibar bir satıcı :) Hediye kitap için çok teşekkür ederim :))

It came impeccable.

Achei que era maior kkk de resto tudo certo

One of the worst book I have ever read such a chore to read and not worth it at all