REVIEW: Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

It's time to see what all the fuss is about...

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood Published in 1985 by Vintage

A few times a year, a publisher will describe a new book as a 'publishing phenomenon' or 'the biggest book of the year.' A lot of the time this is hyperbole on the part of the publisher, and sometimes it's true (as with books such as This is Going to Hurt and The Book of Dust), but not since the publication of the last Harry Potter book have I ever seen a book as big as The Testaments, the long awaited sequel to The Handmaid's Tale.

I confess, I'd perhaps never realised the cultural significance and widespread adoration of The Handmaid's Tale. I knew it was a classic of modern literature, I knew the TV show was incredible popular and I knew a little bit about the plot from dipping in to it during my A Level English class, but not until this past few months did I realise what a pop culture phenomenon it was. With all of the hype and buzz, I simply couldn't put off reading it any longer.

So here we are, nearly two weeks after The Testaments released and more than 34 years later, I've finally read The Handmaid's Tale, and I'm completely torn. I can complete appreciate why it's an important piece of literature and the powerful, vital points it makes about reproduction, women's rights and the state of the world (both 34 years ago and today), but I also found that it wasn't necessarily the most enjoyable of reading experiences, and at times, actually a bit of a chore.

I'm sure I don't need to do too much of a plot summary on this one, but essentially it's a dystopia set in a world where birth rates have dramatically declined, with many women losing the ability to have children. To try and remedy the situation, strict religious doctrine has taken over much of life in Gilead (a re-imagining of America), and society's elites - the 'commanders' and their wives - are given 'handmaids', women still able to reproduce, who are kept as part-mistress, part-slave and intended only to be a carrier for the commander's child.

Any transgression is harshly punished through execution, dismemberment, solitary confinement or being sent to work in the 'colonies'. The offences range from inability to conceive, reading, rebellion, religious opposition, impiety or a thousand other minor behaviours that we take for granted in the current world.

It's a truly haunting setting, and it's incredibly well constructed and set up. I find that dystopias can so often seem frivolous or 'cartoonish', but Atwood manages to make a dystopia that feels so real, so possible, that it's terrifying. Throughout, brief interludes explaining how society got to this point are enlightening, but the way that the protagonist's beliefs have been corrupted to fit this new society is equally fascinating and horrifying in equal measure.

One of the main pieces of feedback I've heard about the TV series is that it's incredibly dark, and brutal, in many points. It's not easy watching, and in the same way the book is not easy reading. There's several scenes in particular (largely near the conclusion so I won't spoil), which turn the stomach and really shed a light on the darker side of humanity. It's wonderfully crafted and terrifyingly believable.

Where the book fell short for me was in the writing. I think I'm slightly poisoned by how commercial and page-turning modern dystopias are, but I found some of the more literary and philosophical interludes in the characters' thinking to be distracting and really pull me out of the plot and the horror of the setting. I found myself skimming more than a few paragraphs to get back to the realities of the situation and the actions themselves. It wasn't hugely disruptive to my enjoyment of the book, but it's also not ideal to have that detachment.

All in all, I can totally see why the book is so widely regarded and it's incredible how the themes and discussion still manage to be so relevant in the modern world. When Atwood wrote the book 35 years ago, I suspect she hoped we might have entered a new reality where these issues aren't even considered any more, but here we are, facing the same battles for equal rights, respect and tolerance. Here's hoping this time, with a second book and a renewed enthusiasm for this novel, we can actually see concrete progress.

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