The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This book has been on my bookshelf for quite a while but I kept delaying reading it. I thought it was going to be too heavy. And while it wasn’t “light,” by any stretch of the imagination, it didn’t quite drag me down to the extent I feared it would.
Margaret Atwood’s most highly acclaimed book is regarded as such for good reason. It painted a picture that was concerning, scary, and — in 2026 — all too close to being reality. Actually, even for when it was originally published (1985), I can understand why Atwood felt that her fiction could become fact at any time. Scary times, no doubt.
Like almost every other book I’ve read recently, the author uses the “jump from time to time and hope you can keep up” strategy. I just don’t understand why authors and social media all hate putting things in chronological order. That said, I didn’t get lost in this as often as I do with other books that use the same device.
THAT said, I did have to back up and re-read several portions because my mind drifted or I just wasn’t paying close enough attention and wanted to make sure I understood it all. In the end, I did understand it all. And I retort, it was concerning.
The narrator — Claire Danes — was nothing short of incredible. If you told me that the was her favorite book and she had read it numerous times before voicing it, I would have ZERO trouble believing you. Her intonation, pauses, speed, and really everything about how she voiced the words was perfect. And believable. Although I did have to remind myself a few times that it was not Karen Gillan because their voices are very similar.
The one thing I actually disliked was the prologue or “historical notes,” as the book put it. I don’t feel like it added anything to the book and almost seemed like it was actively working against the “Handmaid’s Tale” part of it.
Aside from that minor bugaboo, it was top notch. Highly recommended.
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