The Handmaid's Tale: The iconic Sunday Times bestseller that inspired the hit TV series

Name: The Handmaid's Tale: The iconic Sunday Times bestseller that inspired the hit TV series
Rating: 4.41566276550293 (664 reviews)

Margaret Atwood

May 2012 · Random House

4.4

664 reviews

Ebook

336

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Eligible

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** THE SUNDAY TIMES NO. 1 BESTSELLER **

Discover the dystopian novel that started a phenomenon.

Offred is a Handmaid in The Republic of Gilead. She is placed in the household of The Commander, Fred Waterford – her assigned name, Offred, means ‘of Fred’. She has only one function: to breed. If Offred refuses to enter into sexual servitude to repopulate a devastated world, she will be hanged. Yet even a repressive state cannot eradicate hope and desire. As she recalls her pre-revolution life in flashbacks, Offred must navigate through the terrifying landscape of torture and persecution in the present day, and between two men upon which her future hangs.

'A fantastic, chilling story. And so powerfully feminist' Bernadine Evaristo

‘As relevant today as it was when Atwood wrote it’ Guardian

Ratings and reviews

4.4

664 reviews

Natalie Lamb

April 18, 2023

I enjoyed this book, as I often enjoy the sort of dystopian world sci-fi type books. I found the author's writing style quite unique, with sometimes almost too much imagery scattered around but mostly added a depth of detail. I especially liked the final chapter. I thought that was a great way to end the book. Although I'm yet to read it, it's a shame it didn't come to an actual end here- I'd have liked that. Overall, a recommended read.,

Vicki O'Regan

July 15, 2017

Great premise but would have liked to learn more. Appreciate that the cliff hanger ending and general mystery to the narrative might be "literary genius" but to your average reader this is just frustrating. Felt like I was reading an early and unfinished edition before the author could be bothered to flesh out the story and give explanations to the plot and a point to the two dimensional characters. Don't understand the hype at all.

34 people found this review helpful

Leonie de Bot

October 13, 2022

My goodness, what a tale. Hard work to read due to its dark content that seems not far off from what our future might look like. Very well written though, in a haunting style that shows the state of mind of someone from whom everything has been taken, who has hardly any hope left and whose mind has been and is being manipulated through various means. Not a brave heroin. Maybe an ordinary person, like most of us. My first Atwoord read. Now i will read the Testaments and am looking forward to it as both an ordeal and a treat.

About the author

Margaret Atwood is the author of more than fifty books of fiction, poetry and critical essays. Her novels include Cat's Eye, The Robber Bride, Alias Grace, The Blind Assassin and the MaddAddam trilogy. Her 1985 classic, The Handmaid's Tale, was followed in 2019 by a sequel, The Testaments, which was a global number one bestseller and shared the Booker Prize. Her most recent publications are the poetry collections Dearly and Paper Boat; Burning Questions, a selection of essays; and Old Babes in the Wood, a volume of short stories.

Atwood is a member of the Order of the Companions of Honour, and has won numerous awards including the Arthur C. Clarke Award for Imagination in Service to Society, the Franz Kafka Prize, the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade, the PEN USA Lifetime Achievement Award and the Dayton Literary Peace Prize. She has also worked as a cartoonist, illustrator, librettist, playwright and puppeteer. She lives in Toronto, Canada.

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