The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

“As I gradually restore Words Like Silver to its archive of previous reviews written between 2011 and 2024, I'll aim to first and foremost make my reading history explorable by publishing the blurbs and short reflections as books cross my mind, with the goal of eventually transferring and fleshing out the original WLS content. For now, please enjoy a brief look at a book I love.”

Offred is a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead. She may leave the home of the Commander and his wife once a day to walk to food markets whose signs are now pictures instead of words because women are no longer allowed to read. She must lie on her back once a month and pray that the Commander makes her pregnant, because in an age of declining births, Offred and the other Handmaids are valued only if their ovaries are viable. Offred can remember the years before, when she lived and made love with her husband, Luke; when she played with and protected her daughter; when she had a job, money of her own, and access to knowledge. But all of that is gone now . . .

Funny, unexpected, horrifying, and altogether convincing, The Handmaid's Tale is at once scathing satire, dire warning, and tour de force.

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Believe it or not, this was my first Margaret Atwood book. The reason why this is so shocking is that her prose is right in line with the language I prefer from the books I read: poetic, clever, evocative. I have a thousand lines of hers underlined and bookmarked, fragmented from other books and collections.

But the reason I never picked up this one is what I stated above: I can’t do bleak. I don’t love books that weigh me down. I can read sad and dark, sure, but there needs to be an element of catharsis or expression to it that hints at there being an endpoint or release.

Less than fifty pages in, I knew I was reading a classic—a formative work that shaped literature and themes coming after it. I traced the evolution to Wither by Lauren DeStefano, the bits of the TV show I’d seen (very, very little), and conversations from the overturn of Roe v. Wade about women dressing in the handmaids’ uniforms to protest. The questions of bodily autonomy never stop being relevant, and this is definitely a read that would arouse new layers and interpretations with each read.

For me, I just loved the language. I also appreciated how subtle and clear the worldbuilding was, crafting an entire society without any info-dumping. The shape of the ecosystem was built so gradually and elegantly that I had the somewhat unpleasant realization that few books know how to properly do that nowadays. A nonchronological narrative is also so difficult to do well! Atwood is definitely one of the greats.

All that being said, I thought the ending was poor and a major cop-out. It didn’t ruin my enjoyment of the book—it was still phenomenal—but diminished it.