Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid's Tale (Contemporary Classics) Reviews

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This a literary classic, well written dystopian novel. I didn't like the fluid plotline and the un-omnipotent narrator. Overall, it is a great novel, hardly a challenging read because it is so engaging.

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Margaret Atwood has taken a step into literary creativity by writing a unique novel in a dystopian world. As an A2 student studying the novel in detail, I find I have a real interest in the nightmare world of 'Gilead', perhaps because it is so unexpected and suprising.
The real sense of Atwood's style mirroring 'ecriture feminine' is continually present in the novel, presenting fluidity, emotion, absence of punctuation and a real exploration of female perspective in a deeply misogynisitc societ ...

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Offred narrates The Handmaid's Tale, switching from her past to the dystopian "present." In this future, all that feminism stands for has been abolished and the United States has been renamed. Offred isn't even her real name. It is her new name after she has been made a Handmaid for a Commander to bear his children.

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I am studying A handsmaid's Tale at A Level. After reading the book twice I have found it very hard to understand why the book has gained such widespread acclaim. I found the plot too unrealistic to be threatening or thought provoking and the characters very hard to empathise with. Although I understand why Atwood structured the book in the way she did, to show erratic thought and such; I find it an uncomfortable read. The ending also leaves much to be desired.

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Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid's Tale - This is one the best books I have read, I have read it three times and am now studying it at English Literature A level which pleases me greatly. I find the dystopian ideas fascinating and very reflective of how society could become. In my opinion, life as they know it has been wiped out and they must re-write history how they believe it should be. They must create a new standard of social behaviour, not sinful or degrading as it was "before" but a pure, bi ...