8.7/10 Good if you enjoyed: Brave New World, The Bell Jar Why is it that Christian cults are always being vilified in the media and in literature? A la Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code, it seems like they're always planning some nefariously pious act or other. I'm sure many of them are perfectly fine in real life, but if the Cult of Gilead were real, I'd definitely steer clear of it. The premise of Margaret Atwood's novel, The Handmaid's Tale, which is now a Hulu original TV show (!), is that this particular Christian cult overthrows the American government and establishes the Republic of Gilead. Since birth rates are declining, eligible young women –– like our protagonist, Offred –– are turned into Handmaids, who are assigned to the households of rich old men to try to get pregnant with them once a month. Pregnancy = assured stability, and the alternative = you're banished to a distant and terrible land. The story follows Offred's life as a Handmaid and her relationship with others and her own identity. Definitely, Margaret Atwood is very, very smart with her writing! I loved this book a lot and reread several parts of it; the premise is so hauntingly thought-out, and Offred's turbulent identity and her tethers to Moira and Nick were really well fleshed out. [WARNING: SPOILERS BELOW.] I loved this book overall, and it would have been a 9/10 for me if not for the devastatingly vague ending! (More on that later.) Here's a breakdown of my opinion on this book. PROS • the premise is so incredibly smart! Just the very thought of it gives me the chills. It elicits Victorian and futuristic vibes all at once, what with the hangings juxtaposed with the angel wing headdresses, and the whole idea of women being Pregnancy Machines™ was just crazy (in a good way) to me. • Offred's identity remains concealed. I thought this was an interesting choice from Ms. Atwood but it for sure reveals how Offred is simply Of-Fred -- a loose end, a nameless ghost, a slave to Gilead. Though it's heavily implied her real name is June, she never mentions it. • Moira. Just, Moira. • The society of Mayday. The introduction of the Mayday society was so un-cliche that I was honestly shocked -- the level of skill required to pull off an Anti-Government-Force-Reveal™ nowadays without a single dab of triteness is up there in the ranks of Shakespeare. (Though I guess this was back in 1986 when dystopian books were still good.) I liked how it was realistic -- how the O.G. Ofglen hanged herself when she saw the black van coming, etc. And when the second Ofglen told Offred that she knew about Mayday, I got genuine chills. CONS • ENDING. What happens to Offred?? Will she meet Luke again? Will she and Nick become a Thing? Will the van actually take her to safety? I guess we'll have to wait for season 2 of Hulu's show, since Atwood is developing a sequel storyline for it -- but I wish she would've just published a sequel so we can know already!
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