Caitlin’s Book Journey: The Handmaid’s Tale

Well folks it took me longer than expected to read The Handmaid’s Tale, but I’ve finally finished it! Stick around for my review…

Before I’d even bought The Handmaid’s Tale, I was really looking forward to reading it. I’d heard Margaret Atwood speak when I was at school and there was certainly a lot of hype about the book due to the Hulu adaption. Because of all hype, I think I expected a lot more than what I actually got out of the book. Don’t get me wrong; I really liked it. However, I didn’t love it.

I loved small parts of the story. One of those parts being Atwood’s style of writing. There was something really hauntingly beautiful about the tone, voice, and style of this book. Much of that voice can be attributed to the main character Offred, who I’m still trying to figure out my feelings for.

The thing with Offred is that she seems so stone cold to me. I know she suffers a lot under this regime; her pain is very evident throughout the book. This quote on page 267 in my book helped me assess my feelings for Offred: “I’m sorry there is so much pain in this story. I’m sorry it’s in fragments, like a body caught in crossfire or pulled apart by force. But there is nothing I can do to change it”. Offred is just a girl who got caught up in this crazy regime. She was once in love and had a daughter, best friend, and mother. Under this new regime she has none of those things and even with the Commander, Serena Joy, Rita, Cora and Nick she is still very much alone. So I feel for her. I can’t imagine living in a world like the one Offred must endure. However, I know that Offred was a strong woman before this all happened so it bothers me to watch her succumb to her new role as a handmaid. It was especially hard when Ofglen has so much inside information and is willing to help. I just wanted to reach out and shake her and whip her into the old person she once was.

One thing that really bothered me about this book was the lack of information readers are given about this world Offred lives in. The story is told in these fragmented pieces so I personally didn’t feel like a whole lot of information was revealed. I wanted to know exactly what led to this situation. I wanted to know more about Offred’s past life and more about life at the Red Center with the Aunts. I didn’t mind the fragments themselves as much. I thought it was a cool way to tell this story, some retelling, some present telling, but I wish we were given more from these fragments. The fragments revealed more about each character, especially Offred.

Before this gets too lengthy, let’s talk about the ending (with as little spoilers as possible!!). I for one sort of hate cliffhanger endings, which is exactly how this story ends. I felt like there was so much going on at the end of the story and so much building tension, that the anti-climactic ending bothered me more than it intrigued me. There’s just too many different paths that Offred’s story could’ve taken that I find it hard to narrow it down to just one. Basically, I just wanted closure and the knowledge that Offred didn’t end up dead or something.

I thought the characters in The Handmaid’s Tale were all really diverse but sort of hard to connect to. I know that some of the tale is a retelling, but it felt like I was watching these events unfold through a screen or something rather than feeling them happen in the moment. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, I think it worked for this story because I’m sure Offred felt very detached from these people as well. I try to put myself in each of their shoes but I can’t even imagine living life like this.

There were some things about The Handmaid’s Tale that I was disappointed with, but overall I did enjoy reading the book. I think after another read I might be able to sort out my feelings better. I’m going to give the Hulu adaption a chance, though I tend to always prefer the books to the film/tv adaptations. I would recommend this book. I think it takes an interesting and different look at oppression and feminism. I know my thoughts are a little scattered, that’s how they always are, so feel free to reach out to me if you want to talk about anything I’ve said!

With love,

Caitlin

What’s next for this journey: The Color Purple by Alice Walker

My Bookstagram: @caitlinsbookjourney

My Book Challenge: 4/50 books read in 2017 (wooo!)