Il racconto dell'Ancella

It's been almost five years since I wrote my review. I've rewritten large parts of it for clarity. The main idea remains the same. Extremist Judeo-Christian beliefs have won America's culture war. Now women have no rights. They are slaves to men and the biblical, patriarchal society in which they

01/06/21 Sadly, it’s time for an update. In this book, Gilead took control of the United States government via a violent coup in which they kill all the members of congress at the capitol. Then martial law was enacted. Carry on. 5/22/19 Looking back on my original review, it reads as quaint compared to Leggi tutto

I guess Atwood doesn't believe in quotation marks.. I don't think I've ever come across a novel yet in which there is no distinction between the narrator and the character. It took me quite a while to get used to that type of style of writing. I had to go back and re-read sentences again and again,

I’ve been moved by books in the past, many times, but I’ve never before read a book that has emotionally drained me to such a degree. This is frightening and powerful. And sometimes it only takes a single paragraph to make you realise how much so: “Yes, Ma’am, I said again, forgetting. They used Leggi tutto

There are only a small handful of books that have affected me in a REALLY personal way. In a way that I always try to put into words and always, ultimately, fail. I have read a lot of books over the years and I've liked many, disliked plenty too, loved and hated a smaller amount... but out of the th Leggi tutto

(edited from a paper I wrote in college about the book) In 1986, when Margaret Atwood published The Handmaid’s Tale, Ronald Regan had declared “Morning in America,” and society was going to renew itself by returning to the old values. The Christian right, in its infancy at the time, was rising in rea Leggi tutto

Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale is a tale of terror as well as a warning. The dystopian future she describes in "Gilead" which appears to be centered in Boston (due to the reference to Mass Ave and the town of Salem) is chillingly misogynistic where women are reduced to strict categories: Mart Leggi tutto

I. Night I am lying awake in my bed. I keep my eyes closed and beg sleep to come. Fruitlessly! Outside, the rain is whipping the windows without mercy. My husband is sleeping next to me, oblivious to my struggle. I need my thoughts to go away. I need to forget that I just finished the Handmaid's Tale Leggi tutto

Consider this not a ground-breaking work of literature. Consider this not a piece of fiction boasting an avant-garde mode of narration. Consider it not a commentary on the concept of subjugation of the weak by the ones holding the reins. Consider it not a thinly veiled feminist diatribe either. Inste Leggi tutto

What a perfect time to be scared to death by this novel. It doesn't feel dated or far-fetched at all, thanks to President Trump. Claire Danes is a pretty good match for this narrative. Original review Imagine the near future where power is overtaken by the religious right under the guise of protection Leggi tutto