The Handmaid's Tale- Margaret Atwood

Purchase:  Amazon | Chapters

Published:  1985
Length:  368 pages
ISBN:  0770428207
Genre:  Dystopian/Speculative

Start Date:  Nov. 8, 2010
Finished Date:  Nov. 14, 2010 (6 days--I was home sick most of this week & zipped through it!)

Where Found:  Chapters-Indigo
Why Read:  I've always been interested in Margaret Atwood's books and (surprisingly) didn't have the opportunity to read her work in university (and I'm Canadian!).  I decided to start with The Handmaid's Tale, which seems to be her most beloved book (though Oryx and Crake is also highly recognized--I may read this next).

Review:

I have not read this kind of fiction in recent years.  To the extent that Atwood examines the potential for imminent disaster if certain "isms" continue to influence our society, I never have.  Previously, I would plead blissful ignorance to the horrific outcomes of a dystopian future.  I just don't wanna know.  That may not be too proactive of me, but like the child who covers his eyes to hide himself, I figure anything I can't imagine has a chance of not occuring.  Wrong.

Atwood is one of the most metaphorical writers I have had the pleasure of reading.  Michael Ondaatje is another, both Canadian (go figure).  The language of The Handmaid's Tale is breathtaking, malleable, yet steadfast in its often poetic analysis of a frightening evolution in our society.  Offred's voice is trusting, truthful, but ultimately doubtful as we witness the atrocities of the warped, once American, nation of Gilead under extremist rule by the wavering hand of the Commander and his band of Aunts who oversee the seclusion of fertile women known as Handmaids.  Dastardly fates are served to resistant, infertile, gay, and elderly men & women who are executed or sent to the Colonies for toxic waste cleanup.  The ruination of civil rights & government are due to a Presidential assassination and upheaval, and the mass elimination of all literary materials & cultural or religious practices deemed blasphemous is ordered, leading to the extermination or deportation of ethnic groups.

The novel's plot is designed as if in a spiral formation, beginning with an idea that is circled around with a different perspective with each go-around, the pace quickening with each curve.  Premonitions of paranoid surveillance, sociopolitical extremism, and religious evangelism are eerily accurate to trends that escalated from the time of the book's publication in 1985 and are just recently struggling to be curtailed.

As for the cover, it is such a powerful image and I feel it is the best representation of the book's message.  This is a book that every woman must read and everyone should read.  It is one of the most important books I've ever read.  I am looking forward to reading more of Atwood--it has been suggested on other book blogs that an Atwood "newbie" begin with The Handmaid's Tale and perhaps move on to Oryx and Crake.  I just may do that.  Anyone read Oryx and Crake, or any other Atwood books to recommend?  Of course, any comments on The Handmaid's Tale would be welcomed as well :)

Rank:  (A+)- A must-read!

50th Follower Giveaway/Challenge Winner!

Thank you for participating in my giveaway/challenge in celebration of reaching my 50th follower milestone.  I appreciate your interest and was pleased to read your responses to the challenging question I posed.




I am happy to announce the winner is Susan Coventry @ Reading World.  Congratulations!  Read her lovely response here.

Susan's blog button is now prominently displayed at right and we will arrange a guest post in the near future.

Award & Some Fun Book Cartoons

I received this beautiful award from Dizzy C @ her Little Book Blog.  Thank you :)

I've been warding off a cold for a few days and (as per my ongoing childhood tradition) have been watching cartoons, in recent years from my Looney Tunes Golden Collection box sets.  Gotta love 'em :D

I was reminded of two brilliant cartoon shorts that showcased a number of classic books:  "Book Revue" and "Have You Got Any Castles?"  Both shorts are in the LTGC Volume 2 on disc 4.  Both are on YouTube but this is the only one with a background commentary :D

Friday Memes

A weekly meme hosted by Jennifer @ Crazy For Books.

This week's topic is from Christina @ All About YA Books:

If you find a book that looks interesting but is part of a series, do you always start with the first title?

Great question!   Usually I do.  It's that type-A part of myself that needs to see things unfold from the very beginning.  I started the Alex Cross and Women's Murder Club books by James Patterson from #1 on.  The only series I didn't start from the beginning was The Babysitters Club.  When I was 7, I received a current book from it and that got me interested in reading them all (which I did!).  So, it goes to show that it's not necessary to start a series from book #1, but if I'm shopping for the series, I'll start with #1.

A weekly meme hosted by Janet @ Friday Fill-Ins.

My fill-ins are underlined; the rest are given:

1. When pigs fly I'll win the lottery :)

2. You expect me to take that seriously?!

3. Call me *call me any day or night, call me* (Blondie).

4. Nod if you know what I mean.  (How lame...sorry, I blanked on this one!)

5. The most entertaining person in my life is my dad because he is the best storyteller & joke-teller in the family.

*SPOILER*
6. Moira "escaped" Gilead, making me wonder who's next?

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to seeing family, tomorrow my plans include sadly, a funeral and Sunday, I want to finish The Handmaid's Tale and watch Desperate Housewives!

50th Follower Giveaway!

Challenge/giveaway is open until tomorrow at 1 p.m. EST.  Click here for more details.

Have a great weekend everyone :)

Friday Fuhgettaboutit

An occasional meme created by & for me in which I recall a book that I gave up on and why.  Since I haven't posted about this in a while, I'll present you with two books, and these are the last two I can remember giving up on.  Any others that come up will be newer reads.  Hopefully this won't happen very often.  It really doesn't as I try very hard to finish what I start (in all its forms, reading & beyond) but sometimes it becomes unbearable.

The Deep End of the Ocean by Jacquelyn Mitchard

I could not get past the shallow coldness of Beth and how rigidly the book was written. I gave up after about 20-30 pages.

I had seen the movie with Michelle Pfeiffer prior to reading the book and thought it was just okay. Pfeiffer’s take on the character made her much more sympathetic than the book made her out to be.  It was along the lines of a Lifetime TV movie, if you catch my drift.

Rank:  (DNF)- Did Not Finish, Don't Recommend

 

 

Speedbumps by Teri Garr

I enjoy Teri Garr as a comedic actress, especially in Tootsie and Young Frankenstein.  She can come across as a tad annoying but her ditzy image is a quality you can’t help but laugh at in spite of herself.
 
I tried my best to like her memoir and she writes one-liners as well as she delivers them on screen, but I could not get into the rest of it. The centerfold of pictures is a nice treat and skimming a couple of anecdotes is breezy fun, but overall, it just fell flat for me.
 
Rank:  (DNF)- Did Not Finish, Don't Recommend

All I Want For Christmas

A seasonal weekly meme hosted by Danya @ A Tapestry of Words.

Every week until Xmas, bloggers are invited to share a book on their wish list.

I lost track of when this meme takes place, so sorry for missing it last week.  To make up for it, I'll post two books on my Xmas wish list :)

 

84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff

I love books with characters who read and, even better, books about the love of reading.  I've heard all good things about this and I thought the movie with Anne Bancroft (love all her work, RIP) and Anthony Hopkins was a sweet little gem.

A Prayer For Owen Meany by John Irving

I was captivated by The World According to Garp, so anything by Irving appeals to me now!  Many people claim this to be a favourite book of theirs, so it's worth at least a look-see :)


If you've read either of these, what do you think?  What books are on your Xmas wish list?

Literary Blog Hop

A new weekly meme hosted by The Blue Bookcase.

This week's question is from Debbie @ Readerbuzz:

What is the most difficult literary work you've ever read?

What made it so difficult?

Heart of Darkness- Joseph Conrad

This is my review (click link at left for its original page):

A very disturbing novella that comes across as incredibly racist and depicts mentally feral European characters that have no sense of acceptance or even tolerance for the African cultures they are invading. The text is often taught at face value, with only the European perspective, but through a post-colonial context, the novel withholds the African perspective, leaving an obviously slanted viewpoint as Marlow’s experience is less than half the story.

Rank:  (D)- Don't recommend (D for Disturbing)

Tuesday Memes

A weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

This week's topic is:

Top 10 Most Unfortunate Character Names

1)  Cushie & Pooh Percy- The World According to Garp- John Irving

And you thought Garp was an odd name...

2)  Morag Gunn- The Diviners- Margaret Laurence

3)  Hagar Shipley- The Stone Angel- Margaret Laurence

The first always makes me think of a dishtowel.  The second would bring an unfortunate nickname.

4)  Offred- The Handmaid's Tale- Margaret Atwood

The protagonist from a scary set of women's names with "of" __ (fill in male name).

5)  Piggy- The Lord of the Flies- William Goldman

Enough said.

6)  Mongo- Push- Sapphire (adapted into the movie Precious)

Precious's daughter with Down Syndrome.  This name is sad and shocked me to hear.

7)  Dill- To Kill a Mockingbird- Harper Lee

Mind you, this is a nickname but do you really want to be thought of as a pickle? :D 

8)  Milkman, First Corinthians & Pilate Dead- Song of Solomon- Toni Morrison

Milkman is a nickname, the other two are randomly chosen Biblical names, and the last name is just eerie.

9)  Hamm, Clov & Nagg- Endgame- Samuel Beckett

Deliberately satirical, of course, in Theatre of the Absurd style.

10)  prot- K-PAX- Gene Brewer

Rhymes with "goat."  Purposely not capitalized.  Still strange.



A weekly meme hosted by MizB @ Should Be Reading.

Rules:
•Grab your current read
•Open to a random page
•Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
•BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
•Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

"Down past the fisheye on the hall wall, I can see my white shape, of tented body, hair down my back like a mane, my eyes gleaming.  I like this.  I am doing something, on my own."

The Handmaid's Tale- Margaret Atwood
page 121