Friday, July 22, 2016

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

Set in the future, this is the story of Offred and her life in the Republic of Gilead, a dystopian society where women have no power, individualism is repressed, sterility is the norm and fertile women are treated as production machines.  The position of women in society is indicated by the colour of their uniforms.  Handmaids where long, loose fitting blood red dresses and huge white headdresses that restrict their sight.  Offred is a Handmaid and, as such, her role in the Republic is to breed.  Once a month, she is taken to her Commander and his wife for a bizarre breeding ceremony.  Forced to live her life under this new dictatorship, Offred dreams of her old life and of being reunited with her husband Luke and their daughter, but she knows that if she breaks the rules she risks severe punishment or even death.  She remembers what it felt like to desire and be desired.   In the end it is desire that makes her risk everything. I liked the way the author made the ordinary extraordinary.      

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