The Handmaid's Tale is a radical departure for Margaret Atwood. Set in the near future, in a locale that oddly resembles Cambridge, Massachusetts, it describes life in what was once the United States. Now, however, it has become the Republic of Gilead, a monolithic theocracy that has reacted to social unrest and a sharply declining birthrate by reverting to the repressive intolerance of the original Puritans, and has gone far beyond them. This regime takes the Book of Genesis absolutely at its word, with bizarre consequences for women, and for men as well.
The story is told through the eyes of Offred, one of the unfortunate "Handmaids" under the new social order. In condensed but eloquent prose, by turns cool-eyed, tender, despairing, passionate, and wry, she reveals to us the dark corners behind the establishment's calm facade, as certain tendencies now in existence are carried to their logical conclusions.
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The Handmaid's Tale is a radical departure for Margaret Atwood. Set in the near future, in a locale that oddly resembles Cambridge, Massachusetts, it describes life in what was once the United States. Now, however, it has become the Republic of Gilead, a monolithic theocracy that has reacted to social unrest and a sharply declining birthrate by reverting to the repressive intolerance of the original Puritans, and has gone far beyond them. This regime takes the Book of Genesis absolutely at its word, with bizarre consequences for women, and for men as well.
The story is told through the eyes of Offred, one of the unfortunate "Handmaids" under the new social order. In condensed but eloquent prose, by turns cool-eyed, tender, despairing, passionate, and wry, she reveals to us the dark corners behind the establishment's calm facade, as certain tendencies now in existence are carried to their logical conclusions.
The Handmaid's Tale is A Clockwork Orange as seen by women: unexpected, funny, horrifying, and altogether convincing. the book is at once a mordant satire and a dire warning. this is Atwood in top form.
I was warned this book is not a fun one. Indeed it is not.
You get to see the omnipresent fear and violence of a patriarchal surveillance state. You get to see how it got there, little by little, and how it got accepted. The disturbing part is that it is very much believable...
I hadn't seen since Orwell's "1984" the effect of a totalitarian system on an individual so well described, especially at an individual level. You get to see how a single mind resists or breaks when faced with such overwhelming brutal and oppressive environment.
It is definitely worth reading, especially when you keep in mind the fact that Atwood has been censored in several US states.
I was warned this book is not a fun one. Indeed it is not.
You get to see the omnipresent fear and violence of a patriarchal surveillance state. You get to see how it got there, little by little, and how it got accepted. The disturbing part is that it is very much believable...
I hadn't seen since Orwell's "1984" the effect of a totalitarian system on an individual so well described, especially at an individual level. You get to see how a single mind resists or breaks when faced with such overwhelming brutal and oppressive environment.
It is definitely worth reading, especially when you keep in mind the fact that Atwood has been censored in several US states.
It took me a bit to get into the story, mostly because of how it’s written. It seemed to me too mysterious and in some cases, vague, but once I got fully immersed in the story I couldn’t leave. It’s such a rough story that makes you think about how the current world relates to it. I’m glad I read this book.
Stejnojmenný seriál mě zaujal, takže jsem si zákonitě musel přečíst i knihu. Ta odpovídá jen prvním dílům seriálu. Popisuje dystopický svět, kde se přestaly rodit děti a moc převzali muži, kteří z některých žen udělaly jen nádoby na plození dětí. Napsáno je to poutavě, čtivě a přitom člověku v hlavě naskakují různé otázky. Doporučuji.
Handmaid's Tale is something I think we all should read and ponder, but I found it a bit boring at times. At one point, I almost didn't pick it back up, but I did end up finishing it.
I will say, I enjoyed the ending and explanation that takes place in the future.
Handmaid's Tale is something I think we all should read and ponder, but I found it a bit boring at times. At one point, I almost didn't pick it back up, but I did end up finishing it.
I will say, I enjoyed the ending and explanation that takes place in the future.
Quelle lecture, non mais quelle lecture ! Ce roman nous raconte l'histoire de Defred, servante écarlate donnant son titre au roman. Dans cette histoire racontée à la première personne (façon journal intime, donc), on découvre à travers son histoire personnelle l'histoire plus globale de la transformation des Etats-Unis en une espèce de régime autoritaire curieux, où la plus grande vertu d'une femme est d'être un utérus fertile, cette vertu en faisant un personnage un peu marginal, à protéger de tout (et surtout d'elle-même). Par où commencer ? Eh bien simplement par l'écriture. Vous savez que je tiens en horreur les récits introspectifs comme [b:L'assassin royal|2056297|L'homme noir (L'assassin royal, #12)|Robin Hobb|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1313705391s/2056297.jpg|21904281], où le personnage passe son temps à se lamenter su sa petite personne. Et dans ce récit, c'est précisément le cas : Defred passe beaucoup de temps à se demander que faire, comment elle a pu en arriver là, est-ce …
Quelle lecture, non mais quelle lecture ! Ce roman nous raconte l'histoire de Defred, servante écarlate donnant son titre au roman. Dans cette histoire racontée à la première personne (façon journal intime, donc), on découvre à travers son histoire personnelle l'histoire plus globale de la transformation des Etats-Unis en une espèce de régime autoritaire curieux, où la plus grande vertu d'une femme est d'être un utérus fertile, cette vertu en faisant un personnage un peu marginal, à protéger de tout (et surtout d'elle-même). Par où commencer ? Eh bien simplement par l'écriture. Vous savez que je tiens en horreur les récits introspectifs comme [b:L'assassin royal|2056297|L'homme noir (L'assassin royal, #12)|Robin Hobb|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1313705391s/2056297.jpg|21904281], où le personnage passe son temps à se lamenter su sa petite personne. Et dans ce récit, c'est précisément le cas : Defred passe beaucoup de temps à se demander que faire, comment elle a pu en arriver là, est-ce que ce qu'elle fait est vraiment ce qu'elle doit faire. J'aurais dû détester, donc. Et pourtant, grâce à la plume de l'auteure, j'ai apprécié de rentrer dans la tête de cette femme qui n'est pas héroïque, mais qui n'est pas non plus particulièrement lâche. Et franchement, il s'y passe des choses, dans sa tête. Entre son statut d'incubatrice vivante qui la rend inapte à toute activité, les éléments culturels locaux (sur lesquels je reviendrai évidement), ses sentiments pour ses proches et pour ceux qui l'entourent (ce qui n'a absolument rien à voir), il y a quand même une vie intérieure assez riche - et fascinante - à découvrir. Une vie intérieur dont le thème central, assez facile à deviner, est la place de la femme dans la société : doit-elle être réduite à sa biologie ? doit-elle être "l'égale de l'homme" ? doit-elle rester une espèce de déesse domestique ? Toutes ces questions sont évidement des thèmes féministes, ce qui pourrait faire de ce roman une espèce d'anti-manifeste féministe montrant comment ne pas aider les femmes dans nos sociétés. Pourtant ça n'est pas le thème principal du roman (selon moi). Je dirais même plutôt qu'il s'agit plus d'une forme assez subtile d'accroche permettant au lecteur de rentrer dans ce monde. En effet, on entre dans cet univers par le statut très étrange - pour moi - de Defred, avant qu'elle nous permette, par petites touches, de comprendre qu'il s'agit d'un univers très dystopique, ou plutôt (puisque l'auteure insiste là-dessus dans sa postface) très autoritaire. Typiquement, ça fait penser aux divers théocraties (les royaumes moyen-orientaux actuels en sont le meilleur exemple) ayant pu exister sur notre planète. Et c'est ce que veut montrer l'auteure : qu'en s'appuyant sur la "foi" des citoyens et leur désir d'ordre qui peut mener à des modes de vie suffisamment radicaux pour être qualifiés de totalitaire (je fais des circonlocutions, mais je pense que le sujet nécessite un peu de prudence sémantique). Et c'est franchement bien fait. Parce que du début à la fin, tout m'a semblé "réaliste" (l'auteure explique d'abord brillamment pourquoi dans sa postface). Et réussir à mettre en scène dystopie avec un tel réalisme, avec une telle vraissemblance (malgré les trous évidents dans la présentation du contenu) est à mon sens un vrai chef d'oeuvre. Je comprend pourquoi une chaîne de télé en a fait une série. Evidement, les dimensions intimes et globales du récit ne tiennent que grâce à une chose : une écriture qui, malgré le thème, était d'une clarté, d'une limpidité que j'ai trouvé vraiment chouette. Il n'y a jamais de phrases interminables, jamais de tentation visible de faire de la littérature, mais toujours le besoin de faire un texte aussi lisible qu'élégant. Du coup, je comprend pourquoi ce roman a une telle aura critique et publique. C'est vraiment, à mon sens, une lecture indispensable à l'amateur un peu exigeant de science-fiction.
When did I first read this? I'm not sure...before the internet, probably when this novel was a recent one. Back then, it scared me. Now, it scares me even more. Back then, I remember thinking that all women should read this, but now I think everyone should.
Sadly, some of the aspects of life under the Gilead Regime are at work today, in certain parts of the world. The culture is extremely misogynistic, but note that most of the men in such a society are also restricted, not at all free. Not as badly off as women, of course.
Margaret Atwood excels at writing speculative fiction, I adore her writing, so it's no surprise that I would recommend this to everyone. (Not this particular paperback; the cover is falling apart, getting smaller every time I picked it up. I've left a trail.)
When did I first read this? I'm not sure...before the internet, probably when this novel was a recent one. Back then, it scared me. Now, it scares me even more. Back then, I remember thinking that all women should read this, but now I think everyone should.
Sadly, some of the aspects of life under the Gilead Regime are at work today, in certain parts of the world. The culture is extremely misogynistic, but note that most of the men in such a society are also restricted, not at all free. Not as badly off as women, of course.
Margaret Atwood excels at writing speculative fiction, I adore her writing, so it's no surprise that I would recommend this to everyone. (Not this particular paperback; the cover is falling apart, getting smaller every time I picked it up. I've left a trail.)
Estive a ver um hangout sobre este livro e, grande parte do tempo em que ouvia uma das intervenientes a falar do livro, pensava: "Não, leste tudo ao contrário! Como é que é possível alguma mulher não gostar deste livro? Ultrapassado?! Nem pensar!" E de tanto pensar isto lembrei-me que ainda não tinha escrito sobre o mesmo. Acho que, por ter feito um SLNB sobre o livro, onde falei tanto sobre ele, me meteu de ressaca até agora. Contudo, ouvir alguém expressar uma opinião tão diferente da minha fez o meu sangue ferver e por isso aqui fica a minha opinião. A Margaret Atwood revelou ser uma escritora excepcional, apresentando no "A História de uma Serva" a possibilidade arrepiante de, o mundo como o conhecemos mudar radicalmente amanhã, ser substituído por uma sociedade teocrática e despir as suas mulheres das suas identidades e direitos. Offred é a personagem que …
Estive a ver um hangout sobre este livro e, grande parte do tempo em que ouvia uma das intervenientes a falar do livro, pensava: "Não, leste tudo ao contrário! Como é que é possível alguma mulher não gostar deste livro? Ultrapassado?! Nem pensar!" E de tanto pensar isto lembrei-me que ainda não tinha escrito sobre o mesmo. Acho que, por ter feito um SLNB sobre o livro, onde falei tanto sobre ele, me meteu de ressaca até agora. Contudo, ouvir alguém expressar uma opinião tão diferente da minha fez o meu sangue ferver e por isso aqui fica a minha opinião. A Margaret Atwood revelou ser uma escritora excepcional, apresentando no "A História de uma Serva" a possibilidade arrepiante de, o mundo como o conhecemos mudar radicalmente amanhã, ser substituído por uma sociedade teocrática e despir as suas mulheres das suas identidades e direitos. Offred é a personagem que nos guia através dos eventos. Vivemos toda a história presente e passada através dela. Ela é uma serva: como mulher fértil mas com um passado considerado "imoral", foi entregue a uma família com a finalidade de procriar e fornecer-lhes uma criança. Como é uma sociedade afectada por problemas ambientais, as crianças são o seu bem mais precioso, pois são poucas as que nascem sem problemas ou sobrevivem à gestação. Este não é um livro para entreter ou ser agradável. Não nos dá uma conclusão moral no fim, não é essa a sua finalidade. Este é um livro para nos fazer pensar: Quem somos como sociedade, o papel do homem, da mulher, da família. O poder da religião nas nossas vidas. A falta de união entre as mulheres. Quem é realmente o sexo fraco? Agora, enquanto ouvia a opinião de alguém que não gostou do livro dizer "Oh, isto seria impossível de acontecer nos dias de hoje" percebi o papel das "Tias" neste livro. Haverá sempre alguém que vai experienciar a realidade de outra forma, e agir de outra forma. Os nossos valores moldam-nos e temos tendência a lutar por aquilo que acreditamos. Se acreditarmos na ilusão que vivemos numa sociedade livre e segura, negamos a possibilidade de vir a perder a nossa liberdade e segurança. E não lutaremos por eles quando for necessário. Não devemos viver com medo mas é nosso dever vivermos alertas para o que nos rodeia. Este é um livro escrito em 1985 mas que ainda hoje é um verdadeiro alerta: há fragilidade nas nossas instituições, há desunião no nosso sexo (feminino), há imoralidade e há fanatismo religioso. Há a possibilidade de sermos Offreds. Basta olhar para o mundo como ele é hoje e rapidamente percebemos que o mundo está cheio delas.
I am usually a fan of Margaret Atwood's, especially her dystopian books, but this one left me totally cold. It was interesting but not compelling. Maybe it wasn't quite as disturbing because it seems far too likely, if you look at those religious nuts in the US? I didn't feel much empathy for 'Offred', which is probably my biggest beef. The book felt very dated, but then, it was written in the 80s and it felt like it.
The book left me so cold that I'll just leave this review at that.
I am usually a fan of Margaret Atwood's, especially her dystopian books, but this one left me totally cold. It was interesting but not compelling. Maybe it wasn't quite as disturbing because it seems far too likely, if you look at those religious nuts in the US? I didn't feel much empathy for 'Offred', which is probably my biggest beef. The book felt very dated, but then, it was written in the 80s and it felt like it.
The book left me so cold that I'll just leave this review at that.
