The Handmaid's Tale - Wendy's Review

It was after the catastrophe, when they shot the president and machine-gunned the Congress and the army declared a state of emergency. They blamed it on the Islamic fanatics, at the time. Keep calm, they said on television. Everything is under control. - From The Handmaid's Tale, page 174-

Margaret Atwood's futuristic novel - The Handmaid's Tale - is timeless and relevant. Set in the fictional Republic of Gilead and spanning the Eastern seaboard of the United States after the collapse of the American government, the novel is narrated by Offred...a young Handmaid whose sole purpose in life now is to be the vessel for producing a baby for the upper classes. Atwood creates a terrifying hierarchy with men being "on top" and women being relegated to a variety of freedom-less classes such as Wives (top ranked married women who are unable to conceive), Daughters (the adopted offspring of wives), Marthas (infertile, single, older women whose skills at domesticity keep them from being shipped off to the Colonies), Econowives (low-ranked married women who must "do it all"), Handmaids (fertile women whose sole function is to provide babies for the upper echelon), Aunts (the only women who have any autonomy and are used to train and monitor the Handmaids), and Jezebels (the prostitutes who are hidden away in hotels and used for men's pleasure). Atwood uses irony effectively with Biblical references and play on words to craft a compelling story.

The novel questions how much freedom we are willing to give up in the guise of safety. Viewed in respect to our current world and political environment of red alerts, government lies to enact war, terrorism, airline security, phone tapping and the whittling away of individual freedoms...The Handmaid's tale is a thought-provoking expose on what could happen when we willingly give up our freedoms to supposedly ensure our safety. Are we on a slippery slope? Atwood also questions our sources of information (ie: the news media).

The anchorman comes on now. His manner is kindly, fatherly; white hair and candid eyes, wise wrinkles around them, like everybody's ideal grandfather. What he's telling us, his level smile implies, is for our own good. Everything will be all right soon. I promise. There will be peace. you must trust. you must go to sleep, like good children. He tells us what we long to believe. He's very convincing. -From The Handmaid's Tale, page 83-

Atwood is a genius at creating character. Offred's voice is pitch perfect, taking the reader step by step through her horrible story. Even Serena Joy, the Commander Fred's wretched wife, elicits sympathy from the reader. Atwood's skill with language has never been more spot on then in this novel where she twists words and phrases, showing the reader that all is not as it seems.

But all of that was pertinent only in the night, and had nothing to do with the man you loved, at least in daylight. With that man you wanted it to work, to work out. Working out was also something you did to keep you body in shape, for the man. If you worked out enough, maybe the man would too. Maybe you would be able to work it out together, as if the two of you were a puzzle that could be solved; otherwise, one of you, most likely the man, would go wandering off on a trajectory of his own, taking his addictive body with him and leaving you with bad withdrawal, which you could counteract by exercise. If you didn't work it out, it was because one of you had the wrong attitude. Everything that went on in your life was thought to be due to some positive or negative power emanating from inside your head. -From The Handmaid's Tale, pages 226-227-

I was hooked by the story from page one and read it straight through in two days.

The Handmaid's Tale is on the ALA's list of 100 most banned books. It was short listed for the Booker Prize in 1986, won the Governor General's Award in Canada in 1985, and made the Orange Prize list of 50 Essential Reads. Brilliant, chilling, suspenseful, and masterly written - this novel is a modern classic.

Highly recommended; rated 5/5.

To read more about this novel, check out Wikipedia. Also here.

Wendy's Challenge List

November 5, 2007 - I COMPLETED THIS CHALLENGE!!! To read my challenge wrap up, go here. THANK YOU, Lisa for sponsoring this wonderful challenge.

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Here are my books for this challenge:

1. Cloud Atlas, by David Mitchell (Completed 4/18/2007; read a review here.)
2. The Road, by Cormac McCarthy (Completed 5/17/2007; read a review here.)
3. The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood (Completed 11/5/2007; read a review here.)
4. In the Country of Last Things, by Paul Auster (Completed 9/23/2007; read a review here.)

I can't wait to see what the rest of you are reading and to read your reviews. Dystopian literature is new to me, and so far I'm really enjoying it!

Time's up, Readers!

Today is the end of the challenge. How'd you do? Did you read everything on your list? Did you discover any new authors you love? Authors you'd never read again? Did you read more than you planned because it was just that interesting?

I know a couple of you have already posted wrap-ups, thanks! Any final thoughts?

As for me, I did not finish my own challenge. I still plan to read most of what was on my list, it's just going to have to wait for a better time.

Thanks to everyone who participated, even though I did not finish, it was a lot of fun.

The Road, reviewed by raidergirl3 and CompletedWrap Up

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

The Road finishes up the dystopian challenge for me. It was a bleak book, but a good read. The prose was perfect for this post apocaolypse tale, of a father and son walking across America. It was dark, and bleak, and depressing and how could a person survive this life? And would you want to? And it is also a book about surviving and hope and love, because those will always be there in life as well.

My full review is at my blog: here

To finish up this challenge, and with only a few weeks to go, here is the list I originally committed to:

Books I plan to read:
1. The Giver by Lois Lowry (banned book challenge as well)
2. Never Let Me Go by Kazou Ishiguro
3. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
4. Brave New World by Huxley
5. either The Road by Cormac McCarthy or Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell (recced by laura)

I read all five, but not Cloud Atlas, plus I also read We by Yvengy Zamyatin and Uglies by Scott Westerfield.
Favorite Book: Never Let Me Go, The Giver and The Road

I really enjoyed this challenge, and the books I found. This is a genre I would not have thought I would like, but I have had to revise this opinion, because I have a stack of new books I still want to read, including Pretties, Specials, Oryx and Cake, Children of Men.
Thanks for the challenge.

Pamela - Dystopian Challenge Completed

I have successfully completed my 3rd challenge. I really enjoyed this challenge as 4 out of the 5 books I read I rated with an 8 or higher.

1984 by George Orwell [completed May 18th, 2007]
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley [completed August 26th, 2007]
The Giver by Lois Lowry [completed April 28th, 2007]
The Road by Cormac McCarthy [completed July 4th, 2007]
Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood [completed September 17th, 2007]

In The Country of Last Things - Wendy's Book Review

You would think that sooner or later it would all come to an end. Things fall apart and vanish, and nothing new is made. People die, and babies refuse to be born. In all the years I have been here, I can't remember seeing a single newborn child. And yet, there are always new people to replace the ones who have vanished. -From In the Country of Last Things, page 7-

Anna Blume arrives in an unnamed city to search for her brother - a journalist who has vanished without a trace. The city is one of unspeakable destruction and horror, where dead people lie in the street (either by their own hand, or from hired assassins, or from starvation or violence). Things disappear daily along with memories. To survive, Anna becomes an object scavenger, gathering up things from the past to sell for food and shelter. Who and what can survive in this bleak and desolate city? Paul Auster's novel is written from Anna's point of view - and presented in a letter she writes to someone in her past. For Anna, there is no going back "home."

In spite of what you would suppose, the facts are not reversible. Just because you are able to get in, that does not mean you will be able to get out. Entrances do not become exits, and there is nothing to guarantee that the door you walked through a moment ago will still be there when you turn around to look for it again. That is how it works in the city. Every time you think you know the answer to a question, you discover that the question makes no sense.
- From In The Country of Last Things, page 85-

Unable to go back, and uncertain about going forward, the reader learns how Anna survives and what she finds in a place where everything seems to be lost. The novel is not particularly hopeful - the characters not only lose the past, but also their faith.

"I don't believe in God anymore, if that's what you mean," I said. "I gave all that up when I was a little girl."
"It's difficult not to," the Rabbi said. "When you consider the evidence, there's a good reason why so many think as you do."
"You're not going to tell me that you believe in God," I said.
"We talk to him. But whether or not he hears us is another matter."
-From In the Country of Last Things, page 96-

The novel is well written and I found myself turning the pages seeking the same answers that Anna seeks. Auster offers a glimmer of promise - but, ultimately I finished the book with a feeling of disappointment.

Mercy's Maid's Book List

Here is my list of books I would like to complete for this challenge:

1. 1984 by George Orwell * Completed
2. The Stepford Wives by Ira Levin
3. Animal Farm by George Orwell * Completed
4. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
5. Pretties by Scott Westerfeld * Completed
6. Uglies by Scott Westerfeld * Completed
7. Specials by Scott Westerfeld * Completed

**I keep adding to my list, but I don't seem to be speeding up my reading of this genre.