Yes, I’m behind. Again. It’s this thing called “life” and it always happens when you least expect it. However, I already have next week’s post planned so I’m on the right track for returning to my regular schedule.
On to the book review.
And, may I just say, what a book.
I was enthralled from the very beginning. The first thing that strikes readers with The Handmaid’s Tale is Atwood’s writing style. For one, she uses a lot of commas. It’s almost excessive. Fortunately, the commas are easily overlooked in favor of the poignant prose and strong voice which is what captivated me from the start.
Atwood has the ability to capture the complexity of human emotion in a single sentence, peering into the enigma that is humanity within a few words. She makes several observations about humanity throughout the novel that make readers pause, and the succinctness of her observations shows the paradoxical nature that is being human. We have so many ways to explain who and what we are, or what is or isn’t human nature, yet Atwood can fully encompasses these thoughts with such brevity. It was easily my favorite aspect of the novel.
The second strong allure for me is the way Atwood writes the main character’s point of view. Choosing a first person style, which is admittedly not my favorite, suited this story perfectly. The voice feels so real it’s easy to forget in certain parts that one is reading a fictional novel and not a real memoir. I think strong, dynamic characters are important in any story, but they’re integral for first person point of view. Nothing takes the reader out of the novel like an unrealistic thought process or series of events. It is also a sign of extreme talent of an author when one can slip into another character’s mind with ease and stay there for the entire novel.
And, of course, there is also the uncanny comparison between current day politics and the themes presented in the novel. This is not an analysis I am going to do in-depth because there are people smarter than me who have already done it, but it is something I feel should be commented on.
Novels like Fahrenheit 451, 1984, and The Handmaid’s Tale, have especially dark undertones considering they predict the future in a fictional setting, but not as an alternate reality. The Handmaid’s Tale is a specific vision of our future should ideologies that currently exist progress in the manner Atwood predicts in the story. This creates an uncanny feeling because we too can see this potential future panning out as we read the novel.
What’s really striking about Atwood’s novel is that it isn’t set in a distant future where the new society she presents is completely unrecognizable. The main character can still remember her life before this dystopian era emerged, and the context Atwood gives surrounding the actual usurping of the government is that it happened very quickly. Of course, she says the ideology had been present much longer, and a large part of the reason the uprising was successful was because people turned a blind eye to it. The idea that there could be such a seemingly rapid change over a span of a few years is terrifying when it’s presented as a society we’re familiar with changing to something eerily similar to the extremist ideologies of today.
Of course, the aforementioned books aren’t meant to fear-monger or shame. Rather, they’re meant to enlighten. It is a call to look within ourselves and look externally into society. We need to be present of our own thoughts, especially the ones we try to avoid thinking, and we need to be aware of the way these thoughts are shaped by those around us.
That’s all I really have to say about that.
There are a few aspects of the novel that I’m not completely sold on. For one, the world Atwood creates is only as fleshed out as it needs to be for the story to makes sense. This is fine, and some people may even prefer it this way, but I want DETAILS. It’s mostly my own personal preference, but this is also my blog so my preference is the most important one here.
This is also an issue that happens frequently with first person point of view novels. It’s weird for the main character to excessively monologue details to the reader, right? Atwood’s character is able to do this a bit because the story is written as though she’s writing a memoir, so she can give detailed looks at her world as she lived it. However, she rarely lingers on the actual structure of the dystopian society or how things came to be. Instead, she focuses on her own thoughts, emotions, and actions as the downfall occurred.
As I said, this is more personal preference than anything, but I would have liked to know more about how this new world works and how it came to be. I think that would have been a fascinating aspect of the novel.
Overall, it was a great read. The book is well-written and the subject matter is extremely thought-provoking. I know there are a lot of books in the world but I think The Handmaid’s Tale is one that everyone should read within their lifetime.
I will see you guys NEXT WEEK. I PROMISE.
The Lit Wiz