The Handmaid's Tale
The Handmaid's Tale
Atwood's futuristic novel speculates on a patriarchal society in which fertile women 'Handmaids' become solely responsible and employed for the delivery of children to wealthy couples. A fascinating work centred on dictatorship and subsequent relations. - Lily
Read moreOffred is a Handmaid in The Republic of Gilead, a religious totalitarian state in what was formerly known as the United States. She is placed in the household of The Commander, Fred Waterford - her assigned name, Offred, means 'of Fred'.
She has only one function: to breed. If Offred refuses to enter into sexual servitude to repopulate a devastated world, she will be hanged. Yet even a repressive state cannot eradicate hope and desire. As she recalls her pre-revolution life in flashbacks, Offred must navigate through the terrifying landscape of torture and persecution in the present day, and between two men upon which her future hangs.
Masterfully conceived and executed, this haunting vision of the future places Margaret Atwood at the forefront of dystopian fiction.
'A fantastic, chilling story. And so powerfully feminist' Bernardine Evaristo, author of GIRL, WOMAN, OTHER
'This novel seems ever more vital in the present day' Observer
Atwood's futuristic novel speculates on a patriarchal society in which fertile women 'Handmaids' become solely responsible and employed for the delivery of children to wealthy couples. A fascinating work centred on dictatorship and subsequent relations. - Lily