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Reader Reviews | |
Review by Nadine (310105) Rating (7/10) Review
by Nadine It is the story of a woman living the nightmare of slavery in a post-apocalyptic, totalitarian America. The human race is in danger of extinction due to widespread pollution, which has caused birth rates to fall drastically. In a desperate effort to re-build the population, fertile women are enslaved as breeding machines for wealthy but childless political leaders. Marriages are strictly by arrangement, and opposition to the regime is punishable by death, or transportation to labour colonies. It’s a harrowing tale and no mistake. The author presents a future that had me shuddering with dread. Of course, one likes to think that it could never happen, but the plaintive tone of the narrator makes it all seem distressingly possible. At first I wasn’t sure I liked it. The author’s style is full of flowery expressions and artistic metaphors, which I usually find pretentious. Call me old-fashioned, but when I read a book I want to be entertained. I don’t want to unravel pages of clever but unnecessary experiments with the English language. However, I kept reading. My irritation with the florid style disappeared as I became more and more engrossed. The Handmaid’s story is told in the present tense, but interspersed with tantalising flashbacks of the events leading to the formation of the brutal and obsessive society she finds herself a part of. The pace is slow, almost plodding, but this only emphasises the relentless tedium of her existence. The ending is somewhat abrupt, and ambiguous. I would have found it unsatisfying, but a well-crafted epilogue serves to soften the blow and answer some lingering questions.
Overall I found this book incredibly inventive, moving and really
quite frightening. Let us hope it is not too prophetic. |
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