The Handmaid’s Tale – Margaret Atwood

Description

Offred 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 may leave the home of the Commander and his wife once a day to walk to food markets whose signs are now pictures instead of words because women are no longer allowed to read. 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, when she lived and made love with her husband, Luke; when she played with and protected her daughter; when she had a job, money of her own, and access to knowledge, Offred must navigate through the terrifying landscape of torture and persecution in the present day, and between two men upon which her future hangs.

Brilliantly conceived and executed, this powerful evocation of twenty-first century America gives full rein to Margaret Atwood’s devastating irony, wit and astute perception.

About the Author

Margaret Atwood’s books have been published in over thirty-five countries. She is the author of more than forty works of fiction, poetry, critical essays, and books for children. Her novels include Bodily Harm, Cat’s Eye, The Robber Bride, Alias Grace, which won the Giller Prize in Canada and the Premio Mondello in Italy; The Blind Assassin,  winner of the 2000 Booker Prize;  and Oryx and Crake. Margaret Atwood lives in Toronto with writer Graeme Gibson. They are the joint Honorary Presidents of the Rare Bird Club of BirdLife Intenational.