Book Review: The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

Of all the books I’ve seen on Twitter get ripped from one cover to the next, I’ve not quite seen a book cause as much disagreement and dissension as The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood. As you can see from my analysis (here) of The Handmaid’s Tale, I find this book to be very thought-provoking when you focus on the themes and overall story of Offred, the protagonist.

However, the technical pieces of reading this book were a bit less enthralling.

Anytime I pick up a new book, I have a fifty-page rule – I will read up to the end of the chapter after page fifty. If I am still not enjoying the book, I will generally re-shelve it and pick it back up at a later date.

The Handmaid’s Tale barely made the cut for me to continue reading, but I’m glad I did.

For the first fifty or so pages, I had a hard time understanding what was happening in Offred’s world. The world-establishing portions of The Handmaid’s Tale weren’t as clear as I would’ve preferred, and the lack of quotation marks in some conversations made it hard for me discern between a real conversation and an imagined one (I’m still not entirely sure about a few). Furthermore, the start-and-stop portions of the story made for a choppy reading experience, which muddied my understanding of the protagonist’s place in her society.

In short, I thoroughly enjoyed the story of The Handmaid’s Tale, but I wasn’t a fan of the way it was written. Creatively, I understand it, but as far as my reading experience was concerned, I’m not sure this is a book I’ll pick up again until my daughter is in high school and we read it together.

For the story itself, I give The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood four stars. I liked the way it made me think critically about my beliefs as well as how I think society should empower women. However, due to the writing style, I can’t bring myself to give it a fifth star.