Book 2 in Kathie and Leslie's "assignment".
The Handmaid's Tale tells the story of Offred, who has become a handmaid in the Gileadian society. It is set in the "near future" (a the time of writing, it would be "now" today) America after a fundamentalist Christian group takes over America. Atwood imagines a world where Rachel Carson's predictions in The Silent Spring come to fruition--our pollutants have created an unsafe environment, with whole species becoming extinct and the human population in decline because of environmentally influenced sterility.
Women and men fit into proscribed roles, but since the story is about Offred, we really only delve into the position of women. Offre, who has proven her fertility in the "before" time by having a child is put into the Handmaid's role: she will have children for the new society. Emotions and love are absentin Gilead and people behave in an almost robotic way.
The most haunting aspect of The Handmaid's Tale for me was the memories of "before" that Offred has. She remembers times with her husband and child and piecemeal tells us about their relationship and how she got to where she is now.
Atwood is an amazing writer. The writing in this book makes it worth reading. The story told makes it worth re-reading. I think this book should be required reading for all college students. Amazing.
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