Offred is a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead. 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 must lie on her back once a month and pray that the Commander makes her pregnant, because in an age of declining births, Offred and the other Handmaids are valued only if their ovaries are viable. Offred can remember the days before, 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. But all of that is gone now.... Funny, unexpected, horrifying, and altogether convincing, The Handmaid's Tale is at once scathing satire, dire warning, and literary tour de force.
Reviews-
"Brilliantly illuminates some of the darker interconnections between politics and sex."- The Washington Post
"The Handmaid's Tale deserves the highest praise."- San Francisco Chronicle
"Atwood takes many trends which exist today and stretches them to their logical and chilling conclusions. . . . An excellent novel about the directions our lives are taking."- Houston Chronicle
"Splendid."- Newsweek
Who banned this book...
- in 1993, a Chicopee, Massachusetts high school cited profanity as one of its reasons for banning the book, Some might feel that allowing this sort of material into a classroom might give students the idea that it is okay to use profanities
- in 2006, banned and unbanned in the Judson, Texas School District when a parent complained that it was “sexually explicit and offensive to Christians . One parent who wanted to remove the book read an excerpt aloud and said he was “appalled by this trash book. When garbage goes in, garbage comes out. This is trash and it will corrupt the American youth," The novel also points to Christian beliefs as the basis for the subjugation of women and violation of human rights in the story. It also uses certain passages from the Bible to justify the idea of forced pregnancy and the ill treatment of women.
Reviews-
"Brilliantly illuminates some of the darker interconnections between politics and sex."- The Washington Post
"The Handmaid's Tale deserves the highest praise."- San Francisco Chronicle
"Atwood takes many trends which exist today and stretches them to their logical and chilling conclusions. . . . An excellent novel about the directions our lives are taking."- Houston Chronicle
"Splendid."- Newsweek
Who banned this book...
- in 1993, a Chicopee, Massachusetts high school cited profanity as one of its reasons for banning the book, Some might feel that allowing this sort of material into a classroom might give students the idea that it is okay to use profanities
- in 2006, banned and unbanned in the Judson, Texas School District when a parent complained that it was “sexually explicit and offensive to Christians . One parent who wanted to remove the book read an excerpt aloud and said he was “appalled by this trash book. When garbage goes in, garbage comes out. This is trash and it will corrupt the American youth," The novel also points to Christian beliefs as the basis for the subjugation of women and violation of human rights in the story. It also uses certain passages from the Bible to justify the idea of forced pregnancy and the ill treatment of women.