Books I enjoyed:

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

This book was written in 1985, but I only just read it. And it gave me chills.

Even though the pace of the book is a little slow, it was a compelling and interesting read. I think it was more my impatience that wished the story would move faster. The book was not all that enjoyable, because the content is, well, often disturbing. But then, a book doesn’t always have to be enjoyable; sometimes, it should just make you pause, and think.

The narrator of the book is Offred (which literally means she is “Of Fred”: Fred owns her). This dystopian novel sets the stage for a society that is profoundly female unfriendly—under disguise of ‘the common good’. Because of rampant infertility, women like Offred, who have proven to be fertile, can be abused by the privileged few—the Commanders who rule the new world—for the sake of creating offspring. Previous children have been redistributed, families torn apart—all to serve the new order. Some women have been given more power, foremost over other women, contributing to the inequality and keeping it in place, illustrating well how power can corrupt.

The fundamental religious society Margaret Atwood describes, is absolutely frightening.  The Constitutional Rights (the novel takes place in Massachusetts) have been abandoned and the secret police is abundant, as are the executions. What struck me most was the apathy of the narrator, as well as of the other women. Resistance is futile, at least, that’s what it feels like throughout the book.

Some reviewers have argued that such a sudden change in our society would be too unlikely. But in this year of 2017, I would argue, perhaps not. Women’s rights are still being debated on a daily basis. The novel mentions massive pollution, diseases, disasters and widespread infertility; the idea of civil unrest in the aftermath of such a situation may not be that ludicrous. Neither is the thought that a totalitarian regime would thrive in such conditions, or that people would accept it.

If anything, this book is still surprisingly relevant, even after the thirty-two years it was written. I would highly recommend reading it.