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 years 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 . . .
Blurb taken from Goodreads.
*
I, like the rest of the English speaking world, had already heard quite a lot about The Handmaid's Tale, probably largely due to the hit television adaptation that began a few years ago. However, I remember starting to watch the show and finding very little interest in it, so I quickly gave up.
I was really hoping when I started reading the original novel that I would find inspiration to engage far more with this story.
However, although I found the premise for the story really unique and powerful, I really struggled to connect with it. I didn't like the very simplistic plot progression and I found the narrator, Offred, too apathetic to feel sympathy for. It's a real shame, because I know so many people who absolutely love this story, but it just wasn't for me.
Rating: ✫✫✫
The Story
I have to say, the novel was far easier to read than I was anticipating. There's something about a really popular classic novel that immediately makes me think of difficulty and long-winded prose. However, I was pleasantly surprised with how quick I could read this story. It's very easy to follow and understand, which was reassuring from the very beginning.
However, the style of the narrative was very detached and I found it fairly difficult to engage with it in more than a really superficial way. I was reading and understanding with absolutely no problems, but I just couldn't connect with the story, and I think this is because the narrator, the main character of Offred, is just incredibly apathetic to everything happening around her.
I feel like this was probably done on purpose, and for some readers probably adds even more power to the story. Yet for me, it just made my reading experience less effective. This is such a unique story with the potential to be incredibly moving, but the longer the story went on, the more annoying I found Offred. I appreciate that she is in a situation that has probably broken her spirits, but other areas of the narrative indicate that she her mind is still working. She evidently has the capacity to consider what has happened to her family, and to mentally map potential ways of escape, but we don't get to experience any real drive or fire from her. Her continued apathy made me reluctant to engage with her story the further it progressed.
CHANCE OF SPOILERS AHEAD
This isn't helped by the fact that the story doesn't appear to go anywhere. I think the plot begins in a really interesting place, where Offred is being used to breed. She has no rights, and very meaningful interaction. It's a position of hell, and one that provides the opening for, potentially, a very significant dystopian story. As we learn more about Offred's position, how she came to be there and what she expected from her future, I wanted to see a journey by the end of the novel. I wanted to see some movement, and some meaning to be pulled from her situation. But instead, there's very little to go. We see some sort of escape for her, but we aren't told what this means. Offred gives very little emotion even in this, and I felt, ultimately, disappointed.
The Verdict
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