Paperback, 311 pages
English language
Published March 16, 1998 by Anchor Books.
It is the world of the near future, and Offred is a Handmaid in the home of the Commander and his wife. She is allowed out once a day to the food market, she is not permitted to read, and she is hoping the Commander makes her pregnant, because she is only valued if her ovaries are viable. Offred can remember the years before, when she was an independent woman, had a job of her own, a husband and child. But all of that is gone now ... everything has changed.
I read this classic just two years ago. It felt more relevant to the present than it may have been when it was written. This book is a revolutionary milestone in speculative fiction and probably feminist literature as well, but I found equally interesting that the text is based on progressive loss of innocence. The final chapter is incredible and left me very satisfied.
While I was reading this book, I was immersed in the story. Great writers, I think, craft so great that they completely hide their craftsmanship, allowing us to see the creation only. They don't show off how intelligent they are.
Now after finishing it, after letting all of it sink in my mind, I can see what a great writer she is. She has a profound knowledge of dystopian society. What sort of situation gives birth to a dystopia, how they control, manipulate, kill, invoke obedience and above all manufacturer mass consent for all of their actions.
This book is also important because of its authentic feminine voice, feminist nature.
