Book Review: The Handmaid’s Tale 

By Margaret Atwood 

3 Stars 

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood was a very interesting read for me, as the novel is highly praised by seemingly everyone who has read it, and they even made an adapted television series. However, when I read it, I was not as impressed or engrossed in the story as I thought I would be. I do still think that it is an important read and would recommend it to anyone who is interested in it, but I do not think I will be rereading it any time soon. The characters were all interesting and there was a lingering sense of mystery and mistrust with anyone that the main character, Offred, interacted with. I think that where the book fell short for me was in two areas, the world building and the plot.  

For the vast majority of the novel, there was very little happening, and there was a sudden rush at the end to make up for this lack of proper spacing. I feel that the story could have been a little bit more spread out, and maybe two or three more interesting plot events could have happened. I also think that the main plot of the story is a little flawed, as there was not a very strong sense of what direction the story was going throughout. It felt as if we were just living through the eyes of Offred, which makes the story and characters seem very realistic, but it diminishes the entertainment if you have to sacrifice this much of the story just to make the characters as realistic as possible. Overall, I would recommend giving this book a read, as I believe that the messages of the story are important for people to hear, especially as our society becomes more and more similar to the events of this novel. 

Reviewed by Forest 

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