I think it’s fair to say that, over the past few (or ten) years, my tastes have moved from darker, more dystopian books to things that are, shall we say, a little lighter. From China Mieville and Clive Barker to Alexander McCall Smith’s 44 Scotland Street series and John Connolly’s Samuel Johnson books.
Which isn’t to say that I don’t still enjoy a good horror or dark fantasy (and Barker and Mieville will always be among my favourites), but just as I’m less able to stomach gore (suggestion works. I don’t need a step by step description of exactly how the poor woman’s intestines were removed through her nostril or something), I’m less able to immerse myself in books that don’t have at least a glimmer of light.
So maybe that’s part of the reason I was slow coming to The Handmaid’s Tale. I’m not sure why it wasn’t on my reading list a long time ago, when I was reading Fahrenheit 451 and 1984 and being both fascinated and horrified by them, but there we go. It sat on my shelf for a long time, too. In today’s climate, reading a book about a whole swathe of the population having their power, their autonomy, and their identity taken away completely, just because of who they are, cuts a little close for comfort.
But I finally got to it, and I’m so glad I did. Subject matter aside (and unsettling? Oh, unsettling. I had to read more slowly than usual, and spent more than a couple of nights staring at the ceiling), Atwood writes with such skill and surety, and I’m already adding more of her books to my TBR. If you haven’t read The Handmaid’s Tale yet, do.
Now – watch on for more ramblings (including the bits I didn’t like)!
And now tell me, lovely people – have you read any Atwood? What are your thoughts? What should I read next? And what of these sort of “near-dystopian” books are your favourites? Let me know below!
sarah says
I read it a couple of years after it was first published. Oddly enough, it frightened me more then that the tv show does now. The eerieness … the courage … the resonance … in my country back at that time women were really finding their way into a stronger sense of social equality, there was a lot of talk about misogyny in our institutions, I was working with rape survivors … The Handmaid’s Tale was THE book women told each other to read in those days. In a way, it spoke more to what was happening for us then that it does now, at least in my part of the world. It captured the feeling many women had about the society they were emerging from – not that I believe our society was that bad, but especially when it came to sexual violence and institutionalised sexism, there was a sense of having been trapped, suppressed, silenced, and now women were becoming stronger individually and as a group. We’ve come a very long way since then. I doubt women would feel as powerfully about the book here now. But I can imagine it hits significantly harder in America these days.
kimwatt says
I can see how it would have been really frightening reading in that situation, and both a wonderful and difficult time to live through. I think it’s one of those books where, unfortunately, it’s going to still resonate for a long time. We as a society change slowly, and I think one of the things that disturbed me about it was the thought that it was going to be relevant for a very long time.
Lisa Sell says
I started reading it after watching the first episode of the TV series. As always, I wanted to let the book have its place first. I’m glad I did.
I was still pleasantly surprised by how good the TV adaptation was but it tended to be more overt in its messages and violence, probably because it’s visual.
The book was chilling, uncomfortable, and far too close to a world we could fall into. It certainly doesn’t help you sleep well after reading it at bed time!
kimwatt says
I keep wondering if I should try the TV series, but I loved how so much of the book’s horror was in the sense of suffocation and inability to act. I wasn’t at all sure a TV show would capture that.
Also I still keep thinking about it, and I’m not sure I’m ready to extend that by watching the series! It really is uncomfortable (if wonderfully done) reading.