A Review of A Handmaid's Tale
Margaret Atwood's A Handmaid's Tale
I read A Handmaid's Tale some time back. To me, it is a prose example of what happens when an author descends into the realm of political commentary and agenda. I found nothing about it convincing or even interesting except, perhaps, the author's evident distaste for men and everything about them. The anger and even hatred in this book convinced me that despite the wonderful ability of the author to express herself, there was nothing in what she had to say for me.
But I will readily admit that I could be wrong. That was the past and a time in which I could brook no book or piece in which I perceived an agenda. Perhaps a revisit would reveal to me what would appear to be a different book. It doesn't much matter because I need to keep moving--there are a great many books both of the past and of the present that demand more time than I can give anyway.
I read A Handmaid's Tale some time back. To me, it is a prose example of what happens when an author descends into the realm of political commentary and agenda. I found nothing about it convincing or even interesting except, perhaps, the author's evident distaste for men and everything about them. The anger and even hatred in this book convinced me that despite the wonderful ability of the author to express herself, there was nothing in what she had to say for me.
But I will readily admit that I could be wrong. That was the past and a time in which I could brook no book or piece in which I perceived an agenda. Perhaps a revisit would reveal to me what would appear to be a different book. It doesn't much matter because I need to keep moving--there are a great many books both of the past and of the present that demand more time than I can give anyway.
Steven,
ReplyDeleteI have read _A Handmaid's Tale_ and agree with the reviewer.
It is a powerful depiction of a way of thinking about women which is present today in certain groups. It is NOT a condemnation of all men, but just those who think of women as chattels and property, who think women should be subservient to men.