I have not read it, but I did watch the show and enjoyed that. I plan to read it one day. I have read and watched Alias Grace and I enjoyed those as well.
Isn’t it scary ! It’s been years since I read it. The thing I remember the most is how she describes the take over happening too easily – it happened before they knew it.
Yes! I read it 30 years ago and it terrified me! In today’s political climate, in the U.S., I’m too afraid to watch it on Netflix! Also, we all need to be afraid so that we act for change. Call your representatives and VOTE!
According to the author everything that is written in the book is based on a true story, scary as it is all of it already happened. That’s why is so sad! And very necessary for people to read it or watch the series, to avoid forgetting history and repeating it by accident.
@Teddie I think the idea is that it could all change, just how it all changed in the book. The women all had the freedoms we have now, but then women began losing those freedoms under the guise of laws to protect women.
@Teddie your reply is the stupidest thing I read here so far. Women have these freedoms now but just look at the abortion debate. It should not matter what anybody thinks about it especially any religion as that should not matter in government.
@鄭玉 well as I said since we dont live in the middle East we don’t have to worry about since we have the right to vote Israel is the exception they have the same freedoms we do
Sadly, this is frighteningly true, and many of us with two X chromosomes are concerned. There is a segment of our society that would like to take away newly won marriage rights from the homosexual community and would like to take away a woman’s right to choose how to care for her emotional and physical health. We’re seeing the separation of church and state threatened. I see the confederate flag flown, and bumper stickers promoting white supremacy even one that touts “Hitler was right” on a regular basis. I hear pastors promoting women submitting to the men in their lives, claiming that subjugation is exactly what God wants because it is written in the bible. No, I don’t live in the bible belt, don’t live in a formerly confederate state, but in a small midwestern town in which church leaders are working hard to gain control of the political and legal forces within the community.
Anyone who thinks that the concerns presented in the novel are nothing to be concerned about in this day and age has not been paying attention to what is going on in the world.
Exactly @Ann… We don’t have to look to any Muslim country to see what women don’t want…. We only have to look at the current government and the VP saying he listens to what God is telling him. That’s ok for his privat life but he must keep that separate from his public office!
@Teddie Hysteria and fake news? It’s a fact that women still don’t get payed as much as men. Women still get judged as sluts if we are single mothers ect.
@Claudia I think you need new friends I don’t know anyone thinks that why and I get paid just as much as the men I work with Because you think backwards doesn’t mean everyone does
@Teddie why do you always defer to “Muslim countries” … I care about what happens in this country and Extremist Christianity is the biggest threat to women’s rights!
@Teddie “hatred and small mindedness” lol… That’s rich! Keep that cozy ignorance blanket around you and ignore the reality and you will be just fine. Peace and Love!
Jeff why use a word that shows you going against the grain. You’re the 1st person to use that kind of language, we have class, and a slew of words at pur disposal, how disappointing
I was curious after they won so many awards last year, and watched the whole series on Hulu. I was intrigued at how they could live like that, and bought the book to get a better understanding. I found it very interesting and weird, and a bit scary to imagine that it could happen.
I read the book for a class in 1990 or 91. Watching the show. It’s beautifully made. It seriously haunts me and it’s difficult to watch. Always gives me a terrible pit in my stomach.
I read it several years ago, and even then it had started feeling a bit too close to reality. Currently watching the TV series, which is true to the book while also going in some original directions. Very good so far.
It can freak you out no matter when you read it. I read it 30 years ago and it still haunts me. I would never reread it or watch the TV series. But plenty of people are fine with it, so I’m probably just overly sensitive.
Haunting, that is a good word for it, more than scary, in my opinion. It is hard to take, but I believe quite relevant to our world and a story I’m glad is out there.
Any book where a character has lost control, whether by oppression, being kidnapped and held hostage, I can’t handle. So I can’t read books about the Holocaust or slavery.
One of the best books I read was 12 Years A Slave by Solomon Northup. He was born a free man and tricked into slavery. He spent twelve years as a slave and never gave up hope that he would be free again and see his family, which he eventually does. It was hopeful and inspiring.
Yes, it is weird, but it is also very important. The author has said that there’s nothing in the book, the way the society is, that hasn’t already happened somewhere. It is a cautionary tale.
I read it when it first published and thought it was an interesting premise. Re-read it this year and it frightened me…given the current political and cultural climate.
The book club here just did it. It was clear that some members did not like it, but I give them great credit for reading the book and taking part in the discussion. Not every book is every person’s cup of tea. I, personally, this that is great. It would be boring if we all liked the same things.
I just started reading “The Power” by Naomi Alderman. Margaret Atwood reviewed it saying “it’s our era’s ‘Handmaid’s Tale'”. I think it might be sort of the opposite outcome.
Read Surfacing at Barnard College – didn’t like that, and the first TV production, with Natasha Redgrave (the one who died because of a ski accident), gave me nightmares. Remember my mother’s idiot Rabbi, who, when facilitating a class, refused to shut up and start talking about Hulu version even though another participant in the class and I have parted. Oh well, what do you expect from a MeToo! Rabbi!. Know many Canadians idealize her; I prefer Robertson Davies’ Depthford (sp) or Cornish Trilogies (Cornish trilogy revolved around colleges/education).
Jane I can understand that. In my high school , most of my classmates were children that parents survived the Holocaust and came with only their shirts on their backs. I learned alot from their parents. Since many people had bias towards the Jews abd they were not able to find jobs. So they started their own businesses.
Today they are one of the most richest groups
I also went to MY to see the Holocaust museum. It was very sad. I cried all thru it but glad I went
What is scary is how it seems to be a possibility today. Note how the assassinations were blamed on “Islamist terrorists.” This book was published in 1983.
Reading it now.
All of her writing is terrifyingly possible.
She said everything in this book has happened somewhere at some time in human history.
That was so disturbing yet I could not put it down!
Margaret Atwood said she took everything from history. That’s really scary!
She also wrote a review of Farenheit 451 with similar dystopian outlook, which I just finished last night.
@Ryan, where can I find the review?
@Kim Its only one and a half pages…. in the back of the latest printing (60th Anniversary Edition) of the book.
I am reading it as well. It is very unnerving. But fascinating.
Yes that’s why I couldn’t put it down!!!
I have not read it, but I did watch the show and enjoyed that. I plan to read it one day. I have read and watched Alias Grace and I enjoyed those as well.
One of my lifetime favorites.
Read that a few months ago. It is definitely a cautionary tale.
It really is a terrific book.
It was a life changing read for me.
I’m picking up my copy from the library tomorrow
I read it in high school and loved it. Watching the show now is just amazing bc they did such a great job.
It’s terrifying! Now watch the Hulu show.
The first time I read it, I didn’t read the epilogue. It made a world of difference
I could not get into it. ?
Hated it!
Scary indeed!
I read it in two days; couldn’t put it down! Scary indeed!
Read it over 35 years ago, and still so relevant today. Way scary!
especially today. 🙁
sad & scary at the same time
I just finished this last night! On to the next!
Isn’t it scary ! It’s been years since I read it. The thing I remember the most is how she describes the take over happening too easily – it happened before they knew it.
I just started reading this.
“Alias Grace,” also by Atwood, is a nice read and slightly less pessimistic.
I didn’t love it but I internalized it.
great read isn’t it???
I just picked this up today.
Very unsettling now, isn’t it?
The show on Hulu is great too.
The second season is better than how Atwood finished the book.
Did you notice she has a very very brief cameo in Season 1, as well?
So far I like the second season. Missed the cameo. Have to look back for it.
@Karen Atwood also did a very brief cameo in Alias Grace on Netflix.
@Ryan I saw that one!
It’s so good!
Some of these “classics” are a great way to have bad dreams for the rest of your life.
Relevant
Im reading that soon !!!
Horrendous story…..don’t want to imagine such a society.
I’m listening to the audiobook…I was expecting to be very angry but so far I am stupefied and anxious….
No scarier than Mike Pence.
Agreed!
Theocracy is a terrifying concept…
It’s a chilling read and although I did finish it, I found it just plain creepy.
Made me so sick to my stomach I couldn’t finish. Too close to home these days.
@Eadie, although I managed to finish it, I absolutely hated it. Guess I kept thinking that something positive would happen. Wrong!
Good book!
Great book, but can already see signs of it in our government now.
I agree! The series on Hulu delves deeper into the signs that the main characters experienced before things went so horribly wrong.
Yes! I read it 30 years ago and it terrified me! In today’s political climate, in the U.S., I’m too afraid to watch it on Netflix! Also, we all need to be afraid so that we act for change. Call your representatives and VOTE!
I found the book so painful I could not wait to finish it. I read it years ago when it first came out. M idi
I did ni
I didnkt even try to watch the series
I can’t watch the new episodes. It’s too hard!
I had bad dreams about that book!
If you think the book is scary, try watching the show!!! ?
It’s a warning to all of us and always on my mind! I’m watching the show as well and it’s really scary for sure
I’m looking forward to reading it.
I read it years ago and fell in love with Margaret Atwood’s books.
The show is so good.
I could not watch the Netflix series because the book terrified ed me.
Me too! Exactly!
According to the author everything that is written in the book is based on a true story, scary as it is all of it already happened.
That’s why is so sad! And very necessary for people to read it or watch the series, to avoid forgetting history and repeating it by accident.
http://amp.timeinc.net/time/5250732/handmaids-tale-hulu-history
Didn’t know this. I read she wrote it because she was hearing many people say “that can’t happen here “.
Yes, wait until you see the series. They made it super current… like this stuff could happen tomorrow, creepy!
So fucking good
One more conservative Supreme Court justice and we could be there. It’s what the religious zealots want.
@Teddie I think the idea is that it could all change, just how it all changed in the book. The women all had the freedoms we have now, but then women began losing those freedoms under the guise of laws to protect women.
@Teddie your reply is the stupidest thing I read here so far. Women have these freedoms now but just look at the abortion debate. It should not matter what anybody thinks about it especially any religion as that should not matter in government.
@鄭玉 well as I said since we dont live in the middle East we don’t have to worry about since we have the right to vote Israel is the exception they have the same freedoms we do
Sadly, this is frighteningly true, and many of us with two X chromosomes are concerned. There is a segment of our society that would like to take away newly won marriage rights from the homosexual community and would like to take away a woman’s right to choose how to care for her emotional and physical health. We’re seeing the separation of church and state threatened. I see the confederate flag flown, and bumper stickers promoting white supremacy even one that touts “Hitler was right” on a regular basis. I hear pastors promoting women submitting to the men in their lives, claiming that subjugation is exactly what God wants because it is written in the bible. No, I don’t live in the bible belt, don’t live in a formerly confederate state, but in a small midwestern town in which church leaders are working hard to gain control of the political and legal forces within the community.
Anyone who thinks that the concerns presented in the novel are nothing to be concerned about in this day and age has not been paying attention to what is going on in the world.
Exactly @Ann… We don’t have to look to any Muslim country to see what women don’t want…. We only have to look at the current government and the VP saying he listens to what God is telling him. That’s ok for his privat life but he must keep that separate from his public office!
@Ann lol oh lots of people are paying attention unfortunately to fake news and hysteria but that’s none of my business
@Teddie Have you read any dystopian novels or watched any dystopian movies or shows? The Handmaid’s Tail? 1984? V for Vendetta? Ella Minnow Pea?
@Teddie Hysteria and fake news? It’s a fact that women still don’t get payed as much as men. Women still get judged as sluts if we are single mothers ect.
@Claudia I think you need new friends I don’t know anyone thinks that why and I get paid just as much as the men I work with
Because you think backwards doesn’t mean everyone does
@鄭玉 yes I’ve read the hand maidens take and seen v for vendetta and travelled to turkey and Jordan and eygpt
@Teddie …for the last 50 years, exactly! Why is it still not settled in this country? Because Christians have to much influence on legislature!
@Teddie I think you should open your eyes to reality and cone out of your little bubble because it seems like reality is passing you by!
@Claudia I think you should open your eyes
your hatred and smalk mindedness seems to be getting the better if you
@Teddie why do you always defer to “Muslim countries” … I care about what happens in this country and Extremist Christianity is the biggest threat to women’s rights!
@Claudia why do you always defer to Christians
@Teddie “hatred and small mindedness” lol… That’s rich! Keep that cozy ignorance blanket around you and ignore the reality and you will be just fine. Peace and Love!
@Claudia actually it’s not rich and i feel sorry for you but like you said peace and live but you don’t seem to following either
@Teddie and I feel sorry for you and hope that you will always have the freedoms you have today!
Jeff why use a word that shows you going against the grain. You’re the 1st person to use that kind of language, we have class, and a slew of words at pur disposal, how disappointing
Ann, you are so correct, words say a lot about ones self. I love these people on this site. I feel like I’ve come home.
Lots of classy people curse.
I was curious after they won so many awards last year, and watched the whole series on Hulu. I was intrigued at how they could live like that, and bought the book to get a better understanding. I found it very interesting and weird, and a bit scary to imagine that it could happen.
Did not read or watch – too scary of a premise.
Try the Mad Adam trilogy by Margaret Atwood. It will make you extremely suspicious of the healthcare system!
I’m going to put these on my list. ?
Boy, does this scare me too.
Amazing series. I always recommend. It made me think and think about so many things!
Be sure to vote come November….
Certainly,I didn’t wait to be eighteen for nothing.
I personally hated that book, like most dystopian novels
They are difficult to read, but the premises of each are important to consider and guard against, whether or not we choose to read them.
Even if you don’t like dystopian, the writing is amazing! Atwood is a true wordsmith.
Thought provoking.
Stephanie…theres going to be a movie coming out soon…?
The best
Scares me too! And wasn’t it written in the 80s? Every time I think of the Handmaid’s Tale, I think of Mike Pence!
Yes!!!!!
Now I have to put it to the front of my line up.
I read The Handmaid’s Tale many years ago. I’m watching the series now. I have no words for how gut-wrenching and frightening it is.
I read the book for a class in 1990 or 91. Watching the show. It’s beautifully made. It seriously haunts me and it’s difficult to watch. Always gives me a terrible pit in my stomach.
@Susan, I agree completely. Sadly, it’s because it isn’t hard to imagine this actually happening in our current social/political climate.
It’s on my list!!
That scared me, too, when I read it so many years ago. If someone asks if I liked Handmaid’s Tale, I’m never quite sure how to answer.
One on my list.
I read it several years ago, and even then it had started feeling a bit too close to reality. Currently watching the TV series, which is true to the book while also going in some original directions. Very good so far.
Atwood has been involved in producing it.
Always glad to hear when the author is allowed a say!
Just received a copy. … Sounds as though it needs to be on my daylight reading list (so the story will not haunt my dreams).
Well, it’s not “scary” in that way, like a thriller or horror story, though I suppose it depends on one’s sensitivities.
It can freak you out no matter when you read it. I read it 30 years ago and it still haunts me. I would never reread it or watch the TV series. But plenty of people are fine with it, so I’m probably just overly sensitive.
Haunting, that is a good word for it, more than scary, in my opinion. It is hard to take, but I believe quite relevant to our world and a story I’m glad is out there.
Any book where a character has lost control, whether by oppression, being kidnapped and held hostage, I can’t handle. So I can’t read books about the Holocaust or slavery.
One of the best books I read was 12 Years A Slave by Solomon Northup. He was born a free man and tricked into slavery. He spent twelve years as a slave and never gave up hope that he would be free again and see his family, which he eventually does. It was hopeful and inspiring.
I agree – scary!
I just finished as well and I’m still in shock…I have no words!
Watch Hulu adaption after reading
I just finished it, as well. While I’m glad I read it, I definitely wouldn’t rank it in the top 100. I found it disturbing and a bit weird.
Yes, it is weird, but it is also very important. The author has said that there’s nothing in the book, the way the society is, that hasn’t already happened somewhere. It is a cautionary tale.
I just finished it, too. Glad I took the time for this read.
I read it when it first published and thought it was an interesting premise. Re-read it this year and it frightened me…given the current political and cultural climate.
Exactly.
The book club here just did it. It was clear that some members did not like it, but I give them great credit for reading the book and taking part in the discussion. Not every book is every person’s cup of tea. I, personally, this that is great. It would be boring if we all liked the same things.
Loved it, couldnt put it down. My sister hated it.
Stated it and had to stop.
Me too
Im reading what I like
As it should!
Excellent but thoroughly depressing book. (I refuse to watch the TV show.)
Me too!
The scariest book I ever read.
I just started reading “The Power” by Naomi Alderman. Margaret Atwood reviewed it saying “it’s our era’s ‘Handmaid’s Tale'”. I think it might be sort of the opposite outcome.
Hmmmmm, have not heard of that one!
You have to watch the TV series on Hulu. The author oversees the writing and second season is even better than the first.
I have not read it yet but want to.
Read Surfacing at Barnard College – didn’t like that, and the first TV production, with Natasha Redgrave (the one who died because of a ski accident), gave me nightmares. Remember my mother’s idiot Rabbi, who, when facilitating a class, refused to shut up and start talking about Hulu version even though another participant in the class and I have parted. Oh well, what do you expect from a MeToo! Rabbi!. Know many Canadians idealize her; I prefer Robertson Davies’ Depthford (sp) or Cornish Trilogies (Cornish trilogy revolved around colleges/education).
Would you recommend it for a book club pick?
Abutting contemporary ideology.
It does appear that our crazy country could become like this book if we continue in the path we are headed!…
The book was good…did not like the series.
I liked the book a lot, but I haven’t seen the TV series yet.
Jane I can understand that.
In my high school , most of my classmates were children that parents survived the Holocaust and came with only their shirts on their backs.
I learned alot from their parents.
Since many people had bias towards the Jews abd they were not able to find jobs.
So they started their own businesses.
Today they are one of the most richest groups
I also went to MY to see the Holocaust museum.
It was very sad.
I cried all thru it but glad I went
Did not like that book.
I just started it. About 5 chapters in.
On my never-to-be-finished list.
I read it in college. Never forgot.
Will never pick it up…
It’s definitely on my list
No kidding, it is scary!
What is scary is how it seems to be a possibility today. Note how the assassinations were blamed on “Islamist terrorists.” This book was published in 1983.
Becky I only read the book too.
I’m sure?there is some truth as to how these women were treated.
Study orher countries …..
they can be brutal
I commented earlier that Atwood has said that she used ideas and events she knew had/have already happened somewhere in the world.
Margaret Atwood says that every incident she writes about has happened somewhere at some time.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/ew.com/books/2017/03/08/margaret-atwood-handmaids-tale-reality/amp/
I read this years ago and thought it was just amazing-Jayne
No kidding!
I am reading it now. So disturbing.